Starboy

After the commercial success of his album Beauty Behind the Madness in 2015, The Weeknd hinted at the release of his third studio album on March 12, 2016, with his Instagram calling it the next "chapter" to his music. On August 24, 2016, The Weeknd was confirmed by the Republic Records executive vice president Wendy Goldstein to be collaborating with the French electronic dance duo Daft Punk, during an interview with Billboard. On September 7, 2016, the album was confirmed to be in production from an interview with VMAN, with influence taken from Prince, The Smiths, Talking Heads and Bad Brains. On September 21, 2016, the album overall and its title was officially announced, with its release slated for November 25, 2016. The album's sleeve is photographed and designed by Nabil Elderkin. It features The Weeknd with shorter hair in a crouched pose with a cross necklace and is highlighted by streaks of blue neon across a neon red background. The top of the picture says the album's name in yellow lettering and the edges of the packaging are grained by the blue neon.