Thanks to his record-breaking 2020 album After Hours and a huge televised appearance during this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, The Weeknd is a household name. However, just five years ago, the Canadian artist was just finally starting to be seen as more than an alternative R&B act known for his harrowing tales of drug benders and heartbreak. While 2015’s Beauty Behind The Madness saw him break into the Billboard Hot 100 with two #1s, it would be Abel’s third studio album that saw him fully embrace the role of a superstar.
Released on November 25, 2016, Starboy marked a major sonic and visual departure from The Weeknd’s previous releases. With his signature freeform locs gone and a more genre-fluid approach to his music, The Weeknd delivered fans an album that spawned another Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper in the form of “Starboy” as well as several other hits, including the Daft Punk-assisted “I Feel It Coming,” “Sidewalks,” “Reminder,” “Secrets,” and “Die For You.”
Now, on the five-year anniversary of Starboy, Abel has opted to reach back into his vault and share the sci-fi music video for “Die For You.” Based around a young boy who develops telekinetic powers following the government’s secret “Starboy” experiment, the visuals are extremely similar to the insanely popular Netflix series Stranger Things, which was also released in 2016. Still, the newly unearthed music video is an entertaining and endearing offering from The Weekend.
Scroll back up to the top to check it out, and let us know in the comments if you think The Weeknd’s “Die For You” music video was worth the wait.