Academy Award®-nominated, two-time GRAMMY Award®-winning multiplatinum alternative R&B The Weeknd makes history yet again, capturing the record for “Most Release Weekend Streams Ever” with his brand new single Starboy featuring Daft Punk.It’s the title track and first single from his mega-anticipated fourth full-length album ‘Starboy’ arriving November 25, 2016.
Starboy amassed over 17 million streams globally and 6.5 million streams in the United States alone, shattering the previous record in the process. Meanwhile, at radio, Starboy stands out as the “One Week Most Added Record of All Time in North America,” becoming #1 Most Added at Top 40, Rhythm, Urban, and Hot AC, yet another history-making accolade. This sets the stage for Starboy to become one of the biggest albums of 2016.
The official Starboy music video premiered today on VEVO. Directed by frequent collaborator Grant Singer [Future, Skrillex], it offers up an explosive visual companion to the song.
On October 1, THE WEEKND takes the stage as the musical guest on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live. He’ll be performing Starboy live for the very first time.
The Weeknd’s last album, 2015’s ‘Beauty Behind The Madness’ recently received an RIAA triple-platinum certification for cumulative sales in excess of 3 million. Off one album, he received 16 RIAA certifications from tracks alone with The Hills [7x-platinum], Can’t Feel My Face[5x-platinum], Often [2x-platinum], In The Night [platinum], and Acquainted[platinum].
Upon its debut, the record held #1 on the Billboard Top 200 for three consecutive weeks. Throughout this incredible journey, The Weeknd became the “First Male to Simultaneously Top Billboard’s Hot 100, Top 200, and Artist 100,” the “First Artist to Ever Simultaneously Hold Top 3 Slots on Billboard’s R&B Chart,” and the “First Artist Ever Recorded By Mediabase to Cross 300 Million in Audience Within One Week.”
The album proved ubiquitous at radio. Can’t Feel My Face peaked at #1 on Top 40, reaching an audience of 4.19 Billion. Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey) also went to #1, playing to an audience of 4.2 Billion, while The Hills landed at #2 and hit an audience of 3.69 Billion. Cumulatively, the audience exceeds 14.6 Billion-plus for songs from ‘Beauty Behind The Madness’.
Fans, critics, and the industry at large have recognized this inimitable talent. He took home two GRAMMY Awards® [“Best Urban Contemporary Album” for ‘Beauty Behind The Madness’ and “Best R&B Performance” for Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)] out of seven nominations. He won eight Billboard Music Awards including “Top 100 Artist, “Top R&B Artist,” “Top R&B Album” for ‘Beauty Behind The Madness’, “Top R&B Song” for The Hills, “Top Song Sales,” “Top Radio Songs,” “Top Streaming Songs,” and “Top Streaming Song (Audio)” for The Hills. Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey) even garnered THE WEEKND his first ever Academy Award® nomination in the category of “Best Original Song.”