Critic Jonni: The Weeknd

It's Monday which means it's Chart Mondays, and with James Arthur reigning supreme at the top of the UK singles chart with "Say You Won't Let Go", it opens the Top 10 to my Chart Mondays review. In this case, it leaves me with no choice but to review this music video as I have either reviewed all the other music videos in the UK top 10 singles chart, or they don't have an official music video. Therefore I am reviewing this one which is currently at number two on the chart. The Weeknd kills his previous self and smashes his apartment up before jumping in a car with a cat that transforms into a panther. He is definitely a "Starboy", look what you've done.

The Weeknd, real name Abel Tesfaye, has really come into his own in the past few years. Having done all right when he first hit the music scene, he has definitely built his name and had batted out hits left, right and centre. This one just proves how far he has come, and how much more he has to give. Recently he has changed his hair style, which definitely goes well with this whole new direction. Featured on the track is Daft Punk, an electronic music duo consisting of Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They have been going for years and years and have many hits. Most recently "Get Lucky" brought them back into the public eye and since then they have released hit song after hit song. They'll always be popular. This song has had international success and was written by Abel Tesfaye, Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Thomas Bangalter, Martin McKinney and Henry Walter.

Directed by Grant Singer, this video is The Weeknd reinventing himself. With a new album a new sound and this is definitely the start of something new, so why not say goodbye to the previous era and start a whole new one. He has changed his hairstyle, killed his previous self and smashed everything in his apartment that was a part of the previous era.

The narrative is interesting, watching him kill his former self through asphyxiation using a plastic bag; it's definitely surprising. He finds a pink neon cross which he uses to smash the place, before setting alight his wardrobe. It all a part of the previous album, saying goodbye to it.

He next goes to the garage and chooses a car and rides off into the night with a black cat in the passenger seat, which soon transforms into a panther. The entire video says goodbye to his previous album and the music that definitely made him popular.

It's clear The Weeknd likes his cars, his choices in the garage are the Lamborghini Aventador SV Roadster, a Bentley Mulsanne and the McLaren P1. The latter is actually owned by The Weeknd himself, which is the one he chooses to drive away in.

Daft Punk appears only in a portrait of themselves which is hung on the wall. Otherwise, they are nowhere to be seen, which isn't really surprising. This usually is the case when DJs and producers are featured on a track.

Overall, this is a well-planned music video that is fully in-depth. It has a performance and a narrative built in one. The Weeknd pulls both off at the same time perfectly, while also killing his previous self. His performance vibes pour from him, and boy can he put on a show!

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When I first saw this music video, I knew I had to review it on my blog, and yet six months later and here I am, finally getting around to reviewing The Weeknd's song Can't Feel My Face. I have never really liked The Weeknd, and his songs never interested me before this one. This one is much more catchy and shows off his vocal range. The Weeknd proves himself as a performer as well as a singer in this music video, he gets set alight and he still performs to the best of his ability. The Weeknd has set himself on the charts internationally, now he just needs to keep getting the chart hits he clearly deserves.

The Weeknd, real name Abęl Tesfaye, is from Canada and has been releasing music since 2011. He has had a successful career to date, both of his albums have charted highly internationally and most of his singles have charted in various countries, but it wasn't until he released "Earned It" for the Fifth Shades Of Grey soundtrack, that he got thrown into the limelight. This song was written by Ali Payami, Savan Kotecha, Max Martin, Abęl Tesfaye and Peter Svensson. Some big names in the song writing list, so it's no surprise this was a hit for The Weeknd.

Directed by Grant Singer. We have a main performance piece to this music video where The Weeknd is performing to a not so nice crowd.

There's a love interest in the audience, who is the only one enjoying his performance. She is played by Chanel Iman.

A person in the audience throws a lighter at him, which sets him on fire, at which point the audience loves his performance and gets on their feet. For some unknown reason, the fact that he's on fire and still performing makes everyone like the song, doesn't make sense to me.

At the end of the day, it's a great performance based music video, with a very catchy song. However there's a subtle narrative behind although it's not displayed well and doesn't relate to the song that much, if at all, especially since at the end he runs out of the club, still on fire. This video is not only confusing to many, but it fails to connect with the song.