
It was released on September 21, 2016, following the announcement of the album and its accompanying artwork the same day. "Starboy" is an R&B and electropop song that incorporates themes of the extravagance associated with a celebrity lifestyle and also discusses how the celebrity lifestyle can make an entertainer fragile. Producers Cirkut and Doc McKinney then continued work on the track. Inspired by the sound, the Weeknd immediately wrote material for it, forming the basis of "Starboy". He discovered that the track was a beat that Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo had been playing from a personal device.

During his session recording the song " I Feel It Coming", the Weeknd could hear a separate track leaking into the studio booth from the control room. The Weeknd later elaborated that he contacted the duo through mutual friends in the Canadian music scene, and that he was invited to a studio in Paris, France to work with Daft Punk. On August 24, 2016, during a Billboard interview, Republic Records executive vice president Wendy Goldstein mentioned that the Weeknd had been collaborating with Daft Punk. The video has been described as the Weeknd's attempt to murder his former personality. In the music video, the Weeknd is shown trying to destroy evidence of his previous self, including his own awards from his past album, Beauty Behind the Madness. The music video for the song was directed by frequent collaborator Grant Singer, who directed the Weeknd's previous music videos for his previous chart-toppers " Can't Feel My Face" and " The Hills". "Starboy" topped the charts in countries such as Canada, France, Netherlands, New Zealand and Sweden, as well as the US Billboard Hot 100, where it became the Weeknd's third chart-topper, and Daft Punk's first and only chart-topper. It is an R&B and electropop song with lyrics that contain themes of extravagance of a celebrity life. It was released as the first single from the album on September 21, 2016, by XO and Republic Records.

The artists co-wrote and co-produced the song alongside Doc McKinney and Henry "Cirkut" Walter, with Jason "DaHeala" Quenneville providing additional writing. It features French electronic duo Daft Punk.

" Starboy" is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd from his third studio album of the same name. 2016 song by the Weeknd featuring Daft Punk
