It Sounds Like The Weeknd Is Already Working on New Music

The rest of the interview pressed for some more insight on Starboy with The Weeknd revealing that he started on the album six months ago before shutting down the entire studio for four months. "I wanted to drop Starboy as soon as ­possible [after Beauty Behind the Madness] just to show that this is what I love doing: making music," he revealed. "It's very natural, very real. There was a lot of thought behind it, but I did it frantically, very fast, off the fumes of Beauty."

The conversation also covered what fans can expect from his forthcoming Legend of the Fall World Tour. "Environment is very important to me. Sometimes I have to perform during the day for festivals, and my music does not work in the daytime. It is nighttime music. When you come to my show, I want it to feel like opera, like a theater. The darkness is ­important for me," he explained.

It turns out he is looking to Es Devlin, the same set designer used by Kanye West, Beyoncé, and Adele, to help him set the mood. "Her real passion is theater and opera. She looks at the job different than every other set designer. It’s art—it's not about ­lighting or crazy effects. It's about what you’re looking at, and the audience is part of that moment. It's very three-dimensional. Look at Kanye's [Saint Pablo] shows—he changed the game. We're looking at floor seats differently now in arena shows. I want to animate the space like that on this tour."

You can read The Weeknd's full cover story over at Billboard and check out Starboy out now.