One website named Pitchfork (a “professional music review site”)  gave the album a 6.7/10, stating, “With Beauty Behind the Madness, Abel Tesfaye achieved pop stardom without compromising his vision. On its uninspired follow-up, Starboy, he seems to lose sight of that vision almost entirely.” The review constantly compares his change of tempo from his album before (Beauty Behind the Madness), with Starboy saying, “Starboy, however, is hardly a dramatic reinvention—if anything, it feels like a watered-down retread of the same old tropes.” The writer Mehan Jayasurija brought up some negatives of the album, like some songs felt like they were put in as filler, as well as bringing up similarities of songs that sound like older ones he has made. For example, the Jayasurija compared two songs between Future and The Weeknd, “ ‘Six Feet Under’, a collaboration with Future, is essentially just a rewrite of the pair's much sharper “Low Life” (“Reminder” also recycles the vocal melody from “Low Life”).” Even after looking at the gloomy side of the album, the writer still gives it a 6.7, giving it a solid grade above My Dear Melancholy (arguably his most boring album), but still below Beauty Behind the Madness, and his newest album After Hours.

Overall, The Weeknd’s album Starboy has many diverse songs, to many it’s either one of the most meh albums he has ever released. Tesfaye runs into a constant issue on this album, where after one great song, there is always a meh or even bad/forgettable song. It is enjoyable to hear this braggadocious side from him, especially after the sudden fame, but it begins to come off more like a fake persona. Starboy gets a little too much love from his stans, receiving a modest 5.8/10, some songs still bang, though.