Ok so I really listened to this album and purposely did not read any of the comments posted from here or anywhere else.
I listened all the way thru and it's clear of the mj influence which we all already knew.
I personally think it's not a good look since he did such a great job at perfecting his own style over the years and it's always hard trying to compete against ghost.
With that said, I think this is a really well cohesive album with some really great POP SONGS. This album may work well for mainstream audiences but I'm not too sure about previous fans.
With that being said this album is WAY TOO BRIGHT FOR ME. BRIGHT meaning the production and mixing. It's mixed like a pop album and I'm sorry I've never been a fan of bright mixing/production.
His singing has gotten better but the rawness of his lyrics with his original unmixed warm heavy production is what made the Weeknd what he was.
While I don't like the change I understand it.
3 out of 5