The Weeknd Expands on the Starboy Universe with “Secrets” Video

The Weeknd’s “Secrets” video will have you itching to watch a Stanley Kubrick film. The video is the third installment of his Starboy-era music videos—which appear to exist in an alternate universe—and is the first single from the album that isn’t a Daft Punk collaboration. Before we talk about “Secrets,” let’s recap the videos The Weeknd has given us so far in chronological order of their respective releases.

In “Starboy,” we see a malevolent Weeknd suffocate his past self from the “Earned It” music video in a Doctor Evil versus Austin Powers sort of situation (but way, way darker), suggesting the Beauty Behind the Madness Weeknd is long gone. It also introduces the red glowing cross that has become a steady presence for this record. The rest of the album’s music videos were prefaced by Mania, an NC-17 short film that shows where his alter-ego—known as “The Artist,” according to the film’s credits—has gone to behave badly. “False Alarm” is intensely graphic, shot from a first person, videogame-esque point of view. “The Artist” is suggested to have killed himself at the end of a bank heist, which leaves us wondering how the character will continue on. “Party Monster” is a visual-heavy acid trip, with the red glowing cross on screen for a majority of the video; maybe “The Artist” has descended into hell?

“I Feel It Coming” features The Weeknd dancing on another planet that is probably Mars, and is a little bit like the ending scene in Hocus Pocus where Bette Midler turns to stone and explodes. Daft Punk makes an appearance at the end of the video, uncovering the red glowing cross that is now buried beneath layers of ice. Finally, “Secrets” is set in a hotel-like atmosphere, the interior of which resembles a modernized Overlook Hotel. The Weeknd broods as events unfold around him, eventually leading him outside to a giant, sleek cross that floats above snow. It’s unclear if the events of the Starboy era will be interwoven in a forthcoming video, but there certainly seems to be a greater theme present that has yet to be revealed.

Starboy has been on a world tour of epic proportions and recently lent his voice to Lana Del Rey’s “Lust for Life,” her first single from her forthcoming album of the same title.

You can watch the “Secrets” music video above.