Max Martin

Filled to the brim with catchy melodies and danceable instrumentals, the LP is — for the first time on a Coldplay record in a long while — fun, and is certainly worthy of a listen from fans and casual listeners alike.

Here, the Weeknd has finally managed to effectively blend his vision of sad boy R&B with powerful ’80s synth pop, resulting in his best material since 2011’s House of Balloons.

Of course, “Gee” wasn’t a hit in the West, at least not by industry standards. But the song set a new precedent that later K-pop acts, such as Psy, BTS and Loona, would follow — their success would be measured in YouTube views, Twitter follows and Instagram likes, and not solely by chart peaks.

That it is derivative doesn’t mean it is bad — the working definition of pop is that it is derivative of other pop, and that’s an inescapable result when the same group of songwriters are responsible for most music being released in the genre.