

He explored dark wave in his debut studio album Kiss Land (2013), which debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200. In 2012, he signed with Republic Records and rereleased the mixtapes in the compilation album Trilogy. Two years later, he co-founded the XO record label and released the mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence, which gained recognition for his style of contemporary and alternative R&B and the mystique surrounding his identity.

He has received numerous accolades, including four Grammy Awards, 20 Billboard Music Awards, 17 Juno Awards, six American Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, and nominations for an Academy Award, a Latin Grammy Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award.īorn and raised in Toronto, Tesfaye began his career in 2009 by anonymously releasing music on YouTube. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, romance, and melancholia, and is often inspired by personal experiences. Critics couldn’t reach a consensus on the overall grade of his performance, but every review ranging from the Chicago Tribune to Vulture criticized one thing: the staying power of the Weeknd’s performance.Abel Makkonen Tesfaye ( / ɑː b ɛ l t ɛ s f eɪ/ AH-bell-tes- FAY born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. I can’t speak to the experience for the people watching live, but it was an interesting take on the typical half time performance. He was the only performer, and instead of being out with the fans, much of the performance was actually out of view. Normally there’s a couple of artists from different genres that all perform a mix of their own and different songs, but this year it was all the Weeknd. He performed all of his most popular songs, but in a different way than most normal half time shows.
#The weeknd spent money tv
Instead, this performance was made more for TV than for the people in the stadium.įor the majority of the time, the Weeknd performed up top on a stage, far away from the spectators around him. The performance had to be different in this time of COVID, with the Weeknd not being able to do a show that involves massive amounts of performers or any audience interaction.

When the Weeknd came out on stage with an outfit that Jackson would wear, it was immediately evident that this performance was inspired by Jackson’s own over twenty years ago.

We don’t know if the pressure of living up to Jackson’s legacy was the reason the Weeknd spent so much of his own money on the show, but many people compared his show to the original by Jackson. Many see the Weeknd as eerily similar to Michael Jackson This success may be why he chose to go all out on his multimillion dollar Super Bowl performance, trying to create an extravagant performance that will be immortalize his legacy. This is when he started to have a more public life, becoming a true celebrity with chart-topping hits like “Blinding Lights.” He has reached the top of the music world, with “Blinding Lights” becoming the first and only song to spend a year on the top 10 charts. With the release of “Can’t Feel My Face” in 2015, he truly reached stardom, with his songs topping charts consistently. Similar to many modern “faceless” celebrities, he declined to do any interviews and remained out of the limelight, choosing to wrap his face in bandages in public. However, it wasn’t until 2012 when his music career started blowing up, but the Weeknd still wasn’t ready for fame. The Weeknd first started making music in 2011 with his mixtape House of Balloons. However, the 7 million expense for the show might seem justified for the Weeknd as a way to cement his spot as one of the greatest musicians, a capstone to his musical career. He didn’t think the NFL’s 10 million budget was enough, so he decided to spend 7 million, (10% of his net worth) on his show. Gone were the massive displays of dancers, but the Weeknd still desired an extravagant performance. In this time of Covid-19, the halftime show wasn’t able to operate like normal. There might be some meme-able moments that appear online in the next couple days, but in the end most halftime performances are not much more than another commercial.īut for artists, the Super Bowl halftime show represents the biggest audience in the world, and in 2021, the Weekend wanted to maximize his exposure. The Weeknd performing at the Super Bowl (date place)įor most of us, the Super Bowl halftime show is a quick, fun moment that is quickly overshadowed by the second half of the football game that comes after.
