The Weeknd will be headlining Super Bowl 55’s half time show on Sunday, the first solo artist from Canada to do so.
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The R&B artist, who’s real name is Abel Tesfaye, wants viewers to form their own conclusions about his performance. “I don’t like to spoon-feed the audience,” he told reporters in a Thursday news conference. “Hopefully, they can pick up some of their own theories and conclusions of what the show is saying and the story I’m telling in the performance.”
The Weeknd will play to a live audience of about 25,000 fans, 7,500 of them being vaccinated health care workers, at Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium. The annual 12-minute performance usually only incorporates the field, but there might be an expansion to that this year. “Due to COVID and for the safety of the players and the workers, we built the stage within the stadium. We’re also using the field as well but we wanted to do something never done before, so we built the stage in the stadium. I’m not going to tell you anything else because you’ll have to watch on Sunday,” he said.
The “Can’t See My Face” singer even spent $7 million of his own money to make sure the production quality is as high as he wants.
When asked if his performance will include the bloody bandages or fake plastic surgery he’s been sporting in music videos and live performances since the beginning of his After Hours album era, he insisted that it will be suited for a family friendly audience.
“For sure, I definitely want to be respectful to the viewers at home,” The Weeknd said. “I will still incorporate some of the storyline. It’s a very cohesive story I’ve been telling throughout this era and throughout this year. So the story will continue but we’ll definitely keep it PG for the families.”
“Sunday will be unlike anything we’ve seen on the halftime show before and as you known, we’ve seen a lot of things on this stage over the years,” said Adam Harter, PepsiCo’s senior vice president of marketing for media, sports and entertainment.
Sunday will mark The Weeknd’s first public performance since being snubbed from Grammy nominations last year.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Kansas City Chiefs will compete for the Super Bowl championship on Sunday February 7.
