The 30-year-old singer entered the stadium in style, rocking a bedazzled red jacket, black pants and matching gloves, much like the signature outfit he’s been wearing for over a year in promotion of his massively successful fourth studio album.
Throughout the halftime show, The Weeknd performed a medley of his most famous hits, beginning with “Call Out My Name.” A full choir dressed in white robes were in the stands, singing along to the emotional track.
Next up, The Weeknd performed “Starboy” and “The Hills,” as lights lit up with words like “alone,” “touch,” and “rough times” shined bright in the background.
The Weeknd’s cryptic After Hours era — from his physical transformations to his epic awards show performances — led to plenty of speculation about what his Super Bowl performance might look like. But nearly every detail of the halftime experience was kept under wraps until the big game.
“We’ve been really focusing on dialing in on the fans at home and making performances a cinematic experience, and we want to do that with the Super Bowl,” the performer told Billboard of the upcoming show.
Then, during his NFL press conference ahead of the big game, The Weeknd addressed reports that he put $7 million of his own money into his halftime show, as well as his creative inspiration when it came to crafting a unique performance at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
“Due to COVID-19 and for the safety of the players and the workers, we kind of built this stage within the stadium,” he explained. “We’re also using the field as well, but we wanted to kind of do something that we’ve never done before.”
ET’s Kevin Frazier also sat down with Super Bowl executive producer Jesse Collins to get the scoop on everything Super Bowl LV, including how The Weeknd planned to use the COVID-19 capacity limitations to his advantage during the halftime show.
“Instead of focusing on what we can’t do [due to the pandemic], it’s like, look at what the opportunities are because of the cards we’ve been dealt,” Collins explained. “The key word is ‘live,’ like, we didn’t go pre-tape this… It’s all happening in that stadium, in that moment.”
“We started creating this thing back in September. And the message of it really worked out,” he added. “The world worked out for the message that The Weeknd wants to communicate in this performance. It’s really going to be just fun, you know? Just a little over 13 minutes to just enjoy yourself.”
