Nick Krewen
Special to the Star
Touchdown!
True to his word, Scarborough R&B superstar The Weeknd delivered a Super Bowl LV spectacle during the half-time show at Raymond James Stadium.
Using hundreds of extras, a 40-piece choir, and enough fireworks to put July 4thcelebrations to shame, one of the world’s biggest artists provided a dazzling performance that was glitzy and glamorous, and continued the cinematic theme of “The Character” he’s been using during the arc of promotional videos released for his latest smash album, After Hours.
Abel Tesfaye, rumoured to have put $7 million of his own money into the performance, certainly didn’t chintz out on production values : the eye-popping opening seconds of his just-under-14-minute performance featured an “angel” descending from heaven to join a masked 40-piece male choir with glowing eyes awash in blue light.
Suddenly there was a part in the stage, and The Weeknd appeared in his “Character” costume – a sparkling red jacket, black shirt, tie and slacks with white-toned shoes – to perform his hit “Starboy,” before transitioning to another chart-topping hit, “The Hills.”
From there, the first Canadian to headline a solo Super Bowl half-time show walked into a glittery funhouse full of about 20 to 30 fully-bandaged “Characters” as he delved into “Can’t Feel My Face,” only to emerge in another part of the stadium against a Tampa Bay city façade to perform “I Feel It Coming” as fireworks shot into the sky.
Another minute-and-a-half was spent with a masked band as he performed “Save Your Tears,” and then the orchestra appeared, violins accompanying Tesfaye as he crooned a shortened, but sweeping version of “Earned It,” co-written by fellow Torontonian Stephan Moccio.
The last portion of The Weeknd’s show took place on the field, again with hundreds of bandaged dancers marching up the field, as he ended the evening dipping deeper into his catalogue with “House of Balloons” before jumping into an energetic rendition of “Blinding Lights,” to finish off the evening.
On a day where Toronto Mayor John Tory proclaimed February 7 “The Weeknd Day” in the city, Abel Tesfaye did Canadians proud, performing his first concert before an audience of 20,000 since a Japan concert in 2018.
In Tampa Bay, they were screaming for more.
Most impressive, The Weeknd, in fine vocal form, did it without the prop of surprise guests.
To pull it off in front of an estimated 100 million TV viewers in the dramatic but tasteful fashion that he did, made Super Bowl LV all that more memorable and made Canada proud.