The 2021 Super Bowl kicked off last night (Feb 7) as the Kansas City Chiefs battled it out against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at their home ground in Florida for the 55th Super Bowl. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers were victorious.
This year it was the turn of The Weeknd to perform at the prestigious Halftime Show which in 2020, saw J-Lo and Shakira shake their thing to an audience of 104 million viewers. Watch his performance above.
Forgoing musical guests, The Weeknd’s only companions were hundreds of masked dancers dressed as him – red jacket, black driving gloves – who joined him on the football field for a final rendition of record-breaking single ‘Blinding Lights’. Comparisons have been drawn between Jordan Peele’s movie, ‘Us’ and the red and white costumes of ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’.
In a year absent of an in-stadium crowd of fans, the focus was on an impressive light show which saw Abel Tesfaye recreate a cityscape in lights, in keeping with the theme of his 2020 album ‘After Hours’.
Viewers have been quick to meme the ‘I Can’t Feel My Face’ section of the performance which saw The Weeknd in a corridor of lights, bumping into walls (and his dancers) as some close-up camera work followed him.
It’s been a big twelve months for The Weeknd, AKA Abel Tesfaye, with his 2020 song ‘Blinding Lights’ claiming the longest ever spot in the Billboard top five.
Despite his Grammy nomination snub, The Weeknd went all out for his Super Bowl Halftime Show, reportedly spending seven million dollars of his own money on the performance.
Clearly taking the role seriously, Tesfaye said of the performance: “We all grow up watching the world’s biggest acts playing the Super Bowl and one can only dream of being in that position. I’m humbled, honoured and ecstatic to be the centre of that infamous stage this year.”
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