Trending 8th February 2021 by Denise Curtin

The Weeknd Broke This Super Bowl Tradition With His Performance Last Night

The spotlight was firmly focused on the Starboy performer during last night's interval.

 

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A prestigious slot and a testament to just how far he has come as an artist, The Weeknd, also known as Abel Tesfaye took centre stage last night for the halftime show at Super Bowl LV.

During his performance, The Weeknd looked back on his music from the beginning to present day, highlighting his greatest hits like most artists do and wowing fans with one serious set display.

For this year’s show, things were a little bit different due to the ongoing pandemic. Firstly, with the Super Bowl show having reduced capacity, the set design was a little different, meaning that one of The Weeknd’s stages was actually held within the stands for the first time ever.

Due to strict Coronavirus protocols, The Weeknd ended up having to perform a large portion of the show from the stands, something which is a first for the game’s 55 year history.

Focusing predominantly on the music, The Weeknd let his vocals do the talking, putting an estimated $5 million of his own money into the production and releasing a greatest hits album to coincide with the performance.

Unlike shows in previous years, the Can’t Feel My Face singer also had no support acts. Besides his array of two dozen dancers, The Weeknd performed alone.

And so, performing solely, the star’s 12-minute performance was shorter than many that usually take the coveted role, but given the circumstances, The Weeknd did one seriously good job; surprising many.

 

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Those who believed his music would be an ill-fit for the usual bubblegum pop halftime slot, Abel proved that he could make it work. And those who didn’t like it were either expecting more or disappointed by the lack of surprise guests.

A moment from his performance last night has also become a viral meme, see below.

 

Performing at last night’s Super Bowl was also Miley Cyrus, taking stage for the pre show. Inviting out 80s rockers Joan Jett and Billy Idol – both who contribute to Miley’s recent alum Plastic Hearts – for a series of duets.

 

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Miley sang her 2009 hit Party in the USA, giving a shout-out to fellow pop star Britney Spears during the performance and following the new documentary about her conservatorship. Miley said: “We love Britney!”

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