At the very least, choose a new color.
Photo: The Weeknd / YouTube
When Weeknd was conceptualizing his fourth studio album, After hours, inspired by Martin Scorsese’s film of the same name, he probably did not imagine that he would be stuck in a perpetual cycle of album release. The first single, “Heartless”, came out in November 2019 and started the turbulent story, but since the album was released on March 20, 2020, the rest of the project has become synonymous with our hell. “This character is having a really bad night – all these videos are happening in one night – and you can come up with your own interpretation of what it is,” said Weeknd Variety Last April. In a show, the story can unfold and make perfect sense: the sad man self-destructs. Simple. But through several flashy high-concept performances and music videos released over the course of a year while we all faced an overwhelming new reality? AN small difficult to follow. “It’s all a progression, and we see the character’s storyline reaching high levels of danger and absurdity as his story continues,” Weeknd tried his best to explain earlier this week. Instead, that red suit has haunted us for some of the worst moments in recent memory, even when the songs have gone viral megahits. With Weeknd’s Super Bowl halftime performance dropping this Sunday and his world tour postponed to 2022, when will we (and his stylists) be free? Here is a retrospective of the costume’s cursed history before its debut at the Super Bowl LV.
November 27, 2019: Ah, the launch of the fuckboy anthem “Heartless”. Looking at this photo brings back fond memories of daily trips, small talk in the office and fresh air – all that the red suit doesn’t evoke today.
December 6 – 7, 2019: The Weeknd presents its new singles on consecutive nights of The last show with Stephen Colbert, taking dance steps straight from Clown. On the second night (shot in black and white, so you don’t realize that he repeated his outfit), he asks the crowd to sing “Blinding Lights”. Sometimes it is good to remember that the world has always been so cruel.
January 21, 2020: The video for “Blinding Lights” was released in January 2020, and we haven’t known peace since. Coincidence?
January 23, 2020: He packs his red suit and takes it to Los Angeles to perform at the Jimmy Kimmel Live! What a romance.
March 4, 2020: The Weeknd launches After hours, the short film. In it, he leaves the stage at Jimmy Kimmel Live! and immediately start to lose it. I didn’t expect to feel visa.
March 20, 2020: The album is released, featuring its bloody nose and red suit on the cover.
April 7, 2020: Confirmed, the costume actually makes an appearance in the intoxication simulation that causes nausea which is the video clip for “Until I Bleed”. Good time, it seems, since cities have been closed and nights of drinking are a thing of the past.
August 30, 2020: The country used the summer to debate civil rights once again, but in August, the red suit was dry-cleaned and ready for its close-up at the MTV Video Music Awards. “Blinding Lights” also had a great TikTok dance during that time, but the suit wouldn’t be caught doing that.
September 18, 2020: The “character in the red suit”, as he calls him on Instagram, covers Rolling Stone. “Weeknd’s endless summer”, warns the cover.
November 23, 2020: After hours gives Weeknd three AMAs, but his face is too bandaged to enjoy it. Everything will be worth it for the Grammy, he probably thought.
December 4, 2020: He’s wearing the red suit in the video for the remix of “Blinding Lights” with Rosalía, but let’s be honest, no one is looking at it. Another season of “Blinding Lights”. Maybe that’s how we count the time now.
December 10, 2020: As a gift from the Jingle Ball, he abandoned his suit, gloves and bandages entirely for a special presentation in the living room. It almost looks suspiciously normal.
January 5, 2021: His latest music video, “Save Your Tears”, reveals Unsuccessful Weeknd. Instead of a bloody face, he turned into Handsome Squidward, just in case his other recent videos haven’t traumatized fans enough.
February 3, 2021: The After hours the tour continues … in 2022. We have felt this pain before. Like the man in the red suit, are we too stuck in place, fighting for peace in a universe with the intention of destroying ourselves until we are unrecognizable?
February 5, 2021: Weeknd may have gone all black for the Super Bowl press conference, but the red suit (shiny edition) is in the front and center of the field in Pepsi’s new announcement for the halftime show. When will Weeknd leave us and, more importantly, the man in the red suit rest?