The Weeknd is finally facing the music after shocking the audience with its constantly evolving face.
Fans questioned the singer’s appearance for more than a year, as he was seen with variations of a bloody and bruised face on his “After Hours” album, long before his much-vaunted performance at the Super Bowl 2021 break.
But the singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, warned from the beginning that it was a character he created for the fourth studio album.
“There is also a very committed vision and character being portrayed, and I can explore a different side of me that my fans have never seen,” he revealed in an interview with CR Fashion Book in March 2020. Having just turned 30 – his birthday is February 16th – he said the album in its entirety served as an “introduction to the next chapter of my life.”
However, in the hours leading up to his performance on the day of the big game – The Weeknd really broke: “The meaning of all the bandages on the head is reflected in the absurd culture of Hollywood celebrities and people manipulating themselves for superficial reasons to please and be validated, ”he explained to Variety. “It’s all a progression and we see the character’s storyline reach high levels of danger and absurdity as his story continues.”
The facial saga started in the video “Heartless”, released in December 2019, when his character in the red suit had a wild night in Las Vegas. But things take a dark turn in “Blinding Lights”, their second single, which starts where “Heartless” left off. It is also the first time that he debuted the disfigured face that worried fans.
But those who thought The Weeknd’s terrifying performance art would be a unique statement turned out to be wrong. Here’s a timeline of The Weeknd’s turnaround.
January 2020: “Blinding Lights” video
The video “Blinding Lights”, which debuted in January, marked the first of many occasions of shock and awe for the singer.
Wearing what would become his signature new uniform – a red suit over a black button-down shirt -, his face looks bloody after a fall and an altercation staged in the video. He reproduced the look for a performance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” at the end of January.
At the time, fans had no idea about this macabre persona. But the singer later explained the dark significance of the track to Esquire in August: “’Blinding Lights’ [is about] how you want to see someone at night, and you are drunk, and you are driving to that person and you are blinded by the street lights. But nothing could stop you from trying to see that person, because you are very alone. I don’t want to promote drunk driving, but that’s the dark tone. “
March 2020: film “After Hours”, video “SNL” and “In Your Eyes”
Eventually, The Weeknd explained that this was a recurring character in all “After Hours” videos, including the short film.
“This character is having a really bad night – all of these videos are happening in one night – and you can come up with your own [sic] interpretation of what it is, ”he told Variety.
“[In the ‘After Hours’ short film,] we have this guy going through a complete breakdown, which looks like a possession – I’m being dragged by an invisible force across the subway. Is it possessed or just broken? “
While The Weeknd debuts their new song “Scared To Live” on “Saturday Night Live”, it was the first time that fans saw their new “look” – a bloody face with a bandage over their nose – in the flesh. But the scratching look, also seen while he sang “Blinding Lights”, was exclusively for his musical performances, and he chose to get rid of the blood while working on sketches.
However, he donned the suit during “SNL” rehearsals. “I forget that I sometimes wear this,” he said of his makeup.
He followed his show “SNL” with a video for “In Your Eyes” (with Kenny G), which contained a warning at the beginning with graphic material.
April 2020: video “Until I Bleed Out”
Weeknd continued to inhabit the bloodstained character while maintaining his disturbing personality in yet another video clip, wearing the same red suit, and his cuts now showing horrible bruises – all achieved through ingenious makeup.
August 2020: MTV Video Music Awards
During a performance at Hudson Yards, he continued with the bloody aesthetic in the pre-recorded VMA segment. He also displayed the bloody mug while going to rehearsals in New York, scaring fans on the sidewalk while signing autographs.
November 2020: American Music Awards
When the AMAs appeared, The Weeknd became a mummy, adapting his cover with bandages and bruises because of blood, while receiving several awards and during his performance.
The following week, he started a series of events with Vevo, including live performances of “Faith”, “In Your Eyes” and “Alone Again” – all of which saw a return of the blood.
January 2021: video “Save Your Tears”
New year, new face? It turns out that blood was just the beginning for The Weeknd, who opted for a “plastic surgery” face for his video “Save Your Tears”. “But then you saw me, I took you by surprise,” he sang, shocking fans with what appeared to be a thinner nose, cheek implants, full lips and surgical scars.
Although the look was obtained through prostheses or CGI, he has previously worked with the makeup effects studio Prosthetic Renaissance, which posted about the transformation on social networks.
Fans speculated that the plump face was a mockery of his ex, Bella Hadid, 24, while others assumed it was a metaphor for being scorned at the Grammy Awards, for which he received no nominations this year.
But right after the video circulated on social media, confusing fans in the process, The Weeknd reminded us of his normal face in a Super Bowl ad.
February 2021: back to normal?
For The Weeknd, it’s all about “The Character”.
In promoting the Super Bowl in commercials, the singer has shown his true face and apparently got rid of the one that fans couldn’t stop talking about.
He even advised his fans “that being attractive is not important to me, but an attractive narrative is” in his revealing interview with Variety – and also explained why he is going back and forth between himself and “The Character” as he called him.
“Why not play with the character and the artist and let those lines blur and move?”