Weeknd performs at the Super Bowl halftime show.
Kevin Mazur / Getty Images for TW
The Super Bowl transcends football. Some people who didn’t care about the game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom “Big Coat” Brady against defending champion Kansas City Chiefs and QB Patrick Mahomes tuned only to the Grammy-winning singer ‘s interval show, The Weeknd. They were presented with a special effects show that included hits like The Hills, Can’t Feel My Face and Blinding Lights and drew mixed reviews from viewers.
Weeknd did not sport the bandages and bloody face makeup that it wore in some recent appearances, although a field full of dancers wore mummy bandages on their faces. And his set stretched from the stands to the field, and included a sequence full of mirrors that made it look like he was singing at a carnival fun house.
Before the game, The Weeknd said he was excited to act.
“We all grew up watching the greatest artists in the world playing the Super Bowl and we can only dream of being in that position,” the singer said in a statement. “I am humble, honored and ecstatic to be the center of this infamous stage this year.”
Ready for Weeknd: Who is he?
Born in Toronto, the son of Ethiopian immigrant parents, The Weeknd (real name: Abel Tesfaye) started his career the 21st century way – uploading music to YouTube in 2010.
According to Grammy.com, he chose his stage name because he dropped out of high school and left “a weekend and never (came back) home”. His stage name is missing an “e” because there was already a Canadian band known as The Weekend.
He has since won three Grammys, eight Billboard Music Awards, five American Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards and nine Juno Awards. He appeared as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live three times. His last appearance on the SNL was in March 2020, just before the pandemic stopped most things. In this show, he surprised the audience with a bandaged face, but the look was part of the performance.
“The meaning of all the bandages on the head is reflected in the absurd culture of Hollywood celebrities and in people who manipulate themselves for superficial reasons to please and be validated,” he told Variety in a provocative and mysterious interview. (The New York Post has a long timeline of the singer’s bloody look.)
What he delivered
He did not use the bandages at the Super Bowl show, or in a 30-second ad for his performance at the break. In it, he is dressed in an all black outfit, complete with leather jacket and shiny shoes, and is seen walking through the tunnel of a stadium towards the field.
At a 10-minute press conference, The Weeknd confirmed that it invested its own money to get only the Super Bowl sets it wants. Although the game’s organizers cover all production costs, the singer invested $ 7 million to “make this halftime show what he imagined,” his manager told Billboard.
Previous Super Bowl artists included special guests on their show, but as befits a year of social detachment, The Weeknd had no other artists joining him.
COVID-19 changes
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, new health and safety guidelines are in effect for the entire event. Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium usually seats more than 65,000 people, but due to pandemic restrictions, only about 25,000 fans attended the game, including 7,500 vaccinated health professionals who received free tickets.
And fans are socially distant in “seating,” reports People magazine. They will also need to wear masks, receive free hand sanitizer and pay for food or souvenirs with contactless payment options.
How to watch
The Super Bowl will air on CBS on Sunday, February 7, at 6:30 pm ET (3:30 pm PT), and will be broadcast live free on the CBS Sports app, on mobile devices and on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. The NFL and Yahoo Sports mobile apps will also stream the game for free on phones and tablets.
CBSSports.com will stream the game on its website without requiring pay TV authentication. Mobile apps for CBS Sports, the NFL app and Yahoo Sports will also stream the game for free on phones and tablets.
Those who wish to watch on TV will be able to do so with the CBS Sports app on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV. Other options include AirPlaying from an iOS device or Chromecasting to an Android TV or Google Chromecast streaming dongle from an Android phone or tablet. If all of that doesn’t work, you can connect a computer to the TV’s HDMI port.
YouTube TV costs $ 65 a month and includes all the channels that NFL fans need: CBS, ESPN and NFL Network. Enter your zip code on the welcome page to see what local networks are available in your area.
FuboTV costs $ 65 a month for your Family plan and includes CBS plus ESPN and the NFL Network to keep up with all the pre-Super Bowl fun. Click here to see what local channels you get.
Looking for more ways to watch? We have a long explanation of the various ways to get CBS or other services to display the game on our Watching the post.
More Super Bowl songs
Although he had no guests during his performance, The Weeknd was not the only famous singer in the Super Bowl.
Miley Cyrus brought Billy Idol and Joan Jett to the stage during an iconic pre-show. The national anthem before the game was a duet performed by Grammy nominees Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church. Before the anthem, the Grammy-winning singer HER sang America the Beautiful.
There will be even more music after the game. Verizon is hosting Big Concert for Small Business, a live musical event broadcast by Tiffany Haddish and featuring artists such as Alicia Keys, Brandi Carlile, Christina Aguilera, Luke Bryan and Miley Cyrus, plus more from HER, Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church .
The show will be broadcast on Verizon’s Twitter, TikTok, Twitch and YouTube channels, as well as on Yahoo, Fios and iHeartRadio, starting after the game at 8pm PT. Organizers are encouraging fans to make a $ 10 donation to support small businesses by sending a text message to SMALLBIZ for 20222.
CNET’s Matt Elliott and Eli Blumenthal contributed to this story.
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