The Super Bowl transcends football. Many people who are not sports fans tune in to check the legendary commercials, the movie trailers, the general show and the Pepsi-sponsored intermission show full of stars. This year’s game takes place in Tampa, Florida, with hometown Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom “Big Coat” Brady facing defending champions Kansas City Chiefs and QB Patrick Mahomes. Grammy-winning singer The Weeknd is the title, and the musician is excited to play.
“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 is expected?
We don’t know if The Weeknd will show facial bandages in the big game, but he won’t use them in a 30-second ad in his intermission presentation. 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. He certainly had to be creative with the performance, which usually happens right in the middle of the football field – but it could be different this year.
“Because of COVID and the safety of the players and the workers, we built the stage inside the stadium … I will not say anything else because you will have to watch it on Sunday.”
When a local Tampa reporter asked if The Weeknd would incorporate the pirate ship embedded in the stadium, he said he would, in some way, but did not reveal details. The 103-foot ship is located in the far north and was made by the same company that makes the Disney props. Their cannons fire when the Buccaneers home team scores points, and an animatronic parrot often talks to fans.
Previous Super Bowl artists included special guests in their show, but as it suits a year of social detachment, The Weeknd said he would have no other artist to join him.
COVID-19 changes
In the past, fans were part of the halftime show, surrounding artists on the pitch like a real club show. Don’t expect this this year.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, new health and safety guidelines will be in effect for the entire event. Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium usually accommodates more than 65,000 people, but due to the pandemic restrictions, only about 25,000 fans will attend the game, including 7,500 vaccinated health professionals who received free tickets.
And fans will be socially distant in “sitting places”, 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.
Search YouTube if you lose the game
Last year’s heavy dance show featured Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. Immediately after the show, the NFL posted the entire 14-minute presentation on YouTube for free viewing. It looks like the league will once again post this year’s show on the NFL YouTube account right after the break, and we’ll link to it here if they do.
Here’s last year’s program while we wait:
More Super Bowl songs
Although he has no guests during his performance, The Weeknd will not be the only famous singer performing at the Super Bowl. The national anthem before the game will be a duet performed by Grammy nominees Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church.
Before the anthem, the Grammy-winning singer HER will sing America the Beautiful.
And there will be 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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