Grammy Award-Winning singer “The Weeknd” took over the Super Bowl with a colorful high-energy halftime show.
The Weeknd made history as the first Canadian artist to headline the Super Bowl half-time show as a solo performer and created a visual storyline from start to finish.
He admitted to the NFL network that having another performer would not fit his narrative.
“There wasn’t any room to fit it in the narrative, in the story I was telling in the performance. So yeah, there’s no special guests,” he said.
.@TheWeeknd kicks off the #PepsiHalftime show with Starboy! #SBLV pic.twitter.com/DFAi1LNtNl
— NFL (@NFL) February 8, 2021
For his opening number, Star Boy, he was backed by a hoard of futuristic robots to a playful rendition of, “I can’t feel my face” inside a golden fun house flanked by dancing mummies.
The Weeknd told Billboard Magazine that he invested $7million of his own money to create the lavish set that took over the entire stadium.
“Due to the COVID, and for the safety of the players and the workers, we built a stage within the stadium,” he said. “And we’re also using the field as well. But we wanted to do something that we’ve never done before.”
Fans were quick to take to social media and congratulate the singer for his iconic performance, with some saying that it was the greatest halftime show of all time.
That was, hands down, the greatest & most creative Super Bowl Halftime Show I’ve seen in years ? Well done, @theweeknd | #SBLV #PepsiHalftime #theweeknd pic.twitter.com/6cqoVpLlKp
— Kyle Balzer (@KyleBalzer) February 8, 2021
But not everyone was sold.
Some criticized the singer’s style choices and compared the face masks that the dancers wore to jockstraps.
Worst halftime show. Ever. Motion sick and frustrated. Bad lighting, poor mask planning, on and off, just not my fav. I like The Weekend but not this way. ?♀️ pic.twitter.com/z0q4QsTwnZ
— Arielle Phoenix ???????❤️☯️ (@PhoenixArielle) February 8, 2021
Did Jordan Peele direct The Weekend’s #SuperBowl halftime show? pic.twitter.com/EHG20pJpHd
— Tsilavo Ratsimba… (@tsilavoRAT) February 8, 2021
What did you think about the Weeknd’s performance? Sound off in the comments section below.