The danceable production contrasts this beautifully to paint a picture of someone who knows they are struggling, but refuses to seek help due to their persona and the expectations it has brought on them. Sure, the sound of the records would be conducive to a club atmosphere, or notably a Super Bowl halftime show, but the astute listener would be treated to a much darker experience dealing with depression, drug abuse and relationship trauma.Įven The Weeknd’s biggest hits, “The Hills,” “Can’t Feel My Face” and “Blinding Lights,” all deal with these same issues, most notably Tesfaye’s struggles with addiction. Starting from his first album, Trilogy, a compilation of his original three 2011 mixtapes, it was clear that Abel would not be making mindless music. The generation who grew up on Katy Perry, The Black Eyed Peas or The Jonas Brothers became familiarized with pop nearly exclusively from their middle school and high school dances, not from lying awake carefully listening to the lyrics of albums dealing with real life problems, and especially not terrifying philosophical problems.Ībel Tesfaye, better known by his stage name/public persona The Weeknd, changed all of that. He showed how far people would go to make themselves look “better” and although many people did not pick up on it right away, the message has most definitely been conveyed since.Īs time goes on, I’m sure he will continue to receive a lot of backlash from other celebrities who have these procedures done but after a great performance mixed with his powerful message, I think he should have gained respect from many fans around the world.When thinking about genres that are conducive to a concept album that can genuinely be considered a masterpiece, it is incredibly unlikely that pop, let alone dance pop, comes to mind. It definitely takes a lot of guts to speak up and make a statement about a topic that many other celebrities would take offense to. His message was clearly made as it completely altered his appearance. He later explained that the bandages represented the absurd culture where stars are manipulating themselves in order to be validated.Įarlier this year, The Weeknd “revealed” his surgery in his music video for “Save Your Tears.” His fans were stunned as it seemed so real, but it was makeup. Much to the surprise of the audience, he looked the exact same as before.
Little did I know that there was much more meaning behind them.Īt the 2020 American Music Awards, The Weeknd wore these bandages on his face acting like he got plastic surgery. In years past, there was usually a defining moment like a background dancer doing the completely wrong moves or a random kid taking a selfie with the artist.Īfter doing a little research and seeing the symbolism behind some of the costumes, I instantly gained respect for him, and you should too.ĭuring his performance, his background dancers were wearing bandages that covered their faces and I originally thought that those were just for Covid purposes. My initial reaction to the performance was that it was definitely a little weird and there was nothing that really stuck out to me.
The 2021 Halftime Show was done by current pop and hip hop star, The Weeknd. Whether you like football or not, the Super Bowl Halftime Show is something that almost everyone across the country tunes into.
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