The Weeknd Super Bowl Halftime Show: Watch the Meme-Worthy Performance

The Weeknd took the stage at Super Bowl LV Sunday night to headline the Pepsi Super Bowl Halftime Show in an amazing performance featuring a medley of his hits. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, this year’s halftime show was unlike any before, as were certain aspects of the game, which saw the Tampa Bay Buccanneers win against the Kansas City Chiefs 31-9.

The Grammy-winning artist, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, kicked off the performance in the stands accompanied by a choir with red light-up eyes with the title track from his 2016 album Starboy before transitioning into hits from different eras of his career, including “The Hills,” “I Feel It Coming” and “Blinding Lights,” the hit single from his latest album, After Hours. Wearing a red sparkly jacket that captured plenty of attention, The Weeknd‘s performance saw him wandering through a hall of mirrors during the track “Can’t Feel My Face,” with backup dancers with bandaged faces joining him. He eventually made his way to center field for the finale of the Halftime Show.

Unlike past halftime performances, The Weeknd’s show opted not to bring in special guests, the performer telling Kay Adams prior to the performance that “there wasn’t any room to fit it in the narrative in the story I was telling in the performance.” The story told was certainly spectacular, and while it left many viewers in awe, it also became perhaps the most meme-worthy moment of the night.

The Weeknd, who shelled out $7 million of his own money for the performance, was confirmed to be the Halftime Show performer back in November. At the time, he said he was “honored” to be selected to join the list of past halftime show performers, which include Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, who performed at Super Bowl 2020, and Justin Timberlake. He added, “We all grow up watching the world’s biggest acts playing the Super Bowl and one can only dream of being in that position. I’m humbled, honored and ecstatic to be the center of that infamous stage this year.”

The Weeknd was far from the only artist to perform on Sunday. Mile Cyrus headlined the NFL TikTok Tailgate, which took place just ahead of the big game. Meanwhile, H.E.R. performed the “America The Beautiful,” and Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church performed the “Star-Spangled Banner.”