The Weeknd's Super Bowl LV halftime show features string of smash hits

By Angeline Jane Bernabe

The Weeknd headlined Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime show and kept everyone on their feet.

After weeks of top-secret pre-production for the iconic halftime show, the singer delivered a performance featuring some of his top hit songs, including “The Hills” and “I Feel It Coming.”

Mike Ehrmann/Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

The Weeknd performs during halftime of the NFL Super Bowl 55 football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Feb. 7, 2021, in Tampa, Fla.

Starting with chart topper “Starboy” from his 2016 album, The Weeknd opened the show from the top of the stands, which were designed to look like a city skyline, in the Raymond James Stadium.

.@TheWeeknd kicks off the #PepsiHalftime show with Starboy! #SBLV pic.twitter.com/DFAi1LNtNl

— NFL (@NFL) February 8, 2021

After singing a snippet of his song, “The Hills,” The Weeknd shifted his performance to inside the stands, which was transformed into a mirrored set filled with bright lights for his song, “Can’t Feel My Face.”

🔥🔥🔥 @TheWeeknd #PepsiHalftime #SBLV pic.twitter.com/QCFlAPcion

— NFL (@NFL) February 8, 2021

Last week during a press conference, the singer mentioned that his performance would consist of using the entire stadium, due to the limited capacity for guests.

“We kind of built the stage within the stadium,” he said. “We’re also using the field as well, but we wanted to kind of do something that we’ve never done before.”

Then, after wrapping up a rendition of “Earned It,” dancers dressed in his iconic red blazer and bandaged face from his “After Hours” album marched on the field for an electrifying number of his hit, “Blinding Lights.”

BLINDING LIGHTS 🙌 @TheWeeknd #PepsiHalftime #SBLV pic.twitter.com/Qv9yyW8wED

— NFL (@NFL) February 8, 2021

The Weeknd, who is the first Canadian to headline the halftime show solo and is known for some of his edgy imagery promoting his latest album, “After Hours,” took a step back from that theme, because he said he wanted to be “respectful to viewers at home.”

“I will still incorporate some of the storyline,” he said last week during the halftime press conference ahead of Super Bowl LV. “It’s a very cohesive story I’ve been telling throughout this era … and so the story will continue, but definitely want to keep it PG for the families.”