The Weeknd pulled out all the stops for its highly anticipated Super Bowl 2021 halftime show. He arrived on a set that appeared to have a Vegas-style skyline next to a choir wearing red goggles (like a bunch of moth people). Check out the performance below.
He opened with “Starboy” and “The Hills”. When he was doing “Can’t Feel My Face,” he walked into a narrow, mirrored corridor, accompanied by a group of people whose faces were linked. He reappeared on “I Feel It Coming” and “Save Your Tears”. A string section joined him for “Earned It”. The Weeknd and its dancers took to the field for “House of Balloons” (yes – a Siouxsie and the Banshees sample played in the Super Bowl) and then a massive performance of “Blinding Lights”.
The Weeknd revealed in the days leading up to the Super Bowl that his performance would have “no special guests.” The singer reportedly put $ 7 million of his own money into the production cost of the performance, which took place in the arena bleachers, as opposed to the usual on-field stage that has been introduced in previous years. As detailed in a New York Times report last week, production on the year’s halftime show was significantly smaller, employing “a fraction of the workforce” that is normally required to make it happen.
Earlier that night, HER played America the Beautiful while Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church sang the national anthem. Below is a sketch James Corden made with the Weeknd about the halftime show.
In the early evening, Jazmine Sullivan and Eric Church sang the national anthem, and HER played America the Beautiful.
