On  Feb. 8, The Weeknd performed at the Super Bowl for the Pepsi-sponsored halftime show. Although The Weeknd’s music has sold tens of millions of albums, his performance at the halftime show was less than expected. 

The Weeknd is a multi-millionaire with four albums, three mixtapes, one extended play record, three compilation albums, 43 singles and had 2020’s second best-selling song. His tour was canceled at the beginning of 2020 due to COVID-19, but when it was announced he would be performing at the 55th Super Bowl, fans were ecstatic. Many fans were speculating whether or not The Weeknd would bring out any surprise guests, but he denied it. 

The show started with The Weeknd being suspended in the air in a car. The music started to play as an angel-like creature flew down from the sky. The angel landed in a bleacher like group with other people all dressed in white robes with red, glowing eyes. 

The bleachers then opened up, and The Weeknd walked backstage into a hallway surrounded by mirrors and bright lights. He grabbed the camera and started to run around with it. This was considered weird by many fans online. People have already started to make memes about it. The walls opened up, and men in red suits with bandages around their faces surrounded The Weeknd in the hallway as he was singing “Can’t Feel My Face.” The men started to bump into each other and The Weeknd in a bizarre dance-like fashion. This entire hallway sequence was extremely bizarre to some. 

“It was strange because they were not socially distancing and they kinda looked intoxicated,” sophomore Kyler Brown said. 

Next, The Weeknd appeared at the top of the stage singing “I Feel It Coming.” When he got to the main chorus of the song, fireworks started to go off in the background. He then moved into his song “Save Your Tears.” As he sang this song, pyrotechnics started to go off in the background much like the previous song. He stood above a structured city with backup dancers marching around the bleachers. 

Violinists started to play as he moved into his next song, “Earned It.” He entered the bottom of the stage by the mirrored hallway. Lights flashed behind him and the song came to a close with the lights dim and The Weeknd’s silhouette on the stage. 

The performance ended with The Weeknd and his backup dancers on the field dancing to “House Of Balloons/Glass Table Girls” and 2020’s number two song of the year, “Blinding Lights.”

Many felt the performance was good and somewhat worth the watch, but that it wasn’t his best work. 

“It was kinda all over the place, but the songs were good,” sophomore said Jordan Lizzi.