Super Bowl halftime show 2021: Reviews on The Weeknd's performance

Jordan Heck

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Super Bowl halftime show 2021: Reviews on The Weeknd's performance image

The Weeknd will be performing during the Super Bowl 55 halftime show , and it should be quite the performance.

The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, has had a cinematic roleout of his latest album, "After Hours." He's had a developing theme throughout his music videos for the album, each telling its own story. The Weeknd is known for his creative nature in presenting his music, in addition to his incredible vocals.

That's why the singer is putting up $7 million of his own money into making this Super Bowl performance "be what he envisioned," per Billboard . 

MORE: Everything to know about The Weeknd's songs and more

"We've been really focusing on dialing in on the fans at home and making performances a cinematic experience, and we want to do that with the Super Bowl," he told Billboard.

Another element to the show is the fact The Weeknd will be performing solo. In the past, the Super Bowl halftime show has had one main performer, with a number of appearances from other artists. But The Weeknd didn't want to go away from his vision.

"I've been reading a lot of rumors," he told NFL Network leading up to the event. "There wasn't any room to fit it in the narrative and the story I was telling in the performance. So there's no special guests, no."

The Weeknd told Billboard he expect the performance to last around 12-13 minutes.

MORE: The best, worst Super Bowl halftime performances of all time


Super Bowl halftime show live blog

8:40 p.m.: And that's a wrap for the halftime show.

8:37 p.m.: And as we all expected, "Blinding Lights" make an appearance.

8:36 p.m.: We get our first song from the Triology era. The Weeknd played a rendition of "House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls." He also brought out a bunch of look-alikes on the field with him.

8:33 p.m.: Aother classic from The Weeknd, he started playing "Earned It" from the "Fifty Shades of Grey" movie. It's somewhat interesting that The Weeknd has only been playing a few moments of each song. He hasn't really dived too deep into any song in particular.

8:32 p.m.: And as soon as I say that, he plays "Save Your Tears" from "After Hours."

8:31 p.m.: A somewhat surprising addition, The Weeknd played "I Feel It Coming." So far he's played no tracks off of his newest album "After Hours."

8:30 p.m.: And of course, The Weeknd includes "Can't Feel My Face." 

8:28 p.m.: Second song of the night is "The Hills."

8:27 p.m.: The Weeknd begins his performance with "Starboy."

8:25 p.m.: The show has begun.

8:15 p.m.: We've now hit halftime, so The Weeknd will be performing soon. While you're here, here's why his name is spelled The Weeknd and not The Weekend .

Super Bowl halftime show reviews

Jordan Heck

Jordan Heck Photo

Jordan Heck is a Social Media Producer at Sporting News. Before working here, he was a Digital Content Producer at The Indianapolis Star. He graduated with a degree from Indiana University.