In a spectacle that started in the stands and then entered the stadium before taking over the entire field, The Weeknd performed high-octane hits of his Halftime Super Bowl LV show. While everything went seemingly flawlessly, the Grammy-winning artist still drew a lot of attention on social media.
He was the only artist.
Twitter users immediately got down to creating memes comparing different aspects of the set – from the backup dancers who looked like robots in the stands to the golden room in which The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye is, his hit sang. song “Can’t Feel My Face”, for the dancers who took over the entire field for the final.
The R&B singer’s set continued the storyline of his ‘After Hours’ character. It started with Tesfaye in a sparkly red jacket – continuing the visuals inspired by his “After Hours” character and previous award show performances – backed by a large choir with glowing eyes. While many thought it was scary, the series also resulted in memes from Star Wars’ Jawas and C-3PO:
At one point, Tesfaye appeared to be entering the stadium, swinging through a golden maze of mirrors and performing a dizzying sequence. More memes and comparisons came in:
Towards the end of “Can’t Feel My Face,” The Weeknd was joined by dancers dressed identically, except for the bandages around their heads. He took to the field and turned what would normally have been a space full of fans into one big dance party. When his hit “Blinded by the Lights” began playing, the backup dancers created even more fodder for social media, with many tweeters wondering if the artist was trying to make a statement, including former surgeon general Jerome Adams:
Others gave more pop culture references:
Mummies were called:
And other characters:
The Weeknd spent $ 7 million of its own money – more than what the NFL spent – to produce the halftime show. The competition also released a live visual album featuring the entire set, along with pre-game performances of HER’s “America The Beautiful” and Jazmine Sullivan’s and Eric Church’s “Star Spangled Banner”.
