The Weeknd Explains Why He Sometimes Performs With Bandages On His Face
The Weeknd hinted that he has a surprise for fans watching his Super Bowl LV halftime show. If recent history serves as an indication, that could mean performing while wearing bandages on his face.
The singer, whose real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, has been tapped as the lead halftime performer of Sunday’s game and has indicated that the show would involve more than just singing. This week, he revealed that the performance would tell a “very cohesive story,” but didn’t go into any more detail as to what that might mean. Instead, the singer said he would leave it up to fans to interpret.
“Hopefully they can pick up some of their own theories and conclusions of what the show is saying and the story I’m telling from the performance,” he said, as reported by Entertainment Tonight.
In some recent appearances, The Weeknd has told a story through the use of some jarring images. During an appearance at the 2020 American Music Awards and previously during a Saturday Night Live appearance, he had his head fully covered by bandages.
The AMA appearance led to some viral interest, with the singer’s name shooting to the top of Twitter’s trends, and many fans wondered if he had been in some kind of accident that left him seriously injured. But as Cosmopolitan reported, it was actually part of a narrative he had created surrounding the song “Blinding Lights.”
“Before you spiral, The Weeknd is not injured. A bloodied and/or injured face is part of his promotional look for After Hours—and it’s hardly the first time we’ve seen it. The Weeknd has face injuries in the video for ‘Blinding Lights,’ and he also wore bloody face makeup for an SNL performance and during the VMAs,” the report noted. “So nope, this is not new.”
In an interview with Esquire, The Weeknd explained that the song is about a person who is driving to see someone at night, but they are intoxicated and blinded by streetlights. He said that the song has a “dark undertone.”
The Weeknd said this week that due to the coronavirus restriction in place at Raymond James Stadium, he had to build a stage that stretched across the space for the halftime performance. He said that they would be using different parts of the facility, including the iconic pirate ship that fires cannons after the Buccaneers score touchdowns during regular season games.
