The Weeknd performed during the Super Bowl 55 halftime concert, a 13-minute set which included hits "Blinding Lights" and "Save Your Tears."
Twitter had thoughts on the parade of backup dancers who shadowed The Weeknd while wearing masks.
Former Surgeon General Jerome Adams tweeted, "I did like the mask wearing and the social distancing at the #SuperBowl halftime show. Well done!" adding jokingly in a separate tweet that the look was not effective in preventing COVID-19."I'm not too sure about the jock strap face masks though."
The Weeknd's so-called "After Hours" look, named after his latest album, started with a bloodied face, modeled after the album's cover. It then progressed to bandages covering his entire face, like someone might appear after having dramatic plastic surgery. He recently told Variety the bandages were a reflection of "the absurd culture of Hollywood celebrity and people manipulating themselves for superficial reasons to please and be validated."
And in case you were wondering: He likely DID NOT get paid to perform for the biggest audience of the year.
Reps for Pepsi and The Weeknd both declined to officially answer that question, but ever Super Bowl halftime performer, from Beyoncé to Bruno Mars, has essentially worked for free. If anything, they’re reportedly paid what’s called “union scale,” which is “a fraction of the six- and seven-figure sums” they rake in for a normal tour or performance.
So worth it, though, since they could get as many as 104 million sets of eyeballs on them, at no cost to them (although Abel kicked in $7 mil of his own money). It usually leads to a big spike in sales and streams.
Last year’s halftime performers, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira, collectively sold 21,000 song downloads after they played the Super Bowl — an increase of 893% from the previous day.
Sources: Page Six, Twitter, USA Today.
Photo Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for TW.