10 Things We Want to See at the Weeknd's Super Bowl Performance

The Weeknd will be headlining the Super Bowl LV halftime show. From a Drake appearance to a 'Trilogy' montage, here are 10 things we want to see.

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Image via YouTube/the Weeknd

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It's official. The Weeknd is headlining the Super Bowl LV halftime show on Feb. 7, 2021.

After announcing the news on Thursday, he reflected on the moment in a press release, saying, “We all grow up watching the world’s biggest acts playing the Super Bowl and one can only dream of being in that position. I’m humbled, honored and ecstatic to be the center of that infamous stage this year.”

The performance will take place on the heels of a phenomenal year for the Weeknd in 2020. His fourth studio album, After Hours, was a massive commercial success, despite being released during a global pandemic that restricted him from pursuing in a traditional promotional cycle. And it was met with near-universal critical praise, considered by many as one of the very best albums of the year.

As soon as the performance was announced, we couldn’t help ourselves from imagining what Abel will do with the opportunity. How will he translate his explicit subject matter to a family-friendly stage? Will he bring out any special guests? What songs will he play? Here are 10 things we want to see at the Weeknd's Super Bowl performance.

Drake comes out for an OVOXO Reunion

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A political statement

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The world is watching, and the Weeknd has an opportunity to do more than just perform his biggest hits. This could be a chance for him to speak up about the current unrest and injustice that has reared its head throughout 2020. While some artists have opted to not speak on political topics during halftime, the Weeknd hasn’t been one to stray from political conversations. In the wake of national protests following the murders of Jacob Blake, George Floyd, and Breonna Taylor, the Weeknd donated $500,000 to organizations fighting for social justice. He also called on Spotify, Apple Music, Universal Music Group, and Sony to match his efforts. “To my fellow respected industry partners and execs, no one profits off of black music more than the labels and streaming services. I gave yesterday, and I urge you to go big and public with yours this week,” he wrote on Instagram. And when it came time to accept an award at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, he ended his acceptance speech by calling for justice for Jacob Blake and Breonna Taylor. The Super Bowl stage gives him an even bigger platform to share an important message. —Jessica McKinney

A tour through the eras

Ariana Grande

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If there is one superstar pop collaborator who seems likely to hit the stage with the Weeknd in February, it’s Ariana Grande. The Weeknd recently appeared on Ari’s “off the table” from her new album, positions, and the two joined forces six years earlier on “Love Me Harder.” The Weeknd and Ariana Grande are each having big years for themselves in 2020, both dropping big albums. And as two of pop’s leading artists, it’s only right the two unite on one of the biggest nights of the year. —Jessica McKinney

An Elton John cover

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Have you noticed the connection between Weeknd and Elton John lately? First, Abel interpolated Elton’s 1970 hit, “Your Song,” on After Hours standout “Scared to Live.” Then, Elton responded to the news by telling Variety, “Abel has his own unique artistic voice—that’s the hallmark of a genuinely great, long-term artist. I’m utterly thrilled that the DNA for ‘Your Song’ has found its way into ‘Scared to Live.’ It’s the greatest compliment a songwriter can ever receive.” Explaining how he first heard about the interpolation, Elton revealed, “I saw him at an Oscar party after the Oscars and he’s always been such a sweet and lovely humble man. And he told me then, he said, ‘I got a surprise for you on this record. And I went, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’ And the surprise is that he’s borrowed a bit of ‘Your Song.’ ‘I hope you don’t mind, I hope you don’t mind,’ for the ‘Scared to Live’ track.” From there, Elton wrote about the Weeknd for TIME’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020 issue. Now, we’d love to see this relationship continue at the Super Bowl. The most obvious move would be for Abel to cover “Your Song” before transitioning into “Scared to Live.” But we wouldn’t mind hearing him try his hand at “Rocket Man,” “Tiny Dancer,” or any other Elton John hit, either. —Eric Skelton

A groundbreaking stage

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This year, the Weeknd has been getting creative with stage set-ups during his late-night performances. On The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he performed “Heartless” entirely under the studio’s main stage, dancing through the hallways under flickering lights. And on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, he performed before hectic backdrops and intense lighting sequences, as the camera gave the illusion that he was flipping upside down. It’s likely we’ll see an extension of this at the Super Bowl, where he’ll get a much larger budget to play with. If Lady Gaga can dance on a steel tower, the possibilities are endless for the Weeknd. We’d love to see a multi-dimensional set, one that feels like we’re watching the singer walk through different realms. Maybe he’ll start the performance underground or on the roof of a Vegas tower, as seen in his music video for “Heartless”? —Jessica McKinney

Severed heads

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If you’re been following the storyline that’s developed throughout the Weeknd’s music videos this year, you know things are getting weird. In the most recent video, for “Too Late,” Abel’s head is completely cut off. Of course, the Super Bowl is a family-friendly environment, but we’d still love to see him push things to the extreme and shock the hell out of random people in Utah. If this performance ends with the Weeknd’s severed head sitting on the ground as he sings “Until I Bleed Out,” it’ll go down in history. —Eric Skelton

A 'Trilogy' montage and 'Kiss Land' love

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It’s the Super Bowl, so we know one thing: the Weeknd is going to play the hits. No matter what, we’re going to hear “Blinding Lights,” “Starboy,” and “Can’t Feel My Face.” But we also hope he leaves room for fan favorites from albums like Kiss Land and his early mixtapes. Specifically, Weeknd stans will lose it if he takes the time to run through a medley of songs from his early days. Hearing “The Morning,” “The Birds,” and “D.D.” blasting out of TV sets across America is a treat we all deserve after enduring this unfathomably shitty year. —Eric Skelton

Embracing with the unprecedented situation

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