In just a matter of days, the Kansas City Chiefs will defend their 2020 Super Bowl Championship against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Tampa, Florida for Super Bowl LV. The Super Bowl is one of the biggest sporting events in the United States, due to America’s genuine love for football as well as the huge talents that are featured during the highly anticipated halftime show.
This year, the Super Bowl halftime show belongs to none other than The Weeknd, who just announced a 104-date world tour for 2022. Last year, the Canadian singer enjoyed plenty of success from his acclaimed fourth studio album After Hours, and although fans were shocked by his Grammy snubs, they will now get the chance to see him perform on one of the biggest stages in the world.
According to Page Six, however, The Weeknd’s Super Bowl stage is actually heading to the stands. In order to follow COVID-19 protocols, the “Blinding Lights” artist’s halftime show -- which is set to reportedly involve 1,000 people who "can’t touch the field" -- will be held entirely in the stands.
The desire to do a show live from the Super Bowl rather than a virtual one from an undisclosed location reportedly drove the decision. “The whole idea of Super Bowl halftime is that you’re able to experience that. The NFL didn’t want the fans in attendance not to have that [live] experience. The easy way out is to have it somewhere else, but [the live show] is part of the overall Super Bowl,” a source says.
Jay Z’s Roc Nation is executive producing the innovative performance, and sources close to the situation have said, “Wait till you see it, it’s beautifully done. It’s different and it’s historic.”
With last year’s Jennifer Lopez and Shakira-led halftime show drawing about 102 million viewers, there are high expectations for The Weeknd’s. He has reportedly added $7 million of his own money into the 13-minute production, so fans will see if that money was well spent this Sunday.