The Weeknd finally faces music after hitting the audience with its ever-evolving face.
Fans have questioned the singer’s appearance for more than a year, as he was seen wearing variations of a bloodied and wounded face for his album “After Hours”, long before his half-publicity. of the Super Bowl 2021.
But the singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, warned from the start that he was a person he created for the fourth studio album.
“It also depicts a very committed vision and character, and I can explore a different side of myself that my fans have never seen,” she revealed in an interview for CR Fashion Book in March 2020. Just turned 30 : his birthday is February 16: he had said that the album served as an “introduction to the next chapter of my life.”
However, in the hours leading up to his big game day – The Weeknd really broke it: “The importance of all head bandages is reflecting the absurd culture of Hollywood celebrities and the people they manipulate. for superficial reasons to please and be validated. “Everything is a progression and we see that the character’s story reaches more intense levels of danger and absurdity as his story continues.”
The facial saga began in the “Heartless” video, released in December 2019, as her red-clad character has a wild night in Las Vegas. But things take a dark turn in “Blinding Lights,” his second single, which picks up where he left off “Heartless.” It’s also the first time he’s released the worn-out face that worried fans.
But those who thought the terrifying art of The Weeknd’s performance would be a one-time statement turned out to be completely wrong. Here is a chronology of the approximate face of The Weeknd.
January 2020: video “Blind lights”
The “Blinding Lights” video, which premiered in January, was the first of many occasions of shock and fear for the singer.
With what would be his new distinctive uniform (a red dress over a black shirt with buttons), his face appears bloodied after a fall and an altercation starring in the video. He replicated the look of a performance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” later in January.
At the time, fans had no idea about this macabre person. But later, the singer explained to Esquire the dark meaning of the theme to Esquire in August: “‘Blinding Lights’ [is about] how you want to see someone at night, how intoxicated you are, how you drive towards that person and only the headlights light up. But nothing can stop you from trying to go see that person, because you are very alone. I never want to promote drunk driving, but that’s the black tone. “
March 2020: “After Hours” movie, “SNL” video and “In Your Eyes”
Finally, The Weeknd explained that he was a recurring character for all the “After Hours” videos, including the short film.
“This character is having a really bad night (all these videos take place in one night) and you can come with yours [sic] interpretation of what it is, ”he told Variety.
“[In the ‘After Hours’ short film,] we have this guy going through a complete breakdown, which looks like a possession: an invisible force lets me drag on the subway. Is it owned or is it just broken? “
While The Weeknd premiered their new song “Scared To Live” on “Saturday Night Live,” it was the first time fans took on their new “look,” a bloodied face with a bandage on its nose, in the flesh. . But the look on his head, also seen while singing “Blinding Lights”, was exclusively for his musical performances and he chose to abandon blood while acting in sketches.
Still, she wore the suit during “SNL” rehearsals. “Sometimes I forget I have it,” she said about her makeup.
He followed his “SNL” concert with a video for “In Your Eyes” (with Kenny G), which contained a warning at first taking note of graphic material.
April 2020: “Until I Bleed Out” video
The Weeknd continued to inhabit the blood-stained character while maintaining her haunting personality in another music video, in the same red dress, and her cuts now had horrible bruises, all obtained through cunning makeup.
August 2020: MTV Video Music Awards
During a performance at Hudson Yards, he continued with the bloody aesthetic in the pre-recorded VMA segment. He also wore the bloody cup as he headed to rehearsals in New York, scaring fans off the sidewalk as he signed autographs.
November 2020: American Music Awards
When the AMAs appeared, The Weeknd became a complete mummy, adapting her appearance with bandages and bruises on her blood, while accepting various awards and during her performance.
The following week, he began a series of events with Vevo, including live performances of “Faith,” “In Your Eyes,” and “Alone Again,” which saw the blood return.
January 2021: “Save Your Tears” video
New year, new face? Turns out the blood was just the beginning of The Weeknd, which opted for a “plastic surgery” face for its “Save Your Tears” video. “But then you saw me, you were surprised,” she sang, shocking fans with what appeared to be a thinner nose, cheek implants, stuffy lips and surgery scars.
Although the look was achieved through prosthesis or CGI, she has previously worked with the Prosthetic Renaissance makeup effects studio, which she posted about the transformation on social media.
Fans speculated that the run over face was an excavation of his ex, 24-year-old Bella Hadid, while others assumed it was a metaphor for being wasted at the Grammy Awards, for which he received no nominations this year.
But shortly after the video went around on social media, confusing fans of the process, The Weeknd reminded us of his usual face in a Super Bowl ad.
February 2021: Return to normal?
For The Weeknd, it’s “The Character.”
While promoting the Super Bowl in commercials, the singer has been showing off his real face and has apparently abandoned the bust of which fans couldn’t stop talking.
He even advised his fans “that being attractive is not important to me, but a compelling story,” in his revealing interview with Variety, and also explained why he has gone back and forth between him and “The character, “as he called it. .
“Why not play with the character and the artist and let those lines blur and move?”