The Weeknd spared no expense for his Pepsi Super Bowl halftime performance on Sunday (February 7), shelling out a reported $7 million to ensure his moment in the sports spotlight was seamless — despite the strict COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines.
Dressed in a red sequined jacket, which reportedly took 250 hours to make, and black-and-white wingtip shoes, the multi-platinum artist performed a medley of nine of his biggest songs, including “Blinding Lights,” “Starboy” and “Can’t Feel My Face.”
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The Weeknd is now primed and ready for his 2022 After Hours World Tour, which he announced earlier this month. Originally planned for 2020, the 104-date run kicks off right on January 14, 2020 in Vancouver, Canada and will wind through the U.S., Paris, Berlin and more before wrapping up on November 16 in London.
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The tour will support his 2020 album After Hours, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with over 444,000 total album-equivalent units and became the fourth best-selling album of 2020. It was also named HipHopDX’s Best R&B Album of 2020 with the singer himself earning DX 2020 R&B Singer of the Year as well.
According to the Online Gambling website, The Weeknd has experienced spectacular growth since his theatrical appearance at the Super Bowl — from album and song sales to his social media following. HipHopDX has complied a list of some of his biggest wins below.
428,000 New Followers!
@theweeknd❤️♬ Can’t Feel My Face – The Weeknd
Following The Weeknd’s elaborate performance, his social media following grew by roughly 428,000 people. As of publishing time, he currently boasts 29 million Instagram followers, 14.1 million Twitter followers and 3.5 million TikTok followers. A clip of his performance on TikTok has been viewed over 11 million times, while the full video of the Super Bowl medley has reeled in over 21 million YouTube views.
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278,000 In Spotify Skrilla
The Weeknd earned approximately $278,000 in Spotify streams over the last seven days. By far, the most popular song is “Blinding Lights” from After Hours,which has been streamed nearly two BILLION times since its release. “The Hills” — from his 2015 sophomore album Beauty Behind The Madness — is a close second with 1,142,592,732 streams as of Wednesday (February 10).
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156,000 In Instagram Funds
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With every #sponsored Instagram post, The Weeknd could potentially earn roughly $156,000. On the day of the Big Game, she shared 18 posts related to the Super Bowl, including clips of his performance, photos of himself boarding a private jet and posing with famed boxer Mike Tyson.
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44,000 Spins
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The Weeknd’s music has reportedly been played 44,000 times across radio stations in 61 countries over the past seven days.
25,000 Actual Human Beings
Considering everyone is in the middle of a global pandemic, attendees at this year’s Super Bowl was limited. Still, the Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida allowed 25,000 socially-distanced people to enter the arena. The rest of the stadium was filled out by over 30,000 cardboard cut-outs.
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148.5 Million Super Bowl Viewers
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Over 148,000 million people tuned in to watch Super Bowl LV and even if they weren’t a Weeknd fan, they still endured the halftime show.
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385 Percent Boom In Music Sales
Billboard reports The Weeknd’s music sales saw a 385 percent increase following the show as reported by MRC Data. As the Kansas Chiefs took on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, The Weeknd’s collective songs and albums were being eaten up, selling over 36,500 copies across his entire catalog, compared to 7,500 sold the day before.
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66 “Mehs”
Online Gambling says 66 percent of the 148.5 million people watching the Super Bowl had a neutral reaction to The Weeknd’s performance, while 22 percent had a positive response and 11 percent had a negative one.
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12 Glorious Minutes
The Canadian crooner spent 12 minutes performing during the halftime show. Along with pyrotechnics and a nod to Michael Jackson’s 1993 Super Bowl entrance, he also employed dozens of bandaged backup dancers to send a message. Much like he did with his year-long narrative about drunk driving and the pressures of Hollywood, he wanted to show the dangers of trying to stay “young” and “relevant” in the City of Angels.
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7 Of The Weeknd’s Millions
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As previously noted, The Weeknd spent $7 million of his own money on the extravaganza, according to his manager. The wall was lit up with signage and lights similar to the Las Vegas setting of several of the After Hours videos as well as the red-light-district-inspired stage reminiscent of past tours.
