Super Bowl halftime show: The Weeknd gives ‘brilliant’ performance with dancers in face bandages
'Blinding Lights' star has earned widespread praise for his performance
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The Weeknd has earned widespread praise for his performance during the 2021 Super Bowl halftime show.
The artist, real name Abel Tesfaye, was the first Canadian to headline solo at the event. He opened his performance on Sunday with the 2016 tune "Starboy". Shortly afterwards, viewers got a glimpse of The Weeknd with a group of dancers whose faces were wrapped in bandages – an aesthetic the artist has explored recently, which he views as a statement on celebrity.
The concert culminated when The Weeknd and a large group of bandaged dancers took over the field for a performance of "Blinding Lights" with an accompanying choreography. Viewers showered The Weeknd with praise on social media, deeming his show "brilliant" and "amazing".
The Independent gave the performance a 4.5-star review, deeming it "a thoroughly produced, brilliantly escapist 10 minutes" that "helped a deeply divided country – however briefly – dance away the pain of this past year".
Earlier in the evening, country star Eric Church and R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan performed the national anthem, while R&B artist HER was on hand to sing “America the Beautiful”. Their performances were also met with appreciation on social media.
Poet Amanda Gorman, who read during Joe Biden's presidential inauguration last month, read a poem during pre-show festivities, paying tribute to a teacher, a nurse, and a Marine Corps veteran during the coronavirus pandemic. Viewers called her performance as "phenomenal", "uplifting", and "inspirational".
In the afternoon, Miley Cyrus performed in front of selected healthcare workers for a special pre-game show. She was joined onstage by Billy Idol and Joan Jett.
Of course, this year's Super Bowl was also a chance for studios to debut high-profile trailers. The first teaser for M Night Shyamalan's Old was unveiled, as well as that of the anticipated Marvel series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
You can follow the 2021 Super Bowl as it happened thanks to our live blog below.
Prior to kick-off, a slew of artists gave patriotic live performances, with Jazmine Sullivan singing the national anthem alongside country star Eric Church, GRAMMY-winning guitar virtuoso HER singing "America the Beautiful", and Alicia Keys performing "Lift Every Voice and Sing" in a pre-recorded spot.
Fans responded favorably on social media to the pre-game display of national unity, and to Sullivan's pantsuit, which reportedly was meant to match Whitney Houston's 1991 outfit:
‘Black women are winning so far’: Jazmine Sullivan gives rousing national anthem performance at Super Bowl 2021
Prior to the big game, Sullivan joined Eric Church for the national anthem, while H.E.R. sang 'America the Beautiful', and Alicia Keys sang 'Lift Every Voice and Sing' in a pre-recorded spot
It's time for a few more images of the pre-game festivities, wouldn't you say?
A Super Bowl ad is offering something a little more out of this world than the usual snacks, drinks and cars: a trip into space. The ad, for the Inspiration4 mission, highlights a raffle in which the winner will get a chance to travel on top of a SpaceX rocket.
Read more here:
Super Bowl ad offers people the chance to go to space
A Super Bowl ad is offering something a little more out of this world than the usual snacks, drinks and cars: a trip into space.
A "creepy" Doritos ad starring Matthew McConaughey is receiving mixed reactions. The actor appears in 2D form in the clip, which you can view in the story below:
‘Creepy’ Matthew McConaughey Super Bowl ad for Doritos receives mixed reactions
'Flat Matthew McConaughey is nightmare fuel'
Director M Night Shyamalan has unveiled the first teaser for his upcoming movie Old – a follow-up to his 2019 film Glass. It's all very creepy and anxiety-inducing. You can watch the clip right below:
Super Bowl 2021: New M Night Shyamalan teaser trailer for Old released
The film stars Gael Garcia Bernal, Eliza Scanlen, Thomasin McKenzie, and more
Mr Shyamalan also has a message for fans: he looks forward to them returning to movie theatres once it's safe to do so.
The Weeknd's halftime show is approaching... he recently shared this distinguished video teasing tonight's performance:
The Weeknd made headlines recently for another reason than his Super Bowl halftime show. The artist was omitted during the most recent Grammys nominations, in what was considered a major snub:
The Weeknd says Grammys ‘mean nothing to me’ after nominations snub
‘Forget awards shows,’ said the artist, who is scheduled to headline next Sunday’s Super Bowl halftime show
Amanda Gorman is being celebrating for her "inspirational" and "uplifting" reading which celebrated Los Angeles teacher Trimaine Davis, nurse Suzie Dorner and US Marine Corps veteran James Martin:
Amanda Gorman praised for ‘uplifting’ Super Bowl performance
Gorman performed virtually in a pale blue rhinestone and pearl-embellished coat
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments