Mixed Reviews for The Weeknd’s Halftime Show

[JusKeepBreathin 19,311]

My straight brother said it was "OK"

That's straight talk for flop.

 

[Anderson123 30,993]

For an event that should’ve been cancelled in the first place given the mess that is the world right now, it was good.

I love The Weeknd and his music and would like to see him live one day but there’s something about it that didn’t have a wow moment. Like people have said already, it doesn’t look like he can carry a show by himself and would’ve been fun to have guests if his team or even himself wouldn’t have wanted it that way. Ariana, Daft Punk, Kendrick Lamar on Pray For Me and SZA on All The Stars, etc. Would’ve been nice to hear and see something different. By the time Blinding Lights ended I was like “oh wait, that was it”. Probably because I was expecting “In Your Eyes” to be performed at some point or just didn’t feel like a final moment, even the rumored 20-25 min extended show. 

[gag 22,449]

2 hours ago, Autumn said:

i mean, he's an alternative r&b singer, not a main pop girl, so he was never going to be vogueing around the stage with sparky tiddies.

No he’s not 

Maybe a decade ago yeah, but he’s undeniably a full pop star now. His last three releases have all been pop.

[Der Meister 3,000]

 

[Jose P 23,341]

1 hour ago, gag said:

No he’s not 

Maybe a decade ago yeah, but he’s undeniably a full pop star now. His last three releases have all been pop.

I wouldn’t say his last three releases have been all pop, at all. They’ve been a mix of pop with his brand of alternative R&B, with the singles being the poppiest songs of the albums. It’s more like he blended pop with his Kiss Land/Trilogy sound. Especially After Hours.

[gag 22,449]

7 minutes ago, Jose P said:

I wouldn’t say his last three releases have been all pop, at all. They’ve been a mix of pop with his brand of alternative R&B, with the singles being the poppiest songs of the albums. It’s more like he blended pop with his Kiss Land/Trilogy sound. Especially After Hours.

My point is that Abel is not 'an alternative R&B singer.' Incorporating R&B elements into a pop album doesn't make it not pop anymore, like how Taylor Swift is not a folk singer because she incorporated folk elements into a pop album.

There's a reason why Abel himself wants to be in the pop categories and not pigeonholed as an R&B artist, which is often racially-motivated but that's another conversation.

[Tinnitus15 48,440]

Wait wasn’t the whole show gonna be like 23 minutes or I am wrong?

[PatrickMonster 5,016]

He hyped up this performance too much with bragging how expensive it was etc. He really thought he's gonna become a legend or something after this performance, but I'm pretty sure that's not the case. He has the hits for a great SB halftime but he is just really not there yet artistically.

Nevertheless it still had some great moments, but the some parts, especially the ending was just so boring, I almost fall asleep. Also what was up with his vocals? It was an OK performance, but Bruno is still the best among men in the last 10 years, and he is not even close. At least he beat Maroon 5 and Justin Timberlake.

[Bradley 54,929]

Is it just be or the vocals are barely audible? Maybe it's a mixing issue I hope when his official channel uploads the performance we could hear him louder.

Also the second half is much better. The first half actually just looks like a Coachella set.

[JRCF29 8,152]

I concur with the users saying it was "just ok." Ultimately, and I don't mean this in a shady way, I think that the problem was that he, as an artist and a performer, is missing that STAR quality/X Factor that it takes to fill a 70,000 seat stadium . It was a concern for some coming in, and I'd say it at least partially played itself out last night.

He isn't 20+ years into his career a la Coldplay* either...

 

*performed in 2016, 20 years into their career 

[RickMonster98 6,205]

it looked an mtv awards medley tbh

yeah, it was good but this was not a super bowl half time show 

[xoxo Craig 55,649]

8 hours ago, Folklore Friend said:

I would’ve loved to see daft punk

That was what was missing. Imagine Daft Punk coming along and playing a small set (Harder, Better Faster, Stronger. Get Lucky, and I Feel It Coming )with The Weekend

[xoxo Craig 55,649]

Just now, RickMonster98 said:

it looked an mtv awards medley tbh

yeah, it was good but this was not a super bowl half time show 

Yeah it reminded me of his VMA performance

[Karen Smith 10,026]

It wasn't that bad like Katy perry's performance, but Orlando sentinel said truth 

[hieronymus 8,156]

11 minutes ago, JRCF29 said:

I concur with the users saying it was "just ok." Ultimately, and I don't mean this in a shady way, I think that the problem was that he, as an artist and a performer, is missing that STAR quality/X Factor that it takes to fill a 70,000 seat stadium . It was a concern for some coming in, and I'd say it at least partially played itself out last night.

He isn't 20+ years into his career a la Coldplay* either...

 

*performed in 2016, 20 years into their career 

I don't think that should be an issue at this point when you're this talented and have this much money behind you. The big issue is that they decided to not supplement this with some kind of narrative or, dare I say it, stunt, or even a few guests. It comes across as weirdly stubborn and pretentious given the hype beforehand.