What’s up guys, it’s Sussan Mourad with Clevver News, and very soon The Weeknd is
set to make his Super Bowl Halftime Show debut, but aside from which hits he’ll be performing,
fans are especially eager as to who he’ll bring out as a special guest, so let’s get
into it!
We’ve been counting down the days until The Weeknd for quite some time, and NO we’re
not talking about the day in which the biggest sporting event of the year falls on… we’re
talking the chart-topping-record-breaking ‘Starboy’ that is THE Weeknd and his Halftime
Show debut.
That’s right, y’all, it isn’t just the athletes who’ve been gearing up for the
big day, but the performers as well.
Back in November, it was announced that the weeknd would officially be touching down in
Tampa Bay as the performing headliner in the Super Bowl’s iconic Pepsi Halftime Show
on February 7th.
Since the announcement, more interesting facts have been divulged about tomorrow’s performance.
Just last week, The Weeknd caught up with Billboard and teased QUOTE, “We've been
really focusing on dialing in on the fans at home and making performances a cinematic
experience, and we want to do that with the Super Bowl.”
So much so that his manager Wassim “Sal” Slaiby revealed that he dropped $7 million
of his own money to QUOTE “make this halftime show be what he envisioned,” on top of the
initial production costs.
In the same interview, The Weeknd also revealed that the length of his halftime show is slated
to be 24 minutes long which is double the length of any show in the past.
For reference, back in 2016 when Beyonce shared the Halftime Show stage with Bruno Mars and
Coldplay, the show was still only 13 minutes long.
That said, with 24 minutes and not one artist currently busy touring on the entire planet
earth, the odds of guest performances are pretty good… so who’s set to surprise
upwards of 100 million viewers alongside Abel?
Despite his biggest hits including “Blinding Lights”, “Can’t Feel My Face” and
“The Hills” being solo tracks, one of The Weeknd’s biggest collaborators is fellow
Canadian Drake, who is strongly rumored to make a cameo.
Some of their biggest collaborations include “The Zone,” and “Live For,” and Drake’s
2011 album Take Care might as well have been a dual album with the amount of collabs.
The two have performed together on multiple
accounts, so it makes sense why Drake is on fans’ radar, however, he DID just postpone
the release of his sixth studio album Certified Lover Boy after revealing he’s focusing
on recovering from a knee surgery, so maybe don’t put ALL your money on Drizzy…
Future is also a heavy favorite, who has also
lent his voice on multiple collaborations with The Weeknd, as fans are already speculating
a surprise performance of “Low Life”.
Many are even going as far as to predict that The Weeknd will bring both Drake and Future
onstage, as they could perform their recent collab “Life Is Good.”
Never say never, right?!
Another artist heavily rumored to make an appearance is Doja Cat, whose recent hits
have found their way nearing the top of the charts over the past year.
More recently, Doja even jumped on a remix of The Weeknd’s single “In Your Eyes,”
and since the halftime show announcement, the two have been heavily rumored to be taking
the stage together tomorrow night.
One user tweeted, “Imagine Doja at the Super Bowl for ‘In Your Eyes’ remix... she would
eat so well please lord MAKE IT HAPPEN.”
Manifestation of a Doja-Weeknd performance has officially commenced.
Another heavily-rumored artist that may take the Super Bowl stage tomorrow night is good
friend and two-time collaborator Ariana Grande.
The two first teamed up back in 2014 for Ari’s hit single “Love Me Harder,” and more
recently dropped “Off The Table” from her latest album Positions, BUT fans are convinced
that Ari will make a surprise appearance based on one major hint.
Late last month, The Weeknd unveiled a ‘Highlights’ compilation CD of all his biggest hits, and
fans were quick to notice that he had included “Love Me Harder.”
Although this single was one of Ari’s biggest hits to date, it’s a little strange that
it would end up on HIS ‘Highlights’ album, which caused even more buzz about his Super
Bowl lineup.
One fan tweeted, “Reportedly ‘Love Me Harder’ is on the set list for The Weeknd’s
halftime show at the Superbowl?
If he doesn’t perform this song with Ariana I’m gonna flip-.”
Others are even convinced that the entire ‘Highlights’ album IS, in fact, the track
list for the Super Bowl, like this person who wrote, “If this is the track list for
the Super Bowl does that mean Kendrick and Ariana will be there?!”
Not to mention, Ariana IS a Florida-native, which just so happens to be the location holding
Super Bowl 55, soooo this could definitely be a possibility.
And finally, this one might be a stretch, but based on The Weeknd’s many
comparisons to the late Michael Jackson over the years, some rumors have even surfaced
surrounding a potential hologram appearance by none other than the King himself.
People have even gone so far as to place bets that MJ will be incorporated in the halftime
show one way or another, as some fans are all about the idea considering Michael’s
influence on Abel.
This person tweeted, “I feel like @TheWeeknd is gonna do something crazy for Super Bowl,
like do a Michael Jackson hologram because he was such a big inspiration to Abel and
he was the king of pop and now Abel is.
He is going to do something wild, I know it.”
Whether the King of Pop makes his return to the Super Bowl stage or not, there is no question
The Weeknd will put on a spectacular show, so if I were you guys, I’d start mentally
preparing, like, yesterday.
To see why The Weeknd felt attacked after being snubbed by the Grammys, click right
over here for a full Clevver rundown.
Then be sure to let me know which special guest you think could join The Weeknd for
tomorrow’s halftime show right down here in the comments.
I’m your host Sussan Mourad, you can find me on Instagram @Sussan_Mourad, bye guys!