05 February 2021
Newsdesk
The Weeknd will be toning down his bloody look for his 2021 Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show on Sunday, so he doesn't upset censors.
The pop star has appeared bloodied, bruised, and bandaged in the videos and artwork linked to his After Hours album while appearing to play a character recovering from plastic surgery, but he has assured parents his look won't scare young kids watching the big game.
"I definitely want to be respectful to the viewers at home," The Weeknd said during a press conference on Thursday.
"I will still incorporate some of the story line (from the videos) - it's a very cohesive story I’m telling throughout this year, so the story will continue, but we definitely will keep it PG (rated) for the families. I'll try my best," he promised.
The Canadian star isn't giving anything else away about his performance on Sunday, which reportedly features a multi-million dollar set The Weeknd himself has helped pay for, but he admits he has been inspired by half-time shows headlined by Prince, Michael Jackson, Beyonce, and Diana Ross, who ended her hits gig by taking off in a helicopter.
"She’s just so glamorous and the show just makes me smile," he recalled of Ross' concert in Arizona in 1996.
"She has a great exit with the helicopter - it lands in the middle of the field, she grabs onto it and flies off into the clouds. It's like, 'I wish I could have done that; I wish I'd thought of it'. Although I don’t think I have enough money to do it!" he laughed.
