The Weeknd said Thursday he will do his best to keep his Super Bowl LV performance on Sunday night family-friendly.
“I definitely want to be respectful to the viewers at home,” he said during a virtual press conference.
The Canadian singer said the show will incorporate some of the storyline that has run through his After Hours videos and live performances – “but definitely we’ll keep it PG for the families. Definitely.” He paused and added: “I’ll try my best.”
Asked if he will incorporate any social or political messages, The Weeknd explained: “You’re going to have to see on Sunday. I don’t like to spoon-feed the audience. Hopefully they can pick up some of their own theories and conclusions of what the show is saying and the story I’m telling from the performance.”
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The Weeknd did not want to give away any details about his performance but seemed to confirm that some of the show will take place in the stadium stands. “We’re also using the field as well but we wanted to kind of do something that we’ve never done before,” he teased.
“I’m not going to tell you anything else because you have to watch on Sunday.”
The Weeknd will be the first Canadian to perform in the halftime show since Shania Twain in 2003 and the first Canadian male since Dan Aykroyd, who performed in 1997 as part of The Blues Brothers. But he is the first Canadian to perform solo at the big game.
“I didn’t know that. I had no idea,” he said. “It’s an honour. It’s a blessing.”
The Toronto native said his favourite Super Bowl halftime show performer was Diana Ross in 1996. “She’s so glamorous and the show just makes me smile,” he said, adding that he was a fan of the halftime shows put on by Prince, Beyoncé and Michael Jackson.
Asked if his 17-year-old self would have believed he would be one day headlining the Super Bowl halftime show, The Weekend replied: “I hope so. He was pretty hard-headed.”
The Super Bowl airs Sunday on CTV.