Something must happen at 21:00. We are at the La Maura Hippodrome in Milan: on the catwalk that winds from the main stage between the two wings of the audience, a group of veiled dancers, all dressed in white, move with slow, feigned steps, as if they were preparing for the hippodrome. propitiatory rite. There’s something electric about the 80,000 or so people who didn’t want to miss The Weeknd’s first time in Italy, who arrived – after several months of delay due to the pandemic and the postponement of the tour – for a double date hosted by Live Nation. his gigantic After Hours Until Dawn Tour, which distributes its last two albums around the world, is able to secure it in the ranks of the top of the world pop scene. The official partner of the Milan Double Date is Lime, a micromobility solutions company that allows you to easily and instantly share bikes and electric scooters. Sponsor Binance, a leading provider of the blockchain ecosystem and infrastructure for cryptocurrencies, will make The Weeknd tour the first in the world to integrate Web3 technology.
Weekend – loop name Abel Tesfaye, for a while longer, as he recently confirmed – he comes on stage wrapped in a white cloak, with a mask over his face. Theatrical, compelling, decadent: all the sometimes unsettling visual world we’ve seen of his last two years has spilled over into his video clips – blood-drenched and grinning like the creepy Joker in a movie. blinding lightrudeness and self-mutilation in Save your tears projected before our eyes, and then we can only think: wow, The Weeknd is really here.
All samples of pop stars on stage
Starboy has grown up: his records are now countless, starting with his hit blinding light which holds the lead in streaming on Spotify (3.7 billion streams) to various records from Perfect Mvp on the same platform, being the first artist to reach one hundred million listeners in a month. His After Hours til Dawn tour has already grossed around $350 million, the most for a black artist. The dimension of the rock star that The Weeknd masters, supports and encourages: in interaction with the audience, in meeting with her before shaking hands, even in a selfie separated only by barriers. But it is his performance that leaves one speechless: 34 songs are heard one after another, almost in apnea, in a little less than two hours.
We saw it during the Super Bowl 2021 halftime show in a minor key due to the pandemic: the show had to go on and then The Weeknd went on stage alone, singing, dancing, moving relentlessly along with the dancers. lung capacity, decent – if we talk specifically about American football – wide receiver. The energy that also completely fills Milan is amazed at how the artist welcomes it in his songs, from such historical hits as Can’t feel my face AND die for you up to fruitful collaborations (in the line of works by Kanye, Drake, Future, Metro Boomin), as well as before the start of House of balloonswhich, however, is known to the public.