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Never mind maple syrup: The Weeknd is Canada's most popular export

Dan DeLuca, The Philadelphia Inquirer on

Published in Entertainment News

PHILADELPHIA — The Weeknd is supposedly sick of himself.

Or at least Abel Tesfaye — the Canadian pop star who opened his “After Hours Til Dawn” tour at Lincoln Financial Field in July 2022 and returned for a two-night engagement on Wednesday — says he’s grown disenchanted with the character of “The Weeknd.”

In January, Tesfaye told Variety he would ditch his longtime alias because, “It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I don’t have any desire for anymore.”

With his 2025 album "Hurry Up Tomorrow" completing a trilogy that began with "After Hours" in 2020 and continued with "Dawn FM" in 2022 — and with his three-year world tour wrapping up in September — the Weeknd has said he will soon no longer be the Weeknd.

To which any halfway skeptical observer of the history of showbiz retirements followed by unretirements can only respond: Really?

Or, as the late Phillies Hall of Famer and broadcaster Richie Ashburn would famously quip whenever he saw something that strained credulity: “Hard to believe, Harry.”

Hard to believe, that is, because though the Weeknd is well known for songs about how hedonism leads to self-loathing and how the pursuit of fame is ultimately hollow — “There’s so much trauma in my life,” he sang in “Out of Time” — he seemed to be enjoying himself immensely on July 30.

And why wouldn’t he be, performing before a sold-out crowd of likely more than 65,0000 fans. (Promoter Live Nation did not disclose attendance figures.)

The Weeknd’s music, which draws on his 1980s heroes like Prince, David Bowie, and especially Michael Jackson, is immensely popular, and getting more so.

As he pointed out early in the 2-hour, 20-minute show — during which he, a world-class panderer, repeatedly told the crowd it was the loudest of the tour — he only played one stadium show last time through Philly.

This time it’s two, with the full lineup of opener Playboi Carti (who joined the Weeknd mid-set for “Timeless” and “Rather Lie”) and a DJ set by Mike Dean that were to do it again the next night.

In the three years he’s been away, the Weeknd’s diabolically catchy 2019 hit “Blinding Lights” has ascended to become the most streamed Spotify song of all time at 4.95 billion plays.

Along with “The Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran, “Blinding Lights” and “Starboy,” the title track to the Weeknd’s 2016 album, are the only songs ever to be streamed 4 million times. All told, he has 22 songs streamed over a billion times.

Never mind maple syrup, the Weeknd is Canada’s most popular export.

On July 30, he hit the stage promptly at 9 p.m., performing on a stage designed to look like a crumbling city scape, while dressed in a flowing black robe with gold braid and rhinestones and a magician’s cape.

 

He looked like a wizard — and must have felt like one — as he efficiently worked through a 40-song set. The crowd, racially mixed but mostly white, was filled with groups of teenage girls and few people over 40 (other than parents). They stood and sang along to every song.

The black mask covering his eyes was a throwback to his beginnings in 2011, when he shrouded himself in mystery and first emerged with a series of mixtapes, starting with "House of Balloons." The title track closed the show as an encore, complete with flashpots and fireworks.

Full disclosure: I only know for sure that the Weeknd wore a mask at the beginning of the show thanks to photos my colleague Elizabeth Robertson took during the After Hours first act. I wasn’t actually inside the Linc — though I could hear everything loud and clear from outside — because a ticket snafu (eventually resolved) caused me to miss all of Playboi Carti’s set and not get to my seat until the Weeknd was a half-hour in.

By the time I arrived, the Weeknd was maskless. He was frequently accompanied by a troupe of red-hooded companions who gave the show an apocalyptic air, one part "A Handmaid’s Tale," one part "The Seventh Seal."

The band was never visible, located under the stage, one assumes. The Weeknd roamed the Linc on a catwalk that extended to the opposite end of the stadium.

At the 50-yard line stood a golden idol, a 24-foot “Sexy Robot” statue of a woman made by Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama. The catwalk was in the shape of a cross, and looked like a crucifix when shown from above, allowing the Weeknd to get close to his people on either side of the stadium.

The whole thing looked fabulous, an imaginative opening of the stadium concert experience. The lighting — with synchronized faux wrist watch handouts — was spectacular. Kudos not only to the Weeknd, but also creative director La Mar Taylor, production designer Es Devlin, and lighting designer Jason Baeri.

None of this would work as well as it does, of course, without the songs that are sleek and grabby. And the singer himself is an ingratiating presence who didn’t seem the least bit alienated from his job, nor anywhere near ready for retirement at 35.

Much of Tesfaye’s angst stems from losing his voice during a 2022 show in Los Angeles. He might be understandably panicky about that, but on July 30 his smooth tenor was in fine form and had no trouble hitting the top of his range.

Another note on pandering: Most touring acts throw the crowd a “What’s up Philly?” or two, along with a “Go Birds” and maybe a cheesesteak quip, and leave it at that.

That’s not good enough for the Weeknd. If he said the word “Philadelphia” once on July 30, he said it 100 times. He enunciated it, luxuriated in it, and worked it into lyrics, stretching out syllables as if he were caressing someone he loves. “If there’s one thing I know, Philadelphia,” he sang, “it’s that you’ll never let me down.”

In between hits like “Can’t Feel My Face” and “One of the Girls,” Tesfaye often smiled silently and let the love wash over him. “A-bel! A-bel! A-bel,” went the chants.

He has said his plan is to keep making music, while killing off the brand name that has brought him so much success. But is the Weeknd really ready to walk away from that kind of adoration?


©2025 The Philadelphia Inquirer. Visit inquirer.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

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