Halftime Props for The Weeknd’s Super Bowl 55 Performance – Odds on First/Last Song, Outfit, Guest Appearances and More

• Super Bowl LV is scheduled for February 7, 2021, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida
• Beloved Canadian alternative R&B superstar The Weeknd is performing the Halftime Show
• With so much anticipation of The Weeknd’s appearance, we outline the props and best bets surrounding his performance

The National Football League celebrates its 55th annual Super Bowl celebration on February 7. This weekend, all eyes will be on the Kansas City Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to see who snags the coveted silver Vince Lombardi trophy.

But in between the high octane sports energy, the annual music spectacle known as the Super Bowl Halftime Show will once again stop sports and entertainment fans simultaneously in their tracks. As with every year, the Halftime Show is a spectacle that spans demographics and interests.

This year’s performance by alt-R&B wunderkind The Weeknd should prove to be no different. As the superstar preps for the latest milestone in his career, fans and bookies alike wonder what the latest stop on his After Hours album promo has in store.

We’ve looked into props for the show’s first and last song, what color jacket The Weeknd is expected to wear, and a massive list outlining expected guest appearances and performance details.

Odds on First and Last Song

Odds from February 4

After Hours: A Primer

Less than a year ago, The Weeknd released After Hours, his critically acclaimed fourth studio album. While typical album promo has been stunted in the present COVID-19 era, this didn’t stop the superstar from spreading the word about his work.

In fact, The Weeknd got quite creative with promoting during this album cycle. Although there hasn’t been a typical arena or stadium tour he’d be usually embarking on, he’s done wonders with one-off performances on television. These spots have breathed a lot of life into his work.

The Weeknd's Super Bowl halftime show will be super long this year https://t.co/EPsGxlcYXp pic.twitter.com/9pIgIxWBjE

— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) January 28, 2021

Presently, The Weeknd is the number one artist in the world on Spotify and sitting in the number two spot on Billboard‘s Artist 100. After Hours, meanwhile, hasn’t left the Billboard 200 since entering it last March. You can thank his live performances for a lot of this success.

VMAs, AMAs, Super Bowl

One of his most iconic performances in this era–if not his entire career–was the rooftop performance of “Blinding Lights” at the MTV Video Music Awards last August. In the midst of this pandemic, The Weeknd has managed to bring massive performances to television.

A few months later, his two-song set at the American Music Awards featured more current singles from After Hours: “Save Your Tears” and “In Your Eyes”. Then, at December’s iHeartRadio Jingle Ball, he performed all three of the tracks during a live (but audience free, of course) mini set.

And thus, we reach the Super Bowl. Typically, artists pull out a well-known banger to get the crowd going. Whether it’s a new song or old doesn’t really matter. It’s more about the intrinsically fun or exciting properties of an opening Halftime Show tune.

First and Last

From Katy Perry’s “Roar”, to Beyonce’s “Run The World (Girls)” to last year’s “Dare (La La La)” by Shakira, we’ve come to expect big, uplifting hits to excite the crowd.

So, is there a song better than “Blinding Lights”? The TikTok-crazed, chart-topping, earworm-melody phenom is the ultimate choice for The Weeknd to kick off the show.

Pick: Blinding Lights (-240)

For a closer, artists tend to rely on slightly older, fan-favorite material that’s poppy and well known. Lady Gaga chose “Bad Romance”. Justin Timberlake went with “Can’t Stop The Feeling!” But The Weeknd is a bit different. With so many slower hits to his credit, (I mean, it’s not like he can pull out “Earned It” for The Super Bowl), he’s a lot more likely to break the mold and just go for his newest hit: “Save Your Tears”. The perfect closer to the After Hours era, perhaps?

Pick: “Save Your Tears” (+675)

Odds on Color of The Weeknd’s Jacket When First Seen

You know what The Weeknd likes to do? Surprise people. While he’s definitely not been shy being outspoken about his recent distaste of The Grammys, this isn’t the only opportunity he’s been unexpected and done things his own way.

For anyone who’s been watching The Weeknd, especially over the last year, you’ll likely have associated the color red with his aesthetic. Maybe you’ve even done so subconsciously. But that’s been no accident on The Weeknd’s behalf.

During this concept album during which his face has appeared broken, bruised, and battered in a dramatic visual effect, he’s also chosen red suit jackets for many of his performances. From Saturday Night Live to the VMAs, he’s almost always been consistent on this front.

But will he switch it up for the Super Bowl? In short: probably.

With After Hours nearing its promotional expiration (at about a year and a half from the time the first single, “Heartless”, dropped), The Weeknd is probably planning his move for either a break or the next album.

Considering Super Bowl Halftime Shows are almost always treated as a career chronology, this performance will be the first time The Weeknd has dusted off pre-After Hours material in quite some time.

The Weeknd opens up about Grammys snub and what fans can expect from his Super Bowl halftime performance https://t.co/xL7dt0O72I pic.twitter.com/HNUXCGd9yn

— Rap-Up (@RapUp) January 28, 2021

So he’ll likely drop the concept album’s schtick for this performance in lieu of a literal and metaphorical fresh-faced reset. He’ll play his old favorites and leave the red jacket at home. And nothing is a fashion palet cleanser as much as wearing black.

Pick: Black (+180)

Odds on The Weeknd’s Super Bowl Halftime Show

The Weeknd (Featuring So-and-So)

The Weeknd is an artist no stranger to guest spots. Whether he’s jumping on his contemporaries’ tracks or having others invited into his own studio, we’ve seen The Weeknd collaborating with genre-hopping musicians since he first started in music.

Will his Super Bowl performance be an opportunity to leverage some of those features? Can he wrangle an appearance by Kenny G or Doja Cat, both of whom have been on his remixes of “In Your Eyes”?

If this were not a pandemic-era performance, the likelihood would be greater. But even so, this performance is expected to be one of solo greatness. The Weeknd puts on a hell of a show on his own, and he doesn’t need any backup.

What he also doesn’t need is girlfriend Bella Hadid popping up during his performance. It’s The Weeknd’s moment and he’s going to bask in the spotlight alone.

Pick: Bella Hadid: No (-1600), Doja Cat: No (-800), Drake: No (-900), Kenny G: No (-600)

The 55th Super Bowl will feature @theweeknd's halftime show, plus @MileyCyrus, @TheAmandaGorman, and more.​ https://t.co/VodrbuvBmQ

— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) February 2, 2021

Leaving The Real World Behind

Even if The Weeknd does divert from the cinematic world he created for After Hours for this performance, it’s hard to imagine why he’d use this once-in-a-lifetime performance opportunity to talk real-world politics.

What reason would The Weeknd have to mention Joe Biden or Donald Trump? Absolutely none. This career milestone is The Weeknd’s and he deserves to revel in it. Especially with the election results done and dusted, he’s not going to touch The White House during this performance.

Pick: Biden: No (-2000), Trump: No (-2000)

Dressing Up

While we’ve already pondered over the color of his blazer, there are other opportunities to bet on what The Weeknd’s outfit du jour will be come Sunday.

Throughout many of his recent performances, The Weeknd has become synonymous with wearing gloves. Specifically, he seems to prefer leather motorcycle ones.

Whether it was a style decision that fit his album, a COVID-19-era health choice, or both, you’d be hard-pressed to find recent appearances by him where his hands are uncovered. This occasion will be no different.

But that sartorial choice is minor compared to some of the other props and corresponding looks he’s donned lately. His AMA performance was his most shocking and out there yet, as The Weeknd showed up with his head wrapped in bandages, complete with bruising and bleeding makeup.

While The Weeknd seems to be calling the creative shots, it’s well known that the NFL has strict limitations on its performer guests. And with the Super Bowl a G-rated family affair, you can count on this appearance to be bandage-free.

Pick: Gloves: Yes (-500), Bandage(s): No (-1500)

The narration of the Pepsi Halftime Show video was made by Lamar, The Weeknd's best friend and creative director.

'What we create changes us. Every performance a new chapter. Every stage a new beginning.' pic.twitter.com/RFZnZP1MXu

— The Weeknd News (@NewsWeeknd) February 2, 2021

Taking Count

So, what will his actual set list be like? Most contemporary Super Bowl Halftime Shows offer a plethora of songs cut into snippets, blends of medleys, and peppered in quickly in succession. It’s definitely a quantity over quality affair.

But the more showstopping performers, ones like Lady Gaga and Madonna, have been examples of artists more focused on the theming of the show than jamming every last hit into their set. The Weeknd seems to fit more into this category.

The Weeknd has no shortage of hits at this point, but he’s not known for editing, shortening, or cutting his own material down. He’s probably going to keep his set to a cool half dozen steady stream of well-known bangers.

.@TheWeeknd reveals the significance of his full-face bandages, ahead of his #SuperBowl halftime performance (EXCLUSIVE) https://t.co/tztqShszeR

— Variety (@Variety) February 3, 2021

Pick: Amount of Songs: Under 8 (+160)

But will The Weeknd take this opportunity to be a little bit extra and switch up his costume partway through the show? Absolutely.

While most male Super Bowl performers tend to stick to the tunes, those artists like Bruno Mars or Coldplay are on the duller side. The Weeknd is full of flair, excitement, and showmanship. He’s no stranger to exciting visuals onstage and this includes wardrobe.

You can surely expect The Weeknd to pull at least one costume change throughout this performance.

Pick: Wardrobe Changes: Over 0.5 (-350)