That’s because The Weeknd (no, there’s no typo there) will perform at Super Bowl 55 in Tampa, Florida, as the latest in a long line of high-end musical artists to take the stage halfway through the Super Bowl’s football action. The Weeknd brings a wide range of musical genres in his repertoire that should allow for a halftime show that has some appeal for everyone at your Super Bowl party.
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The Weeknd is a Canadian artist whose real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye. His stage name, according to Tesfaye, comes from being a high school dropout who “left one weekend and never came home.” It’s missing that third ’e’ only because there’s already a Canadian band known as The Weekend, so the spelling was modified to avoid copyright issues.
A year ago, Shakira and Jennifer Lopez took the stage for the halftime show in Miami. While The Weeknd isn’t quite an entertainer on the level of Bruno Mars, his halftime performance could remind many of Bruno’s varied setlist at the 2014 Super Bowl.
Here’s everything to know about this year’s Super Bowl 55 halftime show, including expected start time and a full list of performances throughout the game’s history.
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Who is performing during halftime of Super Bowl 55?
The Weeknd will perform during halftime of Super Bowl 55. A Canadian singer-songwriter whose full name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, The Weeknd should bring a wide-ranging setlist to the stage in Tampa, Florida.
There haven’t been announcements about supplementary performers, although usually a second star finds their way onto the stage at some point during the halftime show. The Weeknd will be following up a 2020 halftime show that featured Shakira and Jennifer Lopez in Miami.
What time does the Super Bowl halftime show start?
The Super Bowl halftime show will likely start shortly after 8 p.m. ET. The game itself kicks off at about 6:30, so the first half should end about 90 minutes later.
MORE: Five best Super Bowl halftime shows in NFL history
Who is The Weeknd?
The Weeknd is a Canadian singer-songwriter whose full name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye. While his music touches on a number of different genres, it has a heavy R&B influence.
The Weeknd’s stage name comes from Tesfaye leaving for a weekend and never coming home during high school, instead choosing to drop out. He’ll turn 31 a bit more than a week after performing at the Super Bowl, with his birthday on Feb. 16.
The Weeknd has won three Grammy Awards, five American Music Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards and two MTV Video Music Awards. He broke heavily into the mainstream with his song “Can’t Feel My Face.”
Do performers get paid for the Super Bowl halftime show?
No, Super Bowl halftime performers do not get paid. The NFL does cover the cost of the performance.
For artists asked to perform at the Super Bowl during halftime, the publicity is more than enough “compensation.”
MORE: How much are Super Bowl halftime performers paid?
Who is singing the national anthem at Super Bowl 55?
The NFL announced on Jan. 19 that the national anthem singers at Super Bowl 55 will be Eric Church and Jazmine Sullivan. Church is a highly acclaimed country artist, while Sullivan has been a fixture of R&B charts as a top-notch vocalist.
As part of the pregame festivities, there’ll also be a rendition of America the Beautiful. That’ll be sung by H.E.R., another R&B artist who’s received 13 Grammy nominations over the past three years.
