On the final night of Budweiser and Jay Z’s Made In America Festival (Sept. 6), The Weeknd closed out the two-day music affair with a mostly no-frills set. Except the part where he set off a fireworks spectacular during the first half of his show. Still, it was just Weeknd, the mic, that hair and his cult following running through high notes in the name of XO.
PHILADELPHIA i’m celebrating with you tonight! #MadeInAmerica
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) September 6, 2015
The King of Fall, born Abel Tesfaye, soundtracked the end of summer a with healthy mix of his older deep cuts from his debut Kiss Land but got the most kick from the crowd with his mainstream jams, “Often,” “The Hills” and “Can’t Feel My Face.” It marked the most lit of celebrations for the Weeknd, whose sophomore LP Beauty Behind The Madness debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, pushing 415,000 units in the week after its Aug. 28 release.
Witnessing The Weeknd in action may surprise you. The shrill, tiny voice that partially inspired the sound for Drake’s emo offering Take Care is now a pop star in his own right. Even through his interactions with the crowd, his gentle prodding to turn up almost makes you LOL because he’s so soft spoken (like the original King of Pop, Michael Jackson). Yet he treats the stage like a Moon Bounce, jumping from side-to-side in his usual non-black, multi-layered attire.
laying in bed ’cause i earned it. #madeinamerica a wrap?🏼?love me some you, philly.
A video posted by adelle (@adelleplaton) on
thank you Jay Z and Beyonce for letting this Canadian boy headline last night #MadeinAmerica XO
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) September 7, 2015