The Weeknd performed this Tuesday (10) the second performance of his visit to Brazil, in São Paulo. The 33-year-old Canadian singer has joined the team of pop stars who have organized super-produced tours of the country in 2024.

For a high-level presentation at the Allianz Parque, a grandiose structure was prepared, with luminous bracelets for the audience, a vast podium in the middle of the track and a stage decorated with a huge sculpture by Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama, who moved and lit throughout the show.

An inflatable moon hung above the audience, helping to create the ideal atmosphere for the artist’s repertoire. The Weeknd’s R&B pop has the tension and mystery of a first date on a hot night.

It just wasn’t that hot there. The singer arrived in Brazil with a cold front, with rain that delayed his show in Rio de Janeiro, Saturday (7), and hampered the opening performances: part of the Engenhão audience was evacuated and the Haitian DJ Kaytranada was unable to attend, I was able to go on stage.

In the capital São Paulo, the temperature was below 20°C, but it did not rain and everything went as planned: in addition to Kaytranada, American producer Mike Dean performed before the Weeknd.

The star of the evening appeared around 8:45 p.m., performing an excerpt from “La Fama”, a partnership with Spanish singer Rosalía, released in 2021. But, among the songs recorded with other artists that entered the setlist, the most acclaimed was “Love Me Harder”, released with Ariana Grande in 2014, which the singer had not performed live before concerts in Brazil since 2016.

Another surprise was “False Alarm”, from the album “Starboy” (2016), released by The Weeknd during his last visit to the country, for Lollapalooza in 2017. At the time, the artist showed a pop well done, with songs that were part of the playlists of a large part of the festival audience, but still without the density that the following works gave it.

When The Weeknd appeared in his first work with commercial appeal, the album “Beauty Behind The Madness” (2015), it was common to define him as another heir to Michael Jackson, conquering a legion of fans by reproducing the style, the timbre and dance movements of the king of pop, whose influence is reflected in the dance hits of the time, such as “Can’t Feel My Face”, enthusiastically received by the São Paulo audience this Tuesday.

Throughout his career, the Canadian artist has shown deeper layers, beyond the allusion to Michael. “After Hours Til Dawn”, the tour coming to Brazil, celebrates his two most recent albums, “After Hours” (2020) and “Dawn FM” (2022). They are more cult than ever of 80s pop, but now with better worked references to current genres, which Weeknd had already explored before: R&B, rap, indie and electronic music.

The title track from “After Hours” also did well, with the Weeknd showing off vocal power and the audience showing that they knew the lyrics. “You sang beautifully,” he said.

From “Dawn”, an album with less success, besides “Less Than Zero”, the highlight was “Out of Time”, which he said was his favorite from his most recent work. In it, the singer came down from the stage to hug and sing with fans in the audience, lit up by colorful bracelets.

Props with flashing lights were handed out at the entrance to the presentation. The feature film was a hit in Brazil during Coldplay concerts in March this year. But in The Weeknd’s performance, this topic was little explored: the bracelets received little attention, despite the fact that they provide interesting imagery in songs like “Lost in the Fire” and “Tears in the Rain “.

On stage, the singer presented a very extensive setlist, with 42 titles. Sometimes it makes you want to yawn, like in a good movie, which could have cut certain scenes. To try to speed things up and fit everything into a little over two hours of show time, he reduced some songs to small snippets.

Those unaccustomed to the rhythm lament the sudden appearance of big tracks, like “Hurricane”, recorded for Kanye West’s album “Donda” (2021).

For the entire first half of the show in São Paulo, the Weeknd wore a sort of robot military uniform, complete with a metal arm and a futuristic helmet – he only showed his face after an hour of the show. A fundamental element of his production, the singer’s visual identity has references ranging from post-apocalyptic cinema to the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat, including Michael Jackson in “Thriller”.

The Weeknd spoke little to the audience and gave general praise to Brazil. But he made up for it by showing energy and dedication from start to finish in a grueling performance, which demanded a lot of his voice and physical fitness. Accompanied by a capable band, he dominated the entire stage and podium, giving balanced attention to different parts of the audience.

The fans reciprocated with affection and the chorus at the top of their lungs, which is a trademark of the Brazilian public. At many points the screams were so loud that it was barely possible to hear the singer’s voice. “Abel, I love you,” a crowd shouted. Abel Makkonen Tesfaye is the artist’s real name.

He has a loyal clientele. Most seem unfazed by “The Idol,” a television series created and starring the artist, which was criticized for appealing sexual content, was rejected by the public and this year became a near blemish on his career . Maybe television isn’t his thing. Pop music certainly is.

The Weeknd will perform again in São Paulo this Wednesday (11), during the last show of his visit to Brazil.