Inside The Weeknd’s Nose Job & Plastic Surgery Stunt

Recording artist The Weeknd (real name Abel Makkonen Tesfaye) recently appeared to have had plastic surgery on his nose, wearing full-face bandages at the 2020 American Music Awards, which instantly sparked talk of him having had a nose job.

Ahead of his halftime show performance at Super Bowl LV, The Weeknd spoke to Variety about the stunt and how it feeds into the bigger picture of his musical storytelling.

It Started With ‘Blinding Lights’ and ‘Heartless’

The Weeknd – Blinding Lights (Official Video)Official music video for The Weeknd “Blinding Lights” – available everywhere now: theweeknd.co/blindinglightsYD ►Subscribe to The Weeknd on YouTube: theweeknd.co/subscribeYD ►Get exclusive merch: shop.theweeknd.com/ ►Follow The Weeknd: twitter.com/theweeknd facebook.com/theweeknd instagram.com/theweeknd theweeknd.com Subscribe to YouTube Music: theweeknd.co/blindinglightsYD/youtubemusic Director: Anton Tammi Production Company: Somesuch Executive Producer: Saskia Whinney Producer: Sarah Park Director of Photography: Oliver Millar 2nd…2020-01-21T18:00:10Z

In 2019, The Weeknd released “Blinding Lights” and “Heartless” off of his fourth studio album, After Hours, which was released in full in March 2020. The persona the Weeknd embodied throughout these songs and music videos is of a man in a red jacket who got his nose broken during a rough night in Las Vegas.

The Weeknd – Heartless (Official Video)Official music video for The Weeknd “Heartless” – available everywhere now: theweeknd.co/heartlessYD ►Subscribe to The Weeknd on YouTube: theweeknd.co/subscribeYD ►Follow The Weeknd: twitter.com/theweeknd facebook.com/theweeknd instagram.com/theweeknd theweeknd.com Director: Anton Tammi Producers: Alli Maxwell & Elizabeth Gross Executive Producer: Saskia Whinney Production Company: Somesuch Director of Photography: Erik Henriksson Steadicam: Niels Lindelien Gaffer: Sean Hogan Production Designer:…2019-12-03T22:30:12Z

Then the Weeknd appeared at the American Music Awards in full bandages and his video for “Save Your Tears” made it look as though he had had plastic surgery.

The Weeknd – Save Your Tears (Official Music Video)Official music video by The Weeknd performing “Save Your Tears”– ‘After Hours’ available everywhere now: theweeknd.co/afterhoursYD ►Subscribe to The Weeknd on YouTube: theweeknd.co/subscribeYD ►Get exclusive merch: shop.theweeknd.com/ ►Follow The Weeknd: twitter.com/theweeknd facebook.com/theweeknd instagram.com/theweeknd theweeknd.com Directed by Cliqua Produced by Roisín Audrey Moloney Executive Producer: Jerad Anderson Production Company: Florence Abel’s Costume Designer: Matt Henson Prosthetics:…2021-01-05T17:00:12Z

However, now The Weeknd has appeared in promotions for Super Bowl LV looking normal. So, what gives?

“It’s all a progression and we watch The Character’s storyline hit heightened levels of danger and absurdity as his tale goes on,” said The Weeknd, referring to the character he plays in the music videos.

It’s a Commentary on Hollywood and Celebrity Culture

The Weeknd explained to Variety that he did the whole bandages/plastic surgery thing as a way to make a commentary on the culture of celebrities and Hollywood and the superficiality of it all.

“The significance of the entire head bandages is reflecting on the absurd culture of Hollywood celebrity and people manipulating themselves for superficial reasons to please and be validated,” said the artist, adding, “I suppose you could take that being attractive isn’t important to me but a compelling narrative is.”

And the narrative continues. The Weeknd recently told the NFL Network that he would not be incorporating any special guests into his Super Bowl performance because that doesn’t fit with the narrative.

“I’ve been reading a lot of rumors [about special guests]. I wouldn’t bet on it. There wasn’t any room to fit it in the narrative, in the story I was telling in the performance, so yeah, there’s no special guests,” said the artist.

But he is mindful that not everyone watching at home will be familiar with his narrative, so he did keep that in mind when mapping out his performance.

“I definitely want to be respectful to the viewers at home. I will still incorporate some of the storyline. It’s a very cohesive story I’ve been telling throughout this era and throughout this year. The story will continue but definitely will keep it PG for the families. I’ll try my best,” he told Entertainment Tonight, adding, “I don’t like to spoon-feed the audience. Hopefully, they can pick up some of their own theories and conclusions of what the show is saying and the story I’m telling from the performance.”

Super Bowl 55 airs from 6:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS, immediately followed by the series premiere of The Equalizer starring Queen Latifah and Chris Noth.

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