Whatever lingering mystery that surrounded the Weeknd’s globally streamed one-night-only concert on Saturday night was put to rest a few hours before showtime, when representatives officially presented the pre-order details of his upcoming album Hurry Up Tomorrow.
What came soon after was a riveting infomercial from the Canadian R&B-pop singer and mystique merchant – real name Abel Tesfaye – that held the more than 70,000 fans that packed into the 64-year-old home of São Paulo FC in his thrall and served as a proof of concept for the tour that’s surely to follow. The 34-year-old Toronto native managed to cram 27 songs into an hour-and-a-half-long set that featured a least a half-dozen new cuts, not confirmed but almost certainly from the upcoming record, roaming the huge stage that spanned the length of the pitch and clad in a black robe with gold trim, like a boxer making the lonely walk to the squared circle.
