What happened to The Weeknd’s face? Blinding Lights star finally explains meaning of bandages

Singer described stunt as a ‘compelling narrative’

The Weeknd has revealed the meaning behind his publicity stunt in which he wore bandages on his face.

It all started in August 2020 when the singer performed at the MTV Video Music Awards with a bloodied face, while promoting his new album After Hours.

Two months later, The Weeknd – real name Abel Makkonen Tesfaye – appeared at the American Music Award ceremony wearing bandages over his face.

During this time, he had also released a series of music videos in which he either had a bloodied face or was wrapped in bandages.

It emerged last month that he had been performing in character with the result of his “makeover” – unveiled in his latest music video for the song “Save Your Tears” – giving him an unsettling plastic surgery look.

Now, ahead of his performance at the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday (7 February), The Weeknd discussed the reasons behind the stunt in a new interview.

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“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,” he told Variety.

The Weeknd, in character, revealed what was under his bandages for ‘Save Your Tears’ music video (Republic)

He added: “It’s all a progression and we watch The Character’s storyline hit heightened levels of danger and absurdity as his tale goes on.”

Read more: The Weeknd is over his Grammy snub, says it ‘means nothing to him’

When asked if he “intentionally” made his face “unattractive while promoting [his] biggest album”, the R&B musician said: “I suppose you could take that being attractive isn’t important to me but a compelling narrative is.”

Recently, The Weeknd called out the Grammy Awards after he walked away with zero nominations despite having multiple hits this year. 

“The Grammys remain corrupt,” he said on Twitter. “You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency.”