At least choose a new color.
Photo: The Weeknd / YouTube
When the Weeknd conceptualized its fourth studio album, Na-ure, inspired by the Martin Scorsese film of the same name, he probably did not imagine that he would get stuck in a perpetual album release cycle. The first single, “Heartless”, drops out in November 2019 and begins the whirlwind story, but since the album appeared on March 20, 2020, the rest of the project has become synonymous with our living hell. “This character had a really bad night – all of these videos take place in one night – and you can have your own interpretation of what it is,” the Weeknd said. Variety last April. During a concert, the story can unfold and make sense: sad man self-destruct. Simply. But about several flashy, concept performances and music videos released in the span of a year, while we all embrace a crushing new reality? A few difficult to follow. “It’s all progress, and we’re watching the character’s storyline reach increased levels of danger and absurdity as his story progresses,” the Weeknd tried its best to explain earlier this week. Instead, that red suit haunts us through the worst moments in recent memory, even though the songs have gone viral megahits. With the absence of the Weeknd’s Super Bowl series on Sunday and its world tour delayed until 2022, when will we (and its stylists) be free? Here’s a look back at the damn history of the pack before its eventual debut at Super Bowl LV.
27 November 2019: Ah, the release of the fuckboy song “Heartless.” If you look at this photo, good memories of commuters, office conversations and fresh air are brought back – all that the red suit does not currently evoke.
December 6-7, 2019: The Weeknd performs its new single on back-to-back evenings of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, pulls dance movements straight out joker. On night two (shot in black and white, so you may not know he repeated his outfit), he asks the crowd to sing along to ‘Blinding Lights’. Sometimes it’s nice to remember that the world has always been so cruel.
January 21, 2020: The “Blinding Lights” music video dropped in January 2020 and since then we know no peace. Coincidence?
January 23, 2020: He picks up the red suit and takes it to Los Angeles to perform Jimmy Kimmel Live! How novel.
March 4, 2020: The Weeknd Releases After hours, the short film. In it he walks from the stage to Jimmy Kimmel Live! and it immediately begins to lose. Did not expect to feel saw.
March 20, 2020: The album falls, with its bloody nose and red suit on the cover.
7 April 2020: Confirm that the suit is indeed making an appearance in the nausea-inducing intoxication simulation that is the music video ‘Till I Bloom’. This seems to be a good timing, as cities have gone under lockdown and drunk nights were out of the past.
30 August 2020: The country took the summer off to debate civil rights again, but by August the red suit was dry-cleaned and ready for close-up at the MTV Video Music Awards. “Blinding Lights” also had a big TikTok dance during this time, but the suit would not be caught for doing so.
18 September 2020: The “red suit character”, as he calls it on Instagram, covers Rolling clip. “The Weeknd’s Endless Summer,” the front page warns us.
23 November 2020: Na-ure lands the Weeknd three AMAs, but his face is too committed to enjoy it. It’ll all be worth it for the Grammys, he probably thought.
December 4, 2020: He wears the red suit in the music video for the “Blinding Lights” remix with Rosalía, but let’s be honest, no one is watching him. Another season of “Blinding Lights.” Maybe this is now how we count time.
December 10, 2020: As a Jingle Ball gift, he completely threw out the suit, gloves and bandages for a special lounge performance. It feels almost suspiciously normal.
January 5, 2021: His latest music video, “Save Your Tears”, unveils Commandment Weeknd. Instead of a bloody face, he turned himself into Handsome Squidward, just in case his other recent videos didn’t traumatize enough fans.
February 3, 2021: The Na-ure tour lives on … in 2022. We have felt this pain before. Are we, like the red suit, too stuck in our place and seeking peace in a universe we want to destroy until we are unrecognizable?
February 5, 2021: The Weeknd may have gone completely black for the Super Bowl press conference, but the red suit (sparkling edition) is front and center on the field in the new Pepsi ad for the halftime show. When will the Weeknd let us and, more importantly, the red suit man rest?