Update, 3:15 p.m.: According to a correction from Billboard, the Weeknd’s Super Bowl halftime show will actually be the same length as normal. “As in previous years, it will be roughly 12–13 minutes long,†according to the magazine. A Pepsi rep also confirmed to Vulture that the show will be the usual length of 12 to 13 minutes. But surely the Weeknd can still fit multiple red suits into that amount of time.
Original story: If you, somehow, haven’t gotten your fill of the Weeknd’s red suit, his Super Bowl halftime show will change that. According to a Billboard cover story, the Weeknd’s performance will be twice as long as a typical halftime show, clocking in at 24 minutes. That’s a mini-concert! A whole episode of a comedy series! Longer than the Weeknd’s entire My Dear Melancholy EP! The move comes after Pepsi, which sponsors the halftime show, cut down on its commercials during the game to make room for a longer performance. It also comes in the middle of a pandemic when you have nothing else you could be doing, so of course you’ll watch the whole thing. The Weeknd’s performance will take place in person at Tampa Bay’s Raymond James Stadium, which will feature a 22,000-person live audience. “We’ve been really focusing on dialing in on the fans at home and making performances a cinematic experience, and we want to do that with the Super Bowl,†Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. the Weeknd, told Billboard. No word yet on what guests could fill the show’s extra time — Ariana? Lana?? Beyoncé?!? — but the magazine did add that Tesfaye boosted the show’s usual production budget with $7 million of his own money. Guess those red suits don’t come cheap.