Will Scarbrough
Mini Review: The Weeknd: Live at SoFi Stadium Special
Filmed at LA’s SoFi Stadium, The Weeknd (HBO’s upcoming The Idol) brings down the house – and your living room – in this epic concert event.
The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye)
The Weeknd: Live at SoFi Stadium Special is an exciting, visual & audio feast of a special. As someone who isn’t particularly a fan of Abel, as I’ve not followed him career very closely and have only listened to a couple songs of his. However, through the gorgeous visuals and storytelling through the lights & performance enrich The Weeknd’s gorgeous songs, I can’t help but call myself a fan.
It’s hard to discuss a live performance as the experience will always be a different one, but the directing and editing are at such lovely heights, a sat at home viewing of the special won’t be anything less than a fun one.
The one song that I had heard from Abel previously is the newly iconic, ‘Blinding Lights’ and it was mostly absent during the whole show… however, Abel & the director’s visual build up lead to the brilliant electric finish that I was anxiously anticipating.
While the special is constantly engaging and a feast for the ears and eyes, it can feel rather repetitive at times and I did hope for something a bit more unique than what I had previously seen before in other specials. As well as being a little underwhelming by the filmmaking compared to his previous couple that tend to lean into a “film” style in moments.
To conclude, The Weeknd: Live at SoFi Stadium special is an electric, visual experience from start to finish. It could have been a little more ambitious than previously, but it’s all enough to please all Abel fans.
