Canadian singer-songwriter Abel Tesfaye, best known to the world as The Weeknd, made a victorious return to SoFi Stadium with four sold-out shows. He now holds the record for the most sold-out shows by a male artist at the venue. Joining in the celebration, the City of Inglewood issued a proclamation declaring June 25–29, 2025, as the Weeknd Week. The singer has an interesting and deep history with SoFi Stadium. In 2022, during his After Hours Til Dawn tour, he lost his voice mid-show and had to cancel the concert, promising to make it up to fans. The musician revealed that self-imposed pressure from touring and working on the HBO series "The Idol" contributed to the vocal breakdown.
The Weeknd kept his promise and returned a few months later—the concert was filmed for the doc The Weeknd: Live at SoFi Stadium and became his first live album, Live at SoFi Stadium. The accident also inspired his sixth studio album, Hurry Up Tomorrow, which features an interlude aptly titled “I Can’t F— Sing.” The companion piece of the LP, his first feature film under the same name, showcases a fictional version of the Weeknd who loses his voice onstage and crosses paths with Jenna Ortega’s character Anima. These projects serve as the final chapters of the Weeknd, as the singer revealed in an interview with Variety magazine in January that he is slowly winding down his famous persona. As the saying goes, all great things must come to an end. For now, all fans can do is savor the moments they have left with the Weeknd.
If anyone knows how to deliver a crowd-pleasing show, it’s the Weeknd. The singer spared no expense in creating a visually stunning production. The tour features a dystopian-themed stage design with a post-apocalyptic cityscape of Toronto flanked by huge LED screens. The cross-shaped runway is enormous and runs through the entire floor of the arena towards a smaller secondary stage. Finishing off the look was a supersized robot installation by Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama that glowed different colors and occasionally moved. The Weeknd’s producer and frequent collaborator Mike Dean and rapper Playboi Carti served as openers for the night.
On Thursday (night two), the Weeknd began his set exactly at 9 p.m. as dancers in full-body red robes and shiny gold masks dramatically appeared on stage. The Weeknd slowly emerged from the middle wearing a futuristic mask with glowing eyes and a black hooded robe with gold trim. The opening track for the night was "The Abyss." The song explores themes of love, despair, and, suitably, the impending end of an era. Keeping the energy pumping, he followed with the crowd-pleasing hits “After Hours,” “Starboy,” and “Heartless.” For over two hours, the singer gave us a taste of his entire catalog with a hefty 41-song setlist. The crowd cheers were deafening as the Weeknd remarked “You guys are fucking loud tonight.” The singer took little to no breaks in between, showcasing his incredible stamina and vocal prowess. The artist seamlessly performed slow burners like "Creepin'" and electro-pop bops like “Take My Breath.” Scattered in between were deep cuts like “Kiss Land” and debut tracks like “House of Balloons.” Towards the middle of the show, Playboy Carti joined the Weeknd back on stage for their collabs of “Timeless” and “RATHER LIE.” The Weeknd seemed to have endless energy as he moved through every inch of the runway. Fans went extra crazy as he ran towards the pit and sang “Out of Time” with a lucky fan holding a sign. The Weeknd set the stage ablaze with a show-stopping ending with the Swedish House Mafia collaboration, “Moth to a Flame.” The entire stadium was up on their feet dancing along, savoring the moment.
