Something for The Weekend?

Alina Kay witnessed The Weeknd party which never really got started.

The Canadian R’n’B star Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd (yes, the spelling is correct), gave a concert to promote his brand new album ‘Kiss Land’ at the O2 on Tuesday November 28th.

Dangerously close to Tesfaye’s on-stage time, the cavernous hall was still half-empty. Not because of poor ticket sales; the Jubilee Line had gone down at North Greenwich, and hundreds of fans were delayed. They missed the support act altogether (Californian singer Banks), and when The Weeknd launched into his new album rather than his better known tracks, judging by the lukewarm response the audience seemed to think this wasn’t what they had struggled to get here for.

The crowd remained largely unimpressed until The Weeknd played his most famous tune, ‘High for This’. Here at last was something they could sing along with.

Tesfaye has an extraordinary voice, but this was not much of a show. There were no dancers, and the band was hidden at the back of the stage. The Weeknd’s performance was accompanied by projected screen images of Japanese banners and naked women, but these added little to the overall effect.

Yes, Abel’s music features sex, drugs and rock’n’roll. But soft porn stock shots only suggested that the producers were short of ideas. Given The Weeknd’s recent commercial success, they can’t have been short of money.

Halfway through the concert, people started leaving – even if some of them had only just arrived. Towards the end, the only ones really into the music were the teenagers right at the front.

The Weeknd’s best tracks –  ‘Wicked Games’, ‘High for This’, ‘The Zone’ and ‘What You Need’ – certainly hit the spot. But in such a big arena he’s not yet strong enough to pull off a whole show by his voice alone.

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