The Weeknd Breaks Down in Tears Singing at Coachella — Is He Crying About Selena Gomez?

Dave Quinn
Updated

The Weeknd gave an emotional performance at Coachella on Friday, visibly breaking down in tears during his headlining set.

The 28-year-old Canadian singer (né Abel Tesfaye) ended the popular musical festival’s first day of fun with a tender and raw performance as he sang songs from his new six-song EP My Dear Melancholy.

Two of those tunes, “Call Out My Name” and “Privilege,” appeared to strike The Weeknd more than the others. While he belted them out, fans watching at home on the YouTube live stream noticed The Weeknd crying.

Turns out those songs are assumed by fans to be about The Weeknd’s relationship with ex Selena Gomez.

the full performance, enjoy having a mental breakdown {I}

A post shared by The Weeknd & Selena Gomez (@abelenaslove) on Apr 14, 2018 at 1:58am PDT

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Part of the reason why fans think that is because the EP, filled with songs about the pain experienced after failed relationships, is the first solo new project The Weeknd has released since his split from Gomez. The couple went their separate ways in October 2017 after dating for 10 months.

But the other reasons fans connected these tunes with Gomez comes from the lyrics themselves.

“Call Out My Name” specifically has a line that had many listeners questioning whether The Weeknd considered giving Gomez, 25, a kidney when she needed a transplant last year.

“I said I didn’t feel nothing baby, but I lied/I almost cut a piece of myself for your life,” he sings.

“Privilege,” meanwhile, has The Weeknd singing about helping an ex through her suffering as she took “two red pills to take the blues away, away, away” — a line fans speculate might have to do with Gomez’s treatment for depression and anxiety and the two-week program she completed in January 2017 to address her issues.

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Though The Weeknd hasn’t confirmed who he’s singing about (fans also think some tracks, including “Privilege,” could be about his year-and-a-half relationship with ex Bella Hadid, which ended in November 2016), the viewers of his Coachella set still couldn’t help but make the Gomez connection when watching his Coachella set.

“The Weeknd crying over Selena while preforming at Coachella is honestly heavy f——- mood,” wrote one user on Twitter. “I love Abel so much.”

“The Weeknd crying got me sad like I almost gave my kidney to Selena,” tweeted another.

And though not everyone actually at Coachella noticed the tears, they did notice the deep grinding motion The Weeknd did during the song Party Monster when singing, “Ass shaped like Selena” — erupting in cheers and applause.

Meanwhile, Coachella continues on, with performers like Eminem and Cardi B set to make their debuts this weekend (the first part of the festival runs through Sunday, and then the second week is from April 20 to 22).

Perhaps the most highly anticipated performer this year, Beyoncé will return to the Coachella stage as a headliner after being forced to postpone her 2017 performance due to her pregnancy with twins Rumi and Sir Carter. Saturday’s performance will be her first since welcoming the twins.

Other big names on the lineup this year include breakout star SZA, groups Portugal. the Man and HAIM, Vince Staples and French Montana.