Yep, There’s a Reason The Weeknd Had a Bloody Face at the VMAs

Photo credit: Kevin Mazur/MTV VMAs 2020 - Getty Images
Photo credit: Kevin Mazur/MTV VMAs 2020 - Getty Images

From Cosmopolitan

Okay, so as much as you might love and adore The Weeknd’s recent album After Hours—which, by the way, is nominated for a whopping six (6!) MTV Video Music Awards this year—there’s a good chance you’ve wondered why TF he’s been walking around everywhere with a bloodied face. Is The Weeknd (aka Abel Tesfaye) going through an emo phase? Is this his newest form of self-expression? Is it a fashion statement??? All good guesses, but the reason Abel has been going out like this is actually a lottt simpler than you think, my friend.

If you’ve watched any of Abel’s recent videos, you’ll see that they follow a pretty dark theme. In the video for After Hours’ lead single, “Blinding Lights,” Abel is seen getting violently beat up by bouncers and driving while drunk, leading to his terrible face injuries. In promotion for the single, Abel has actually been wearing this same face makeup for months—back in March, Abel caused his fans to panic because he wore the bloody face makeup during his SNL performance. So yeah, the bloody face isn’t anything new.

“‘Blinding Lights’ [is about] how you want to see someone at night, and you’re intoxicated, and you’re driving to this person and you’re just blinded by streetlights,” Abel said in his Esquire September cover story. “But nothing could stop you from trying to go see that person, because you’re so lonely. I don’t want to ever promote drunk driving, but that’s what the dark undertone is.”

So there you have it, y’all—Abel’s bloody face is just him being super dedicated to his “Blinding Lights” concept…you know, like the true artist he is. Nothing else to see here!

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