Only a few songs into the second of his two sold-out nights at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium on Saturday night (Sept. 3), The Weeknd lost his voice and pulled the plug on the show.
The Weeknd was in the middle of “Can’t Feel My Face” when he lost his voice, stopped, and then came out onstage to tell the crowd: “I can’t give you the concert I want to give you. I’m going to make sure everyone’s good, gets your money back, and I’ll do a show real soon for you guys, but I wanted to come out and personally apologize and not tweet it or Instagram it. I wanted you guys to know that I can’t give you what I want to give you. I apologize. I’m so sorry.”
The visibly upset superstar then stood on the stage while the crowd cheered before adding, “You know how much this kills me. I love you. Thank you so much.”
Shortly after he left stage, he followed with a Twitter post, writing, “My voice went out during the first song and I’m devastated. Felt it go and my heart dropped.” He then promised again to come back with a new date.
Fans filed out of SoFi Stadium in relatively high spirits, singing The Weeknd’s 2021 Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper “Save Your Tears” in unison.
The singer’s show the night before received high marks, with Billboard reporting, “The Weeknd is the singer, director, creator, composer and star of his own movie. And Hollywood hasn’t seen all of him just quite yet,” and praising the Ethiopian-Canadian for his full command over the audience through such songs as “Gasoline,” “Can’t Feel Me Face” and “Blinding Lights.”
The Los Angeles stops even tied in with Postmates and Monty’s Good Burger for a special treat to celebrate the long-awaited tour. The popular plant-based Los Angeles restaurant offered a one-time-only meal curated by The Weeknd and inspired by his tour. The meal includes a double Impossible burger with chipotle ketchup and pickles on a brioche bun; a side of tater tots with spicy habanero dipping sauce and a limited-edition lemonade with activated charcoal. The $27.99 was available exclusively via the Postmates app starting on Sept. 1 until midnight on Sept. 3 with a portion of the proceeds donated to the XO Humanitarian Fund.
The Weeknd was originally slated to go back on the road in January 2022 after postponing his 2020 tour into 2021 and then postponing again because of the pandemic, but the artist then pulled the 2022 arena tour to move the show to stadiums later in the year.
The stadium tour then got off to a rocky start when it started in July. The opening date in his hometown of Toronto, on July 8, had to be postponed because of a Rogers wireless network outage. However, the 18-date tour had rolled on smoothly until Saturday, the last night of the outing. The tour is now expected to move on through Mexico, South America, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa & Middle East.
Also on The Weeknd’s crowded plate is The Idol, a series he is developing, co-writing and starring in for HBO. The six-episode series follow a young pop star, played by Lily-Rose Depp, who falls for a cult leader, played by The Weeknd. He previewed the teaser for the series at his July 16 show at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
