Heading into the weekend, The Weeknd has decided to take over The Late Show. Tonight (Friday), he will be performing his latest single, “Blinding Lights.” He was on the show last night as well, to perform “Heartless,” although he never actually took the stage to do so.
As Stephen Colbert usually does, he stood on stage, held up the cover art for the song, and introduced his musical guest. The audience, not seeing anybody, offered unsure applause, and once Colbert realized The Weeknd hadn’t yet emerged, he headed backstage to look for him. It turns out The Weeknd was in a different part of The Late Show studio, drink in hand, seemingly trying to find his way to the stage. Instead, he navigated deeper in the bowels of the studio, and started performing “Heartless” in the shape-shifting hallways.
The Weeknd. The Late Show. Tonight. #LSSC pic.twitter.com/eEEvIZCfsm
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) December 5, 2019
The Weeknd left a comment on The Late Show‘s YouTube video of the performance, writing, “thank you Stephen for letting us go crazy on this.”
It was an innovative performance, and this year, Colbert has been happy to give artists room to be creative with their appearances, like when Karen O and Danger Mouse gave a Spike Jonze-directed performance of “Woman” earlier this year.
Watch The Weeknd’s performance of “Heartless” above.
