From behind The Weeknd's mask, Abel sings his love to fans in Korea

GOYANG, Gyeonggi — A gigantic golden statue towered over the center of a cross-shaped runway extending from a cityscape stage. Pillars of fire shot skyward as 54,000 concertgoers filled the sprawling stadium.

It was quintessentially The Weeknd — a little cyberpunk, a little religious and very big in scale for both.

The Canadian singer arrived to deafening cheers at Goyang Stadium in Gyeonggi in a futuristic metallic mask as red-clad hooded figures lined the stage.

Then the mask came off, and Abel Tesfaye emerged with a bright, somewhat shy smile.

“You know, we have a special relationship,” The Weeknd said, looking into the sea of lights.

“My first stadium show ever of all time was in Korea,” he said, recalling his 2018 show at the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul. “Korea has been showing me so much love in Asia for so long.”

And he returned that affection by generously sprinkling “Goyang, “Seoul,” and “Korea” between verses, drawing enthusiastic cheers every time.

Singing the host city’s name in his silky voice may be part of his usual repertoire during concerts, but the two-night run of “Hyundai Card Super Concert 28 The Weeknd” certainly marks a special occasion for his fans here.

The Korean leg of his ongoing “After Hours Til Dawn” tour brought him back to the country for the first time in eight years. Set to draw a total of 110,000 concertgoers, the two-night run also marked the 28th edition of Hyundai Card’s “Super Concert” series, launched in 2007, and its first installment in three years, following Bruno Mars’s 2023 Seoul show.

While the spectacle was grand and dramatic, as expected for The Weeknd’s usual aesthetics, music remained at the center of the two-hour performance.

Throughout the 39-song setlist, The Weeknd barely paused. There were no prerecorded video interludes to give him a breather, just occasional stops to speak to the audience or interact with fans.

And for much of the night, he roamed the vast stage, commanding the crowd with stable and solid vocals. He often ventured toward the audience, playfully offering the microphone to eager fans.

It was easy to lose yourself in his synth-heavy music and hypnotic visuals, with the visual effect on the giant screen making it look like he was in a dreamscape. Then, just as you began to drift into the scene, another silky, soaring “Korea!” brought you straight back.

“I’m finding my religion in Korea today,” he sang early in the night, altering the verse, “I’m losing my religion every day,” from his 2020 track “Faith.” And by the time he performed “The Hills” (2015) to a barrage of pyrotechnics, he simply belted out, “Korea!”

Spectacle-wise, religious imagery ran unmistakably throughout the show, heightened by neon-bright lighting and the sheer scale of the massive production. As “How Do I Make You Love Me?” (2022) began, white vertical lights lined the cross-shaped runway. The Weeknd also walked with his arms outstretched at one point, overlapping images of him filling the giant central screen — a tableau that almost gave him an almost cult leader-like aura.

Then came another little kiss, another smile or heart gesture, and the imposing figure became an affectionate host of the night, with the connection palpable across the stadium.

Fans danced and sang throughout, the lights on the wristbands pulsing with the music. But the response to hits such as “Can’t Feel My Face” (2015) and “Save Your Tears” (2020) stood out, a familiar beat or melody enough to send cheers rippling across the venue.

Jennie, his collaborator on “One of the Girls” (2023), did not appear on the first night. At his prompting, however, the audience sang to the entire verse without instrumentals.

“Do you understand how much I love you?” he shouted. “Just wanna know — do you love me as much as I love you?”

And near the end came “Blinding Lights” (2019), of course — the first song to ever reach 5 billion streams on Spotify. The Weeknd began singing a cappella in the dark, tracing the familiar melody before the synths gradually built into the song.

For fans who had waited eight years, The Weeknd sounded determined to make the next wait shorter.

“I will come back soon for you,” he called out during the highlight of “Save Your Tears.” “I promise, Korea!”

BY SHIN HA-NEE [[email protected]]