This is the best and worst time to be a Weeknd fan.
The R&B crooner has had a whirlwind year, capping off his summer on Sept. 6 by closing Budweiser Made in America, the Philadelphia music festival curated by Jay Z. That headlining set also comes on the heels of his album, Beauty Behind the Madness, which just debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
What's the downside, then? It's the sense of nostalgia that washes over longtime fans at a Weeknd show. He's no longer a mysterious, unseen singer from Toronto, slyly releasing mixtapes. He hasn't been that guy for a while. The Weeknd no longer needs a Drake cosign -- and he has so many hits that he barely has time to perform the mixtape tracks that made him blow up in the first place.
[seealso slug="beyonce-made-in-america"]
Nowadays, he's closing out a show that was headlined by Beyoncé the night before. The pop star transformation is complete.
The singer's electric BMIA set opened with "High For This," the prophetic first track from his debut mixtape, House of Balloons. From there, The Weeknd stuck to a slate of current songs, like the Kanye West-produced "Tell Your Friends," "Losers" and "Often." A blood-red background highlighted the pacing singer, illuminating the silhouette of his bobbing dreadlocks.
He also paid tribute to Beyoncé with a sinister cover of "Drunk In Love," the remixed version about Percocet, Adderall, ecstasy and sleepless nights.
"I came all the way from Toronto just to f*ck shit up," he later declared.
The Weeknd covering "Drunk in Love" pic.twitter.com/WI7H5l2GoQ— Yohana Desta (@YohanaDesta) September 7, 2015
For all of his high-energy bursts, the Weeknd is at his best when he's aloof, pausing for moments of silence as the screams from the packed crowd grow louder and louder. His first encore kicked off that way -- a dark but perfectly fitting introduction to "Prisoner," which transitioned into high gear for smash hits "I Can't Feel My Face" and "The Hills."
Like the very beginning of the show, the final song (and second encore) circled back to House of Balloons, closing the night with a slow-burning rendition of "Wicked Games." Sure, his set was packed with current hit singles -- but it felt most fulfilling at the end, when The Weeknd took his audience back to where it all began.