‘Blinding Lights’: The Weeknd Experiments with 80s Nostalgia
Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd goes on a bender in his latest visual, which picks up where his last single Heartless left off. The Weeknd debuted he video of his boom-clap ’80s synth-pop pastiche titled Blinding Lights.
Also borrowing from the 80s aesthetic is his outfit, general look, and ‘wild youth’ disposition; as he experiments with several intoxicants like the Boomers and Gen X generations of that period.
One of the best pop songs of 2019 — with a long-form Mercedes ad, The Weeknd gave the song a visually memorable performance of Blinding Lights on The Late Show with Steven Colbert. Now the track has an official music video too.
Anton Tammi, who directed the Weeknd’s Heartless video, directs this one as well. It’s a continuation of the previous clip’s storyline, with Abel Tesfaye in reflective shades and a red sport coat gallivanting across Las Vegas.
This time Tesfaye finds himself on the run and under threat of violence. Tammi’s visuals really hammer home stylistic influences like Michael Jackson and Drive.
Tesfaye gets to do more acting than he did in Uncut Gems, showing off his Joker-inspired dance moves while donning a red blazer and smoking a cigarette.
Republic Records has been giving Blinding Lights a Top 40 radio push in hopes that it can follow Heartless to #1.
While there are still no details on that new Weeknd album yet, he’s performing this Wednesday night on Kimmel, so maybe we’ll learn more then. In the meantime…
