The Weeknd Lollapalooza 2018 Preview

Groundbreaking Alternative R&B/Pop superstar, The Weeknd, who has really helped usher in a new great form of R&B over these past seven years with the likes of Frank Ocean and Jhené Aiko, as well as Elijah Blake has really had a big 2018 so far.  So it should come as no surprise that he’s not only one of the main headliners for the upcoming world-renowned music festival, Lollapalooza, but will be playing the biggest headlining stage, the Grant Park stage, in a little over a week.

A slight upgrade from The Weekend’s only other Lollapalooza appearance in 2012 when he played the Red Bull Soundstage and the second closest act to being a headliner.  Which is huge for somebody who had just thrust into the spotlight only a year earlier when he released his trio of critically-acclaimed mixtapes, House of Ballons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence.  Pioneering a never really heard new Futuristic Alternative R&B sound that many others have followed since than.

For many early fans of The Weekend like myself, they were recently brought back to the greatness of his music that made them fans with his latest project and first official EP, My Dear Melancholy, which he released earlier this year and came on the heels of him winning the Best Urban Contemporary album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards for his sophomore album, Starboy.  A year that also seen him apart of the prominent Kendrick Lamar and TDE-helmed soundtrack album for, Black Panther and featured with Lamar on the soundtrack’s third single, Pray for Me, as well as playing the very famed Coachella earlier this year too, as one of the many festival’s he has already played this year or even still has yet to play.  This newest project going back to the darker side of him that was very prevalent in his trio of those very critically-acclaimed releases.

The huge mainstream crossover success of, Starboy, which opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with opening week sales of 348,000 units and 209,000 in traditional album sales back in 2016 and was certified double-platinum on June 8, 2017.  Truly marking his transition from underground sensation to legitimate mainstream crossover star.

After the huge success of that album along with his singles Starboy, Party Monster, Reminder, and Die for You, I don’t think me or many others thought, the XO singer could get back to that more darker and vulnerable sound that first made most of us fans around 2011.  But he really proved many of us wrong, while also showing the very great versatility he has as an artist that can make not only great R&B records, but Pop and Electropop records as well.

Despite all of the big name artists, which ranges from Drake to Lamar, Kanye West and Beyoncé, he has collaborated with already in his short, yet already great career, The Weeknd, is one of those artists that likes to prove his worth and showcase his great performance as a solo artist by himself.  So I wouldn’t be surprised to see him perform just by himself for his headlining set when he takes the stage in Chicago’s world famous, Grant Park, on next Saturday, Aug. 4th.  Whether he doesn’t or even does bring out any surprise guests he’s still one of the more anticipated performances of the festival that many can’t wait to see what he brings to the stage.

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