The Weeknd, Beaten Bloody, Sings "Blinding Lights" On 'Kimmel': Watch

Uncut Gems star the Weeknd hasn’t announced any plans to release a new album anytime soon. But the Weeknd does have two new singles, one which hit #1 back in the pre-Roddy Ricch era. When he’s been promoting those two songs on late-night shows, the Weeknd has been creating wild, ambitious setpieces, like the Colbert performance that he spent wandering around in the catacombs under the Ed Sullivan Theatre. Last night, the Weeknd was on Kimmel, and he gave another one that’ll stick with you.

The Weeknd was on Kimmel to sing “Blinding Lights,” the one that didn’t hit #1. This time around, when the camera zoomed in on him, he had blood trickling down his face, a giant black eye, and a bandage across his nose. (It’s presumably all makeup, though it’s at least conceivable that the Weeknd got himself into a Howard Ratner situation before the taping.) The Weeknd wore a red dinner jacket and black gloves, and the camera swooped around him in almost-hallucinatory ways. When the lights came up at the end the camera, we got the weird reveal that he’d been standing on rose petals the whole time.

I like this! Kimmel and the Weeknd didn’t give any context for the performance, so you can kind make up your own backstory. Maybe it’s a continuation the music video! Check it out below.

“Blinding Lights” is out now on the streaming services. Uncut Gems is a good movie.