Inside The Weeknd's Friendship With Drake
The Weeknd is riding so high these days, it might be more appropriate to call him The Whole Freakn' Week. The singer has already earned three Grammy Awards before age 30, and his latest album, After Hours, was the top R&B release of 2020 (via Forbes). Now, he's poised to reach millions more new fans when he performs at the Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 7, 2021.
Traditionally, the artist or group who gets that coveted Super Bowl spot brings in one or more guest artists to add to the fun, such as 2020's star-studded halftime when Jennifer Lopez and Shakira brought in Bad Bunny and J Balvin. This time around, the smart money is on Drake to join his longtime collaborator (via Sports Betting Dime). True, the fellow Canadians have had their differences over the years, but the Big Game would be a perfect opportunity to show the world that they're as tight as ever.
According to Britannica, the singer formerly known as Abel Makkonen Tesfaye saw his career start to soar after YouTube videos of singles he'd written made their way onto Drake's blog. The rapper liked what he heard, and it's said that he helped get The Weeknd more of the public exposure that led to the acceleration of his fame.
A love interest may have come between The Weeknd and Drake
The friendship between the two artists appeared to sour in 2017 when Drake was rumored to be dating Bella Hadid. The Weeknd previously dated the model for several years and reportedly felt his pal had broken the "bro code" (per Page Six). Though Hadid denied the rumors (via USA Today), The Weeknd apparently wasn't convinced. It's thought that a "Lost in the Fire" lyric references Drake's alleged attempt to hide a child he had as the result of a brief encounter.
The Things also notes The Weeknd may actually have started the split several years earlier by signing with a competing record label. However, time has since healed the rift. In 2019, Drake released "War," in which he referenced The Weeknd (by comparing his voice to Michael Jackson's) and sang, "We just had to fix things" (via People).
And while they may not be the tightest of friends, they definitely have a deep respect for each other's talent. When The Weeknd was overlooked for Grammy consideration last year, Drake publicly criticized awards execs for not recognizing the artists who make the most impact on the industry. "The other day I said The Weeknd was a lock for either album or song of the year along with countless other reasonable assumptions and it just never goes that way," he opined on Instagram (via Billboard).
A joint Super Bowl halftime appearance would go a long way toward confirming that The Weeknd and Drake are solid again.