Watch Behind-the-Scenes Video From The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights’ (EXCLUSIVE)
By Jem Aswad
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights” video, from his forthcoming album “After Hours, ” is like a mini-action movie, so it’s fitting that there’s a behind-the-scenes video that pulls back the curtain on how the clip was made — and that’s exactly what you get below, complete with a fight scene and car chase.
What’s not in the Anton Tammi-directed video, or perhaps not obvious, are the following little-known facts:
- loved the Mercedes convertible in the video so much he bought the car after the shoot
- Someone got arrested in the tunnel during the shoot and held up production
- Roads were not completely shut down during — the cars driving past The Weeknd while he danced in the street were random pedestrians
- The video was shot over four consecutive days in Las Vegas and Los Angeles — until 6 a.m. every day
- The lead female is a Japanese model named Miki Hamano
The clip comes during a flurry of activity in the run-up to the March 20 release of “After Hours”: Tickets for The Weeknd’s massive tour of North America and Europe go on sale at 10 a.m. ET this morning. He will be supported by Sabrina Claudio, Don Toliver, and 88GLAM at various dates. The shows represent the Weeknd’s first North American tour since his 2017 dates in support of his “Starboy” album, although he toured in Asia in 2018.
The Weeknd’s series of late-night appearances will peak on March 7 when he makes his third appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”
“Blinding Lights” and “Heartless, ” the two lead singles from “After Hours,” were released just three days apart last fall. Both songs have an early ‘80s vibe, with vintage gated-drum sounds and echo-drenched synthesizers, and serve as an effective intro to the album, which is much more upbeat than the songs on last year’s EP “My Dear Melancholy.”
The Weeknd also made his big screen debut, appearing as himself in the critically-acclaimed Safdie Brothers film “Uncut Gems” alongside Adam Sandler, which was released in December.
