The Weeknd performs intimate show for fans in Santa Monica

In the digital streaming era, one of the biggest flexes an artist can have is being a member of Spotify’s Billions Club, a playlist that highlights every song that has been streamed more than 1 billion times on the platform. Among the nearly 500 artists who have graced the glorified list are Mariah Carey (“All I Want for Christmas Is You”), Rihanna (“Needed Me”), Fleetwood Mac (“Dreams”), Kendrick Lamar (“All the Stars” featuring SZA), Billie Eilish (“Ocean Eyes”), but the distinction of having the most tracks — 24 to be exact — to hit 1 billion streams on Spotify belongs to the Weeknd.

To commemorate this milestone, the Toronto pop star teamed up with Spotify to host an intimate, invite-only concert with nearly 2,000 of his biggest fans — his top 10% listeners on the platform — on Tuesday night at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica.

“It’s a little holiday gift for the OG XO fans supporting me [since] Day 1,” the Weeknd said during his 70-minute set. “2024 is almost done, but 2025, we got some new s— coming out. New album. New tour. New movie. New everything. We’re shutting this s— down.” His upcoming album “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” which is the third and final installment of his “After Hours” / “Dawn FM” trilogy,” will be supported by a psychological thriller starring the singer born Abel Tesfaye, alongside Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan.

With the support of his longtime collaborator Mike Dean (on the keys) and guitarist Patrick Greenaway, the Weeknd performed 20 of the 24 songs that landed him on the Billions Club playlist including “Blinding Lights” (the most streamed song on Spotify), “The Hills,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” and “After Hours.” He also performed three additional songs for the energetic crowd, who knew every word, including “São Paulo,” “Timeless,” and “Wicked Games.”

“I know that song didn’t hit a billion, but I felt like I had to do it,” he said about “Wicked Games.” “It’s necessary, at least one ‘House of Balloons’ song.”

Fans started lining up overnight at 4 a.m. for the highly anticipated show and a few folks traveled from Newark, N.J., for the chance to get inside even though they didn’t have tickets to the event. (Unfortunately, the aforementioned Jersey fans didn’t make it inside because they didn’t have a ticket.) The special night featured food trucks including L.A.’s beloved Kogi Korean BBQ, an open bar (for attendees 21 and up) and the Weeknd merchandise — all of which was free to attendees.

For an international superstar like the Weeknd, who regularly sells out arenas and stadiums around the globe, the event was a chance for fans to experience his music in a personal setting. In fact, it was likely the first time since his early days that he’s performed for an audience of fewer than 2,000 people. “It feels like back in the ‘Kiss Land’ tour,” he said. “Maybe after the stadium tour, we’ll go back to smaller venues. I like this.”

Ashley Graver, who leads artist partnerships and is head of pop, dance and indie at Spotify, says the Weeknd and his team were involved throughout the entire process of putting together the show, including on the merch design, stage and sound design.

“This milestone really shows how massive the Weeknd’s impact is around the world,” she said. “His success is a testament to his artistry and his constant drive to push creative boundaries. Right now, ‘Blinding Lights’ is the most-streamed song on Spotify, even four years after it came out, which just goes to show how much staying power he has and how loyal his fans are.”

Before the show, we caught up with attendees to ask them about their fandom and what it means to be invited to such an exclusive event.

Cole Dizon and Elijah Shen Muralles

Age:
Dizon: 20
Shen Muralles: 21

Neighborhood:
Dizon: Lancaster
Shen Muralles: South Gate

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
Dizon: About two years ago, one of my friends showed me a few songs — some of the mainstream ones like “Die For You” and “Blinding Lights.” I knew he was a household name, but once I started getting into the groove of it, I was like “OK, he’s pretty good.” Eventually, I went to his Spotify profile and started listening to more of his songs. I was like, “Hold on. I can see why he’s so popular. The trend has motion to it.” So I started listening to him more and more.

Shen Muralles: I would hear him here and there and he was always one of the big celebrities, but I didn’t really get deep into it until maybe like a year or two ago. My friend was just blasting his music all the time and I was like, “You know what, I’m going to hear this artist out.” After a few songs, I realized, “Oh my gosh. He’s one of the best sounding artists I’ve ever heard. I should’ve hopped onto the bandwagon sooner.”

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
Dizon: “I Feel It Coming.” Daft Punk is a classic. When the song dropped, I wasn’t on the bandwagon yet but listening to it recently I was like, first off, I remember this song. [Secondly], I’ve been sleeping on this because this is straight heat.

Shen Muralles: “House of Balloons.” I’m a big fan of the first half. The second half is still really good. However, I think the first half, it’s just the beat, the lyrics, it really just gets me in the mood. Also, “Stargirl Interlude.” I’m a bit of a Lana Del Rey fan. Her voice just hard carries that song.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
Dizon: It’s super surreal. When I got the email [invite] from Spotify, I didn’t believe it was real… We got here and saw the line and I was like, “Holy smokes! This is actually legitimate.” We were stressing in line cause we thought we weren’t going to get in… I’m going to see him in like four weeks from now [at his tour], so to me this is not only a wonderful surprise, but it’s a great love letter to his fans.

Shen Muralles: I’m not one to drop a whole lot of money to go to concerts, so to get to come to something like this with Spotify is like, “Wow, this is crazy.” I’m just so grateful to be here because this is like a once in a lifetime opportunity for me… This is a Christmas gift right here.

America Maldonado, Maya Garcia and Kessai Suksanguan

Age:
Maldonado: 21
Garcia: 21
Suksanguan: 19

Neighborhood:
Maldonado: Downtown L.A.
Garcia: Bellflower
Suksanguan: Long Beach

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
Maldonado: Since I was 13. I would listen to his mixtapes.

Garcia: Probably since middle school.

Suksanguan: Around middle school. I would hear him a lot on the radio.

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
Maldonado: “Adaptation.” It’s just a beautiful story. If you listen to [the album] “Kiss Land,” every song ends and it just continues on with the story.

Garcia: I know it’s basic, but I’m going to say “Earned It.” It’s super catchy and it highlights his voice, which I love.

Suksanguan: “After Hours.” I really like the style of that whole album and that time period for him.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
Maldonado: It feels amazing. Unfortunately, I’ve only seen him perform live twice. I’ve been listening to him for so long, but to be a part of this free event where I feel comfortable, is great.

Garcia: I’m honestly so glad that he’s doing this show in L.A. I just love being here in L.A.

Suksanguan: I think it’s just really special that it was free and invite only, so it makes us feel really wanted and really special. And the fact that it’s close to us too, it’s really convenient.

Hamza Akmal, Adeeb Ali and Ameer Ali

Age:
Ameer: 25
Adeeb: 28
Akmal: 29

Neighborhood:
Ameer: Whittier
Adeeb: West Covina
Akmal: Culver City

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
Ameer: The Drake collabs made me a fan. The songs were very unique. I’d never heard anything like that at the time.
Adeeb: I became a fan when I heard him on “Crew Love” with Drake. I was like, “This guy is good.”
Akmal: I became a fan around high school [around] like 2011. A couple of my friends liked to explore a lot of new music and they told me to check him out, so I’ve been listening since then.

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
Ameer: I’m a big Michael Jackson fan. I love how the Weeknd did “Dirty Diana” [with his song] “D.D.”
Adeeb: “Out of Time.” It’s just so pretty. He sampled some Japanese city pop and it sounded really nice.
Akmal: Probably “The Hills.” It’s just too catchy for me. I just love the beat of it and everything.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
Ameer: It’s exciting.
Adeeb: It seemed a little too good to be true. I was like, “Are we being set up right now?” And like, no, it’s just super cool.
Akmal: Coming to this, I didn’t really know what to expect, but based on what I’m seeing, it’s really cool to be here.

Shenita and Kenyah Moore

Age:
Kenyah: 18
Shenita: 48

Neighborhood:
Kenyah: Santa Monica
Shenita: Santa Monica

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
Kenyah: He’s just always been there. Growing up, he’s one of the most popular artists of my generation.
Shenita: I’m just here supporting her, but I am familiar with his music.

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
Kenyah: “In the Night.” I like the story that it tells.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
Kenyah: I’m glad I saw the email. It’s a pretty cool thing that he achieved — to get that many songs over 1 billion [streams].

Grace Chandler, Jessie Sheridan and Isabella Elsesser

Age:
Chandler: 20
Sheridan: 20
Elsesser: 19

Neighborhood:
Chandler: Long Beach
Sheridan: San Luis Obispo
Elsesser: Long Beach

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
Chandler: It had to have been when I was in the fifth grade when “The Hills” came out. Everyone was singing that song and I would play it 24/7 with my mom and my sister. Respectfully. It was just the beat. It just started from there.

Sheridan: Since the third grade. My sister put me on. I have no idea what album it was, but that was my life. I’ve been singing his music since the third grade. He will always and forever be my guy.

Elsesser: I heard about him from “The Hills” but it was the Echos Remix. There’s a woman who sings it in a house, dubstep kind of way and I was always into dubstep. I was like, “Yes. Yes. I love this.”

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
Chandler: “Stargirl Interlude” and “Save Your Tears.”
Sheridan: “Stargirl Interlude.”
Elsesser: “The Morning” [starts singing song]. It’s empowering. I feel like I’m the girl. I’m like “Yeah, I’m the money. I’m the motive.” I also love “São Paulo” with Anitta. It’s so fire.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
Chandler: Unreal!
Sheridan: So exciting.
Elsesser: I’m excited to dance.

Zachary Cutting

Age: 37

Neighborhood: Belmont, Calif.

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
I was doing security at the Fonda Theatre, but he wasn’t popular yet. I heard him performing. He did the “Dirty Diana” song and I liked that, so from then on, I followed his career and I’ve been a fan ever since.

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
“Is There Someone Else?” Sometimes I be wondering… with the person I’m talking to, like, “Is there someone else?” [laughs]

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
I’ve only seen him perform that one time, so I’m excited.

Carmen Flores and Marco De La Cruz

Age:
Flores: 25
De La Cruz: 26

Neighborhood: Maywood

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
Flores: I think I was in middle school. My sister asked if I ever heard of his music.

De La Cruz: Around 2015-2016, probably during the “Trilogy” era.

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
Flores: “Faith.” First of all, I think it’s a very fun song. Just meaning of faith and how it transitions into [the next song, “Blinding Lights”]. It’s very underrated.

De La Cruz: “After Hours.” Just the whole production on that song and his vocals.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
Flores: It means everything. But I will be seeing him again next month and I also saw him with Mike Dean on March 1 at the Wiltern when he came out with Travis Scott and it was the best thing ever.

David Reyes

Age: 19

Neighborhood: Riverside

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd? My sister put me on when “Starboy” came out. She always played it.

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
“Die For You” for sure. It’s just a classic. 10/10.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
It’s very unique how Spotify and Abel are doing this for his fans. It’s just cool how artists actually care for their fans.

Jonathan Serna and Catherine Carrasco

Age:
Carrasco: 25
Serna: 26

Neighborhood:
Carrasco: Santa Ana
Serna: Santa Ana

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd?
Carrasco: In 2015. I was a sophomore in high school. I think the first song that I listened to by him was “The Morning” and I got introduced to his music by an ex-boyfriend. [laughs] I got this hoodie a while ago and then his first concert I went to was the “Starboy” [tour].
Serna: When “Starboy” released, I kept listening to it on repeat like crazy. After that, I listened to everything he’s made and I became a fan. I wasn’t a big fan until “After Hours” [though].

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
Carrasco: That’s such a hard question. I think “The Birds Pt. 1” and Pt. 2. I love every song by him, but I have those on repeat. He’s No. 1 on my Spotify Wrapped every year.
Serna: “After Hours.” He was No. 1 on my Wrapped.

How does it feel to be at this exclusive show?
Carrasco: I’m like shaking. I’m excited. I’ve seen him a couple of times, but this is a free event.
Serna: It’s amazing. I didn’t think I was going to get it. When I got the [email], I just went on break at my job. They gave you like 20 minutes to respond and I know she would’ve killed me if I didn’t.

Jorge Martinez

Age: 20

Neighborhood: We live in Newark, N.J. I saw a couple of TikToks like two days ago about the Spotify event. Unfortunately, we’re on Apple Music so we didn’t get the invite, but I was like maybe Abel might stop and sign our vinyl. She has on her “After Hours” hoodie. We came here for the SoFi show in November for the three-year anniversary. [Then we came back for this], so we traveled a long way.

How long have you been a fan of the Weeknd? I’ve been a big fan since “After Hours” came out. It was really good. It was a dream seeing him in concert [at his recent show]. The next dream is hopefully meeting him.

What’s your favorite song by the Weeknd?
“After Hours.” The way it slowly transitions to the beat drop — I like the 808s.

You flew out to L.A. just for the chance to see the show even though you don’t have tickets. Why was it important to you?
It would mean a lot for us to make it inside of the show or even to meet him, that would be amazing too. We’re planning to maybe fly out to the Rose Bowl show. But we got to try it out.

[Unfortunately, Jorge, his girlfriend and sister didn’t make it inside of the show because they didn’t have tickets.]