The Weeknd was the latest to take to the digital stage this last Friday and saw him perform After Hours to an audience around the world.

2020 has been the year that virtual concerts have become the norm as artists around the world take to the web to perform in a world where all the venues have been shut down. The Weeknd is the latest to go online and switched it up by opting for TikTok as the platform he performed on.

Last Friday, The Weeknd made TikTok’s “first-ever interactive augmented reality broadcast” with ‘The Weeknd Experience’. It featured the singer as a digital avatar singing some of his most beloved tracks from his huge album After Hours and even a minute-long preview of a brand new song.

Singing as an avatar on phone screens across the world, The Weeknd was joined by Doja Cat for a remix of ‘In Your Eyes’ who appeared as her own cat avatar. The virtual concert followed The Weeknd explore a psychedelic virtual world as his avatar performed his songs.

Whilst TikTok is currently embroiled in controversy with the US, particularly by criticism from Trump, following the apps ban in India it seems it is not stopping their efforts to leave a mark across the world. With the success of The Weeknd’s concert TikTok streamed it again between the 7th and 10th of August.

In the wake of the COVID shutdowns of music venues around the world, artists have taken to platforms like Twitch and YouTube for online concerts. With the blossoming world of online concerts and their potential across multiple platforms we will likely see more TikTok performances to come.