The Weeknd concert goers complain singer finished Melbourne show ‘early’

The Weeknd opened his long-awaited Australian tour in Melbourne at the weekend, and concert goers have issued one big complaint.

The Weeknd has kicked off his Australian tour in Melbourne with back-to-back shows, but eager concert goers have been left wanting, accusing the singer of arriving late and finishing early.

The Canadian pop star, real name Abel Tesfaye, finally began the local leg of his After Hours Til Dawn tour after postponing his initial November 2023 concert dates, before cancelling the tour altogether back in April.

He announced in August he would be finally making his way down under, with the first show held at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night, marking his first performance on our shores since 2017.

It was a long time coming for ticket holders, but many have taken to social media to accuse the Blinding Lights singer of “arriving late”, leaving abruptly and skipping the encore.

The Weeknd performed back-to-back shows at Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium. Picture: Rick Clifford

Fans who attended Saturday night’s show claimed The Weeknd arrived onstage at 8.45pm, some 15 minutes after he was due to begin, before wrapping the show without an encore performance at 10.30pm, half-an-hour before the 11pm stadium curfew.

One TikTok user uploaded a video of herself in disbelief over the show’s abrupt ending, writing, “Tell me I’m not the only one who thought it was over way too early.”

Fans claim the singer arrived late and left early on night 1. Picture: Naomi Rahim/Getty Images for Live Nation

Hundreds of attendees flooded the comment section echoing the sentiment.

“My blood is still boiling, he arrived late, left early, left without an encore, didn’t perform moth to a flame which is one of his BIGGEST songs, too anti climactic,” one wrote.

“He didn’t even say bye,” another said.

“After cancelling last year …” a third wrote.

“No literally he just like walked off,” a fourth added.

One fan shared a TikTok of her experience, which attracted hundreds of comments.

The Weeknd hasn’t been to Australia since 2017. Picture: Naomi Rahim/Getty Images for Live Nation

While The Weeknd changes up his set lists for different shows, he performed just 32 songs in Melbourne – 10 songs less than he performed during his Mexico concert in October last year amid the tour’s Europe and Latin America leg.

However, others who attended the second night on Sunday reported The Weeknd delivered a two-song encore, and a proper goodbye.

“We got a double encore including moth to a flame,” one fan claimed.

“He stayed a bit later over curfew HE PERFORMED MOTH TO A FLAME AND CREEPIN which he didn’t perform the first night,” another wrote.

“WE GOT SO LUCKY IM SO GRATEFUL,” shared one.

The Weeknd did suffer an uncomfortable encounter about an hour into his show Saturday.

Footage taken by a fan attending the concert showed a male jump on stage and sprint toward the singer, before grabbing him and hugging him until security intervened.

The Weekend could be seen manoeuvring out of his grip as guards escorted the rogue fan away, as The Weeknd carried on with his performance.

Despite that, it appears The Weeknd had a marvellous time on opening night, taking to Instagram thanking his Aussie fans as he made a lighthearted reference to the stage invader.

“You helped us open the gates for this leg,” he wrote, alongside a photo of himself onstage.

“It’s been too long but you made me feel at home. I felt your hugs (literally lol).”

The Weeknd will now enjoy a couple of weeks down time before his final shows at Sydney’s Accor Stadium October 22 and 23.