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The Weeknd Says Tom Cruise ‘Lip Sync Battle’ Helped Him Score His First Hot 100 No. 1 in ‘Tonight Show’ Preview

His full interview with Jimmy Fallon airs tonight at 11:35 p.m. ET.

The Weeknd and Jimmy Fallon on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'

The Weeknd and Jimmy Fallon on 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'

Todd Owyoung/NBC

The Weeknd says Tom Cruise did him a solid with the actor’s lip-sync performance of “Can’t Feel My Face,” the singer says during his first-ever interview on The Tonight Show Thursday (May 15) in an exclusive Billboard preview clip.

Host Jimmy Fallon told The Weeknd (real name Abel Tesfaye) one of the first times his late-night talk show used one of his songs was in 2015 during a Lip Sync Battle segment featuring Cruise, who praised the singer as being “enormously talented” before launching into his performance of “Can’t Feel My Face.”


“I definitely saw that. It actually helped the song,” said The Weeknd. “It helped it peak to the record-breaking top, thanks to him obviously.” “Can’t Feel My Face,” the third single from his sophomore album Beauty Behind the Madness, became his first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 a decade ago.

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The Weeknd’s full Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon interview — his first sit-down late-night interview — airs in full tonight at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC, and streaming on Peacock. The Weeknd is promoting his upcoming feature film Hurry Up Tomorrow, based on his album of the same name, out in theaters on Friday.

Watch a preview clip exclusively on Billboard before.

This article first appeared on Billboard U.S.

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Sam Fender on stage accepting the Mercury Music Prize for the album 'People Watching' at the "Mercury Music Awards 2025" at the Utilita Arena on October 16, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
JMEnternational/Getty Images

Sam Fender on stage accepting the Mercury Music Prize for the album 'People Watching' at the "Mercury Music Awards 2025" at the Utilita Arena on October 16, 2025 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Awards

Sam Fender Triumphs in Hometown 2025 Mercury Prize Ceremony

Fender saw off competition from FKA Twigs, Fontaines D.C., CMAT & more

Sam Fender‘s People Watching won the Mercury Prize on Thursday (Oct. 16) in a ceremony held in his hometown of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.

Launched in 1992, The Mercury Prize is an esteemed annual prize that celebrates the best of British and Irish music across a range of music genres. For the first time in its history, this year the ceremony was held outside of London, taking place at the Utilita Arena in Newcastle upon Tyne.

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