Grammy award-winning artist the Weeknd and late-night host Jimmy Fallon shocked and delighted Fordham students on May 15 when the two made a surprise appearance at the annual senior luncheon at the Lincoln Center campus.
Fallon, who was introduced by Fordham president Tania Tetlow as “a special guest DJ,” stepped behind a pair of turntables and briefly pretended to deejay, as about 200 students cheered him on.
“I’ve never deejayed before in my life … I just figured it would be fun, because I love Fordham,” he joked, before cueing up the song “Blinding Lights,” at which point the Weeknd entered, prompting roars from the crowd.
With Fordham’s mascot Ramses joining, the three danced and sang “Blinding Lights” and “Can’t Feel My Face.” The performance aired later that evening on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, which tapes at Rockefeller Plaza, just one mile south of the Lincoln Center campus.
In his interview on the Tonight Show, the Weeknd, whose given name is Abel Tesfaye, joked that he knew the performance would be a hit when he heard the crowd’s reaction to Fallon’s entrance.
“That was amazing,” he said. “I didn’t expect it to be that crazy.”
The idea to crash the Fordham event came from Nina Polaris, a senior majoring in theater who is currently interning at the Tonight Show. Students said they were surprised and thrilled.
Emma Ritchie, a senior majoring in communications and culture, said she’d heard rumors that a late-night host and a musician would be appearing, but didn’t realize who they would be until the last minute.
“It was a shocker. It was a much bigger artist than I could have expected,” she said.
“Being in New York, obviously, late-night TV is a huge part of the culture here, so it was pretty awesome.”
Yves Andradas, a philosophy-theology double major, was completely surprised.
“It was really nice. There were lots of people, and just good energy in the room. It definitely felt like a senior celebration,” he said.
Jade Petalcorin and Ava Massey, roommates at the Rose Hill campus, jumped onto a Ram Van to Lincoln Center just for the occasion.
“I was dead asleep this morning, and Jade came and knocked on my door and was like, ‘There’s an event we have to go to!’ And so we got ready super fast and we just came down here,” said Massey.
“I was like, come on, it’s the end of the year,” said Petalcorin. “We only have so many days left. If there’s an event, we gotta go. I had a great time.”
