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

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.

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.