When news spread this week that singer/songwriter The Weeknd dropped a whopping 40 ETH ($70,000 USD) into 47 digital art pieces from NFT artist FVCKRENDER, the internet went wild — but why?

While it’s becoming more common for A-list celebrities to support blue-chip NFT art projects — as we’ve seen with projects like BAYC  and Justin Bieber, Jimmy Fallon, Tom Brady, Snoop Dogg, etc. — what we haven’t seen much of is that direct link between the celebrity and the artist themselves.

The August 8 revelation by FVCKRENDER on Twitter also indicated that The Weeknd had purchased all 47 NFTs — directly from the artist.

Hi @theweeknd ?❤️‍? https://t.co/JHtXlV2vTt

— FVCKRENDER (@fvckrender) August 8, 2022

FVCKRENDER, one of the NFT industry’s most talked about artists, is a self-taught digital artist who continues to leverage that “cyberspace” theme and combines it with his 3D art software — creating that futuristic-tech facing art that has comprised of his entire collection.

Indeed, any celebrity purchase of a mainstream NFT project sends a massive amount of hype throughout the space, but the focus must next turn to the specific value-add for why Hollywood talent is backing these particular projects. Ultimately, the next step in the growth and development of the digital fine art space requires Web2’s recognition and support of these native Web3 artists.

FVCKRENDER’s recent success with his FVCK_CRYSTAL collection has generated over $36 million (USD) in revenue, attracting brand collaborations with Ledger, Supreme, The Hundreds, Swarovski, Dior, Avant Arte, Spotify, TIME, and more.

The Weeknd’s public support of FVCKRENDER’s art certainly went viral across Twitter, demonstrating how a singer/songwriter, alone, can produce such massive excitement and incite more conversations into these blue-chip NFT projects.

Love to see The Weeknd joining this movement!

— rektVOLT – ?? (@VoltronNFT) August 8, 2022

The massive purchase by The Weeknd also sparked a huge surge in FVCKRENDER’s project sales, including its current asset’s floor prices.

The Weeknd has amazing taste.

— ThankYouX (@ThankYouX) August 8, 2022

Think that means there is a collab ?

— dana taylor (@itsdanataylor) August 9, 2022

In June, Binance announced that they were the official sponsor to The Weeknd’s “After Hours Til Dawn” tour that marked the first global concert tour to integrate Web3 tech for an enhanced fan experience. The artist also launched his own NFT collection of exclusive collectibles.

At the end of the day, NFT adoption cannot thrive without the complete support of Web2 infrastructures — regardless of the industry. As we build towards Web3, that tasteful balance must be in place so that native Web3 artists have the tools/platforms to be able to succeed, while instilling confidence with Web2’s most successful creators.

In other NFT news, Dapper Labs and Los Angeles Rams bring new meaning to “Team NFTs” with Super Bowl LVI ring.