the weeknd biography

Grammy-winning R&B singer and performer the Weeknd has created such hits as 'Can't Feel My Face,' 'The Hills,' 'Starboy' and 'Heartless.'

Who Is The Weeknd?

Early years.

Born Abel Tesfaye on February 16, 1990, in Toronto, Canada, the Weeknd has become one of the music industry's leading alternative R&B performers. He is the son of Ethiopian immigrants but has had little contact with his father, who left the family when the Weeknd was only a toddler. His early musical influences ranged from traditional Ethiopian music to the "King of Pop," Michael Jackson . In an interview with Vanity Fair , the Weeknd specifically cited the impact of Jackson’s 1979 hit "Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough," describing it as "the song that helped me find my voice. It’s the reason I sing.”

Mixtapes, Albums & Songs

'house of balloons'.

Never shy about displaying his vocal talents, the Weeknd started recording his efforts while in high school. After dropping out, he continued exploring his interest in music, and released a free download called House of Balloons in 2011. This, along with two more mixtapes, helped push his career forward. He worked with Drake on his 2011 album, Take Care , which featured several tracks from House of Balloons , and landed a deal with Universal’s Republic Records.

The Weeknd’s earlier mixtapes were re-released as 2012’s Trilogy , which became a platinum-selling record for the young artist. Despite his growing popularity, he managed to hide himself from the public at large. The Weeknd refused interviews for a long time and chose to use images of women for his 2013 album, Kiss Land , rather than pictures of himself. Some of the mystique he built around himself was intentional, but it also reflected the shyness and insecurities that troubled him early in his career.

In addition to his own work, the Weeknd collaborated with other artists. He appeared on Wiz Khalifa’s “Remember You” in 2012 and worked with Rick Ross on his 2014 album, Mastermind . That same year, the Weeknd helped producer Max Martin with Ariana Grande ’s hit “Love Me Harder,” and also scored success with “Earned It,” the first single released from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack .

'Beauty Behind the Madness' and Grammy Wins

In 2015, the Weeknd continued his rise to the top with the No. 1 album Beauty Behind the Madness . His disco-pop infused single “Can’t Feel My Face,” which could be about a romantic experience or drug use, became for many the unofficial song of the summer, while his ballad “The Hills” also made quite an impression on music fans.

This well-received record helped the Weeknd rack up an impressive seven nominations for the 2016 Grammy Awards, winning for Best R&B Performance for "Earned It" and Best Urban Contemporary Album. He also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, also for "Earned It."

In late November 2016, the Weeknd released his third album, Starboy . Along with guest appearances by Lana Del Rey , Future and Kendrick Lamar , the studio effort prominently featured French electronic duo Daft Punk, who collaborated on the chart-topping title track and its follow-up single, "I Feel It Coming."

The following year, the Weeknd reciprocated some of the guest contributions by appearing on albums for Del Rey and Future. He then took home the Best Urban Contemporary Album Grammy for Starboy in early 2018.

'My Dear Melancholy'

In late March 2018, the Weeknd dropped My Dear Melancholy . Featuring the single "Call Out My Name," the EP marked a return to the darker, gloomier sound that permeated the artist's earlier music. Shortly after the EP's release, the Weeknd headlined the two-weekend Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, along with Beyoncé and Eminem .

'After Hours'

The Weeknd returned to the spotlight in 2019 by making his feature film debut in the Adam Sandler flick "Uncut Gems." Later that year he was back to making headlines with his music, dropping the singles "Heartless" — which became his fourth track to top the Billboard Hot 100 — and "Blinding Lights," ahead of the March 2020 release of the album After Hours .

Super Bowl 2021

In November 2020 it was announced that the Weeknd would perform at the 2021 Super Bowl In Tampa, Florida.

QUICK FACTS

• Birth date: February 16, 1990
• Birth City: Toronto
• Birth Country: Canada
• Best Known For: Grammy-winning R&B; singer and performer the Weeknd has created such hits as 'Can't Feel My Face,' 'The Hills,' 'Starboy' and 'Heartless.'
• Astrological Sign: Aquarius
• Occupations

Fact Check: We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn’t look right, contact us !

• When people meet me, they say that I’m really kind—contrary to a lot of my music.

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Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. The Weeknd, singer, songwriter (born 16 February 1990 in Scarborough, ON). A global pop superstar, The Weeknd is known for his compelling brand of atmospheric, trip-hop-infused R&B and synth-driven pop music. His debut, House of Balloons (2011), sparked a storm of international attention. His chart-topping sophomore album, Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), solidified his status as a pop phenomenon. In 2015, he became the first artist to simultaneously hold the top three spots on Billboard ’s Hot R&B Songs chart. In 2021, his song “Blinding Lights” supplanted Chubby Checker’s 1960 hit “The Twist” as Billboard ’s No. 1 Song of All Time. The Weeknd was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020 and performed solo at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2021. He has won 17 Juno Awards from 35 nominations, four Grammy Awards and 30 SOCAN Awards, among many other honours.

Early Years

Tesfaye was born and raised in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough. He is of Ethiopian descent and learned Ahmaric (a Semitic language) from his grandmother, who was his primary caretaker through his childhood while his single mother worked. He was influenced musically in his youth by R&B and pop artists such as Michael Jackson, R. Kelly and Prince. He dropped out of high school at 17 and lived with two friends in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood. He experimented with drugs, worked at an American Apparel store, and began to write and record music.

Early Career and Recordings

In 2008, Tesfaye became involved with a Toronto-based R&B and pop trio called the Noise, which eventually morphed into a writing and production team consisting of Tesfaye, by this time going by the moniker The Weekend, and producer Jeremy Rose. In 2009, while working on demo tapes and songs for other artists, they met Drake , who considered including their track “Birthday Suit” on his debut album, Thank Me Later (2010).

After creative differences led to a split with Rose, Tesfaye began to work at Toronto’s Dream House Studios with producers Carlo “Illangelo” Montagnese and Martin “Doc” McKinney, known for his work with Esthero, k-os and Hawksley Workman . He also changed the spelling of his stage name in order to avoid copyright issues with a band from London , Ontario, called The Weekend.

Mixtapes and Breakthrough Success

In early March 2011, Drake sent a Twitter message directing his fans to his October’s Very Own website to download The Weeknd’s song, “Wicked Games,” the lyrics of which (“Bring your love baby I can bring my shame / Bring the drugs baby I can bring my pain”) established his brooding brand of nihilistic romanticism. Drake’s blog post used the phrase “OVOXO,” denoting the connection between Drake’s OVO crew and The Weeknd’s label, XO (reported to be a reference to the drugs ecstasy and oxycodone).

Drake continued to raise awareness of Tesfaye’s music in further tweets, and on 21 March 2011, The Weeknd released, for free download, the mixtape House of Balloons . It features an unusually atmospheric and downbeat brand of soul and R&B, and employs eclectic samples from Siouxie and the Banshees, the Cocteau Twins and Aaliyah. House of Balloons was downloaded more than 200,000 times in three weeks, and was met with critical acclaim from such publications as Rolling Stone and Pitchfork . The latter summarized the overall tone of this “intriguing new alternative R&B voice” by saying, "Debauchery is obviously nothing new in R&B, but this takes it a step further ― the drugs are harder, the come-ons feel predatory and lecherous, and the general feeling is self-hating rather than celebratory."

By July 2011, House of Balloons had been nominated for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize , and the track “High for This” had been used in the ad campaign for the HBO TV series Entourage . However, The Weeknd refused to give any interviews and only released partially obscured photos of himself, building an aura of intrigue around his image and his ambient style of music. His first live show — at Toronto’s Mod Club on 24 July 2011 — sold out within hours. Scalpers hawked tickets for upwards of $300 and record label representatives from the US were on hand. Critics in attendance praised The Weeknd’s vocal performance, with the Globe and Mail ’s Joshua Ostroff remarking on his “dry-ice falsetto and disquietingly sexual lyricism.” Later that week, he played a live set at Drake’s OVOFest to thousands of people at Toronto’s Molson Amphitheater.

On 18 August 2011, The Weeknd released a second mixtape for free download entitled Thursday , featuring Drake on “The Zone,” and on 27 September he released a remix of “Shake it Out” by UK orchestral pop group Florence and The Machine. On 2 November, he and Illangelo released their remix of Lady Gaga’s “Marry the Night,” and on 16 November 2011, Jon Caramanica of the New York Times reviewed The Weeknd’s live show in Guelph , Ontario, and declared him “the most invigorating, surprising and affecting new force in R&B.”

November 2011 also saw the release of Drake’s Grammy-winning album Take Care , which featured The Weeknd as a vocalist and co-producer on two tracks (“Crew Love” and “The Ride”) and co-writer on three others . “Crew Love” became an international hit, cracking Billboard ’s Canadian Hot 100 and US Hot 100, and charting in the Top 20 on the Billboard R&B/Hip Hop chart and in the Top 10 on the UK R&B chart.

On 21 December 2011, The Weeknd released his third free mixtape, Echoes of Silence , which includes “D.D.,” a cover of Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana.” At year’s end, House of Balloons was named to top-10-of-the-year lists by such publications as the New York Times , Billboard and the Guardian , and was ranked as the seventh best-reviewed album of the year by the review aggregator Metacritic .

Trilogy (2012)

After playing the Coachella festival in early 2012, The Weeknd sold out his five-date debut US tour in the spring. In September, he signed a major label deal with Universal’s Republic Records through his imprint label, XO. He then opened for Florence and the Machine at a string of US shows in the fall of 2012.

On 13 November 2012, after a laborious process of gaining copyright clearance for the samples on all the songs, his three previously free mixtapes were re-mastered and released as the album Trilogy with three new tracks: “Twenty Eight,” “Valerie” and “Till Dawn (Here Comes the Sun) .” Trilogy debuted at No. 5 on the Canadian album chart and No. 4 on the Billboard 200 album chart. It sold 86,000 copies in the US during its first week, and was later certified triple platinum in both Canada and the US. The lead single, “Wicked Games,” was later certified a gold digital download in Canada and platinum single in the US.

In April 2013, The Weeknd won Juno Awards for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year ( Trilogy ) and Breakthrough Artist of the Year. After being named to Elle magazine’s “30 under 30” list, he appeared at Drake’s OVOFest in Toronto on 5 August 2013 for the third year running, quashing rumours of creative differences between the two artists. Ahead of a new album, The Weeknd released the single “Belong to the World,” which samples the Portishead song “Machine Gun.”

Kiss Land (2013)

After conducting no major press for the first two years of his career, The Weeknd gave his first media interview with Complex magazine in July 2013 to promote what he called his “first album,” Kiss Land , released in September 2013. Inspired by the experience of travelling beyond Toronto, and by the films of horror directors such as David Cronenberg and John Carpenter, the deceptively dark Kiss Land featured The Weeknd working with new producers, and was met with positive and mixed reviews by critics. It debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Top 200 and No. 1 on the US iTunes chart. The album was certified platinum in Canada in June 2022.

He made the first of several US television appearances performing “Pretty” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on 12 September 2013, and performed in front of a sold out crowd at London’s O2 arena on 26 November. He also appeared on Drake’s Would You Like a Tour? tour and Justin Timberlake’s The 20/20 Experience as the opening act. He teamed with Doc McKinney and Illangelo to appear on M.I.A.’s album Matangi , and contributed the Rick Rubin-produced “Devil May Cry” to the soundtrack of The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013). He also received a Grammy nomination for his featured performance on Wiz Khalifa’s 2012 single, “Remember You.”

In early 2014, The Weeknd continued his transition from cult figure to high profile pop star by releasing covers of popular songs by Beyoncé (“Drunk in Love”) and Ty Dolla $ign (“Or Nah”) for free download. In June 2014, he released the new song “Often,” which was later certified a gold single in the US, and followed it up a month later with “King of the Fall,” which also served as the name of his four-date North American tour in September and October 2014.

His duet with Ariana Grande, “Love Me Harder,” was released on 30 September 2014 and went on to become his first Top 10 hit, reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. They performed the song on NBC’s Saturday Night Live on 27 September and at the American Music Awards on 23 November. He then contributed the songs “Earned It” and “Where You Belong” to the soundtrack of the film Fifty Shades of Grey (2015). He performed “Earned It” at the 2016 Academy Awards, where it was nominated for Best Original Song.

Beauty Behind the Madness (2015)

The Weeknd’s second studio album, Beauty Behind the Madness , features collaborations with Kanye West, Lana Del Rey, Ed Sheeran and Labyrinth, and was released in August 2015. It was preceded by lead singles “The Hills” and “Can’t Feel My Face.” “The Hills” was released in May 2015, debuting at No. 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart; it later went to No. 1. The song’s cinematic music video, depicting The Weeknd abandoning two women injured in a car crash that he seemingly caused, was released at the same time. “The Hills” was later certified as a triple platinum digital download in Canada for sales of more than 240,000 units.

In June 2015, The Weeknd’s biggest hit to date, "Can’t Feel My Face,” debuted at No. 24 on Billboard 's Hot 100 chart. It reached No. 1 two months later. Produced by superstar hit-maker Max Martin, “Can't Feel My Face” earned comparisons to Michael Jackson and was certified five-times platinum in the US. It was named the best song of 2015 by Rolling Stone magazine, which praised The Weeknd’s “showstopping vocal performance” and the way he “cleverly disguises his obsession with drugs beneath a metaphor about a dangerously hot fling […] playing down his angst-y tendencies until there's just a hint of existential pain in his lighter-than-air falsetto.” The song went on to receive 2016 Grammy Award nominations for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance.

The Weeknd became the first artist to simultaneously hold the top three spots on Billboard ’s Hot R&B Songs chart when “Can't Feel My Face,” “The Hills” and “Earned It” landed there the week of 25 July 2015. Upon its release in August 2015, Beauty Behind the Madness debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and stayed there for three weeks. In September, The Weeknd became the first male artist in almost seven years to have two (“Can't Feel My Face” and “The Hills”) of the top three spots on Billboard 's Hot 100 chart. In the chart week ending 10 October, “The Hills” and “Can’t Feel My Face” were at No. 1 and 3 respectively, while Justin Bieber ’s “What Do You Mean” held No. 2 and Drake ’s “Hotline Bling” was at No. 4, marking the first time in history that Canadians held the top four spots. The Weeknd also set a record in 2015 for winning the most SOCAN No. 1 Song Awards in one calendar year with five.

The success of Beauty Behind the Madness positioned The Weeknd as one of the biggest pop stars in the world. The album has been certified seven-times platinum in Canada and six-times platinum in the US. In 2015, it won an American Music Award for Favorite Male Artist–Soul/R&B and a Soul Train Music Award for Album of the Year. At the 2016 Grammy Awards, Beauty Behind the Madness won the award for Best Urban Contemporary Album while “Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey)” won for Best R&B Performance. At the 2016 Juno Awards, The Weeknd took home five awards: Songwriter of the Year; Artist of the Year; Single of the Year for "Can't Feel My Face"; and Album of the Year and R&B/Soul Recording of the Year for Beauty Behind the Madness.

Starboy (2016)

The Weeknd’s third studio album, Starboy , was released on 25 November 2016. The lead single and title track, which featured a collaboration with Daft Punk, was released on 21 September 2016. It debuted at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and eventually hit No. 1, making it The Weeknd’s third No. 1 single. The song has since been certified diamond in Canada and 11-times platinum in the US. The album, which has been certified seven-times platinum in Canada and four-times platinum in the US, won the Best Urban Contemporary Album award at the 60th annual Grammy Awards, The Weeknd’s second win in that category. At the 2017 Juno Awards, Starboy won for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year.

My Dear Melancholy (2018)

On 30 March 2018, The Weeknd released his first EP, My Dear Melancholy . It debuted at No. 1 on the American Billboard 200 chart and was streamed over 26 million times on Apple Music on the first day of its release. Also in 2018, The Weeknd released the greatest hits album The Weeknd in Japan, which features tracks off his first three albums.

After Hours (2020)

The Weeknd’s fourth studio album, After Hours , was released on 20 March 2020. It was noted by critics and music journalists as a departure from his earlier work, given the influence of new wave and synth-driven dream pop on the album. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making it The Weeknd’s fourth No. 1 album in the US. It was quickly certified double platinum in the US and went to No. 1 in 20 countries, including Canada, where it was certified triple platinum. The lead single, “Heartless,” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in its second week on the chart.

In the album’s first week of release in March 2020, The Weeknd led the Billboard Hot 100, 200, Artist 100, Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts simultaneously — the first time this had been accomplished by any artist. That same week, the single “Blinding Lights” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for four weeks. The song went on to break records for the most weeks in the Top 5 (43), Top 10 (57), Top 40 (86) and on the Hot 100 (90). In the process, “Blinding Lights” supplanted Chubby Checker’s 1960 hit “The Twist” as Billboard ’s No. 1 Song of All Time. A third single off the album, the Ariana Grande duet “Save Your Tears,” also hit No. 1 — The Weeknd’s sixth song to do so.

The album went on to be certified quintuple platinum in Canada and triple platinum in the US. However, despite commercial success and critical acclaim, neither the album nor its singles were nominated for any Grammy Awards that year. In a highly publicized public controversy, The Weeknd, who had earned three Grammys by that point, claimed “the Grammys were corrupt.” The Juno Awards , however, were a different story: The Weeknd won five, including Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, Single of the Year (“Blinding Lights”) and Songwriter of the Year. After Hours was named one of the Top 10 albums of the year by numerous publications, including Billboard , Entertainment Weekly and Variety .

2021 Super Bowl Halftime Show

On 5 February of 2021, The Weeknd released his second greatest hits compilation, The Highlights , which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart. Two days later, on 7 February 2021, he became the first Canadian artist to headline the Super Bowl halftime show, performing eight songs. He was so committed to his vision for the performance, which involved an elaborate hall of mirrors and dozens of doppelganger back-up dancers, that he spent $7 million of his own money on the production.

Though some critics argued the performance didn’t live up to expectations, due to apparent audio trouble and problems with The Weeknd’s microphone, it nonetheless earned three Emmy Award nominations. More importantly, it had a significant effect on The Weeknd’s streaming figures, with nearly 50 million streams of his back catalogue on the day and day after his performance. He was also set to earn an average of $1.3 million per show on his forthcoming tour.

Dawn FM (2022)

The Weeknd’s fifth studio album, Dawn FM , was released on 7 January 2022. The lead single, “Take My Breath,” had been released in August 2021. It debuted at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and cracked the Top 10 in more than 20 countries. The second single, “Sacrifice,” was released on the same day as the album, which was quickly certified platinum in Canada. Dawn FM builds on the synth-pop-heavy sound of After Hours while also bringing a lighter, more upbeat tone. The album is presented as a “psychedelic radio” broadcast (its station number, 103.5, is widely seen as a nod to Toronto Top-40 station Z103.5). It features interstitial narration by actor and comedian Jim Carrey , as well as collaborations with Lil Wayne and Tyler, the Creator. The album was very well-received by critics, with Variety ’s Jem Aswad calling it “possibly the Weeknd's best and most fully realized album to date.”

After Hours til Dawn Stadium Tour (2022)

In February 2020, shortly before the release of After Hours in March, The Weekend announced that his 57-date After Hours World Tour would begin in Vancouver on 11 June and conclude in France on 12 November. However, the tour was postponed repeatedly due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In October 2021, The Weekend announced that he was scrapping scheduled arena dates in favour of a stadium tour that would incorporate material from both the After Hours and Dawn FM albums. The After Hours til Dawn Stadium Tour began at Toronto ’s Rogers Centre on 8 July 2022.

Other Activities

The Weeknd made his acting debut in the HBO music industry drama The Idol , in which he stars opposite Lily-Rose Depp and Dan Levy . A trailer for the series was released in August 2022, but a release date was not announced.

Critical Reception

The dark, somnambulant mood of The Weeknd’s music, equal parts narcotic and nocturnal, has drawn much attention and critical praise. The Guardian ’s Hermoine Hoby described The Weeknd’s songs as “narcotised-slow jams” in which “partying is an existential experience, sex is fraught with alienation, and everything registers as unreal and unsettling.” The Globe and Mail ’s J. D. Considine has said, “His sound is hardly party music; it’s more like the after-party, with his sweet, plaintive tenor floating like cigarette smoke over darkly atmospheric synths and a slow, almost narcotic groove.” Rolling Stone has described him as “Drake with the soul of an art-school goth,” and stated bluntly that he “rocks a serious Eeyore vibe” and “specializes in sensual numbness.” Billboard wrote in 2015 that his catalogue is “mostly composed of gorgeously sung songs about getting high and slowly falling apart.”

Considine also observed that Tesfaye’s stage name could be read as “a double-edged pun, suggesting both ‘the weekend,’ with its promise of romance, relaxation and nightclub frolics, and ‘the weakened,’ with its recognition of the emotional toll life takes.” Jon Caramanica of the New York Times echoed that assessment by describing The Weeknd’s central thematic concerns as “romance as nihilism, or maybe nihilism as romance — I don’t know which is the chicken, and which is the egg. But there’s an outrageous darkness to his perspective on relationships, and his perspective on interacting with women, and it’s interesting because it doesn’t feel abusive.”

However, due to The Weeknd’s treatment of women in his songs, the Toronto Star characterized him, along with Bieber and Drake, as a “sensitive misogynist,” noting that the three stars “have managed to glaze over the general sexism of their oeuvres with a veneer of regretful, tormented sensitivity.”

Controversies

In May 2014, Geoff Barrow of Portishead released a letter from The Weeknd’s licensing representatives showing that they had requested permission to sample the Portishead song “Machine Gun” on The Weeknd’s “Belong to the World” — permission that Barrow never granted. However, to date, he has not taken legal action against The Weeknd.

On 10 January 2013, The Weeknd was arrested after becoming involved in a fight at the Cromwell Hotel in Las Vegas and allegedly punching a police officer. After posting bail, he posted a picture of himself on Instagram walking towards a private jet, with the caption, “Escaped from Las Vegas.”

In December 2015, The Weeknd was sued for copyright infringement for illegally sampling the score from the 2013 movie The Machine in "The Hills." The film's composer, Tom Raybould, claimed that Emmanuel Nickerson, a producer on "The Hills,” sent him a direct message on Twitter saying he sampled his music and that it might appear on The Weeknd's next album. An undisclosed settlement was reached between the two parties.

In March 2021, The Weeknd announced that he would permanently boycott the Grammy Awards. “Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys,” he said in an interview with the New York Times . This followed the news that After Hours and its hit singles had not been nominated for any Grammy Awards, despite commercial success and critical acclaim. In November 2020, Drake had called for the Grammys to be replaced for allegedly snubbing Black artists.

In September 2014, The Weeknd was recognized as a “young, inspirational Canadian who has achieved international success” by Canada’s Walk of Fame with the $10,000 Allan Slaight Award. In 2018, he was named a Next Generation Leader by Time magazine, which also named him one of the 100 Most Influential People of 2020. The day of The Weeknd’s Super Bowl halftime show, 7 February 2021, was declared “The Weeknd Day” in Toronto by Mayor John Tory .

• Juno Awards
• R&B/Soul Recording of the Year ( Trilogy ) (2013)
• Breakthrough Artist of the Year (2013)
• R&B/Soul Recording of the Year (“Often”) (2015)
• Artist of the Year (2015)
• Album of the Year ( Beauty Behind the Madness ) (2016)
• Single of the Year (“Can’t Feel My Face”) (2016)
• R&B/Soul Recording of the Year ( Beauty Behind the Madness ) (2016)
• Songwriter of the Year (2016)
• Artist of the Year (2016)
• R&B/Soul Recording of the Year (Starboy) (2017)
• Contemporary R&B Recording of the Year (After Hours) (2021)
• Single of the Year (“Blinding Lights”) (2021)
• Album of the Year (After Hours) (2021)
• Songwriter of the Year (2021)
• Artist of the Year (2021)
• Contemporary R&B Recording of the Year (“Take My Breath”) (2022)
• Songwriter of the Year (2022)

Grammy Awards

• Best Urban Contemporary Album ( Beauty Behind the Madness ) (2016)
• Best R&B Performance (“Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey)”) (2016)
• Best Urban Contemporary Album (Starboy) (2018)
• Best Melodic Rap Performance (“Hurricane,” shared with Kanye West) (2022)

MuchMusic Video Awards

• Video of the Year (“Often”) (2015)
• Best Pop Video (“Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey)”) (2015)
• Most Buzzworthy Canadian Artist (2015)

SOCAN Awards

• No. 1 Song Award (”Wicked Games”) (2013)
• No. 1 Song Award (“Live For”) (2013)
• Urban Music Award (“Wanderlust”) (2015)
• No. 1 Song Award (“Can’t Feel My Face”) (2015)
• No. 1 Song Award (“Earned It”) (2015)
• No. 1 Song Award (“The Hills”) (2015)
• No. 1 Song Award (“Often”) (2015)
• No. 1 Song Award (“Love Me Harder”) (2015)
• No. 1 Song Award (“Starboy”) (2016)
• No. 1 Song Award (“Might Not”) (2016)
• International Achievement Award (2016)
• Songwriter of the Year (shared with Belly) (2016)
• Pop/Rock Music Award (“Can’t Feel My Face”) (2016)
• Pop/Rock Music Award (“The Hills”) (2016)
• Pop/Rock Music Award (“Earned It”) (2016)
• SOCAN Classic Music Award (“Can’t Feel My Face”) (2016)
• SOCAN Classic Music Award (“The Hills”) (2016)
• International Song Award (“The Hills”) (2016)
• Online Streaming Music Award (“Earned It”) (2016)
• Pop Music Award (“Starboy”) (2017)
• Urban Music Award (“Might Not”) (2017)
• Viral Song Award (“Some Way”) (2018)
• Rap Music Award (“Unforgettable”) (2018)
• Pop Music Award (“I Feel It Coming”) (2018)
• International Song Award (“Blinding Lights”) (2021)
• Pop Music Award (“Blinding Lights”) (2021)
• Pop Music Award (“Heartless”) (2021)
• R&B Music Award (“In Your Eyes”) (2021)
• R&B Music Award (“You Right”) (2022)

American Music Awards

• Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B (2015)
• Favorite Soul/R&B Album (Beauty Behind the Madness) (2015)
• Favorite Male Artist – Soul/R&B (2020)
• Favorite Song – Soul/R&B (“Heartless”) (2020)
• Favorite Soul/R&B Album (After Hours) (2020)
• Favorite Male R&B Artist (2021)

Billboard Music Awards

• Top Streaming Song (Audio) (“The Hills”) (2016)
• Top R&B Song (“The Hills”) (2016)
• Top R&B Album (Beauty Behind the Madness) (2016)
• Top 100 Artist (2016)
• Top Song Sales Artist (2016)
• Top Radio Songs Artist (2016)
• Top Streaming Songs Artist (2016)
• Top R&B Artist (2016)
• Top R&B Male Artist (2019)
• Top R&B Album (After Hours) (2021)
• Top Artist (2021)
• Top Male Artist (2021)
• Top Hot 100 Artist (2021)
• Top Radio Songs Artists (2021)
• Top R&B Artist (2021)
• Top R&B Male Artist (2021)
• Top R&B Male Artist (2022)

Canadian Radio Music Awards

• SOCAN Song of the Year ("Can't Feel My Face") (2016)
• Fans' Choice

MTV Video Music Awards

• Video of the Year (“Blinding Lights”) (2020)
• Best R&B (“Blinding Lights”) (2020)

Soul Train Music Awards

• Album of the Year (“ Beauty Behind the Madness ”) (2015)
• Best R&B/Soul Male Artist (2015)
• Allan Slaight Award, Canada’s Walk of Fame (2014)
• ASCAP Award (“Crew Love”), American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (2012)
• Centric Award (“Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey)”), BET Awards (2015)
• Favorite R&B Artist, People’s Choice Awards (2016)
• Best R&B/Urban Dance Track (“Can’t Feel My Face”), International Dance Music Awards (2016)

Songs of The Weeknd

• Canada’s Walk of Fame
• music industry
• Polaris Music Prize

External Links

The Weeknd’s perfect premiere Read this review of The Weeknd’s debut performance at Toronto’s Mod Club, from NOW Magazine.

"Can The Weeknd Turn Himself Into the Biggest Pop Star in the World?" Read this in-depth 2015 profile from the New York Times.

“How The Weeknd became the next big thing” Read this in-depth 2012 profile of The Weeknd from the Globe and Mail.

“The Weeknd: Kiss and Tell” Read The Weeknd’s first media interview from the August–September 2013 issue of Complex.

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• Born February 16 , 1990 · Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Birth name Abel Makkonen Tesfaye
• Height 5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
• Abel Tesfaye, professionally known as 'The Weeknd' is a Canadian singer born February 16, 1990 in Toronto. Best known for his performances in his latest album 'Starboy' (2016), and numerous other productions including 'Kissland' (2013), Beauty Behind the Madness (2015) which included the mega-hit; 'The Hills', and House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence. - IMDb Mini Biography By: ChrisIssa21
• Parents Makkonen Tesfaye Samra Tesfaye
• High pitched soulful voice
• Speaks fluent Amharic.
• Came up with the song "In the Night" in Marilyn Monroe 's old bedroom.
• First artist to hold the Top 3 positions on the Billboard Hot R&B chart.
• Spells his stage name as The Weeknd, because The Weekend was already taken.
• Says frequent collaborator Lana Del Rey is the subject of all his songs.
• Why can't I paint a vivid picture in my lyrics? Art is art. If you can create something that can make people feel, then you are an artist.

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Alias of alternative R&B enigma-turned-pop star Abel Tesfaye, known most for bleak depictions of emotionally and physically toxic indulgences.

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Biography of The Weeknd, Grammy Award Winning Canadian Pop Star

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The Weeknd, aka Abel Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), first gained widespread exposure when hip hop artist Drake praised his music. In just over two years he had his first top 5 hit album Trilogy . Within five years he was a worldwide pop superstar with his first #1 pop hit "Can't Feel My Face."

Early Years

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye was born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. His parents were Ethiopian immigrants to Canada in the 1980s. His mother worked a variety of jobs including as a nurse and a caterer. After Abel Tesfaye's father left the family, he was cared for by his maternal grandmother. He grew up learning the Amharic language of Ethiopia and often attending an Ethiopian Orthodox church.

In his teenage years, Abel Tesfaye used a wide variety of drugs. He attended two high schools but did not graduate from either one. He adopted the stage name The Weeknd with inspiration from his own high school dropout story. The spelling modification was adopted to avoid trademark conflicts with the Canadian band The Weekend.

Personal Life

The Weeknd dated the fashion model Bella Hadid in 2015 and 2016. She appears in his "In the Night" music video and they walked the red carpet together at the 2016 Grammy Awards . By the end of 2016 reports indicated they broke up due to professional schedule conflicts.

One of the most notable elements in The Weeknd's appearance is his hair. He began to grow it out in 2011, and he told Rolling Stone that he was partially influenced by the hairstyle of the artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. In 2016, with the release of his third non-compilation studio album Starboy , he cut his famous hair.

• 2012 - Trilogy  - This compilation album is composed of three mixtapes released by The Weeknd in 2011 and three original songs. The collection received strongly positive critical reviews. It reached #4 on the overall US album chart and hit the top of the R&B album chart.
• 2013 - Kiss Land  - This is The Weeknd's official debut studio album. It includes only one guest performer, Drake, who appears on the song "Live For." The Weeknd explained in interviews that the album is about a world he created in his head. It is heavily influenced by film directors including John Carpenter, David Cronenberg and Ridley Scott. He praised them as artists who know how to capture fear. He likens his album to a horror movie. Kiss Land earned positive reviews and reached #2 on the US album chart.
• 2015 - Beauty Behind the Madness -  After The Weeknd climbed into the pop top 10 with his Ariana Grande collaboration "Love Me Harder" and his contribution to the soundtrack for Fifty Shades of Grey "Earned It," anticipation was at a fever pitch for his second studio album. He did not disappoint observers. The two singles "The Hills" and "Can't Feel My Face" roared on to the pop chart becoming The Weeknd's first two #1 pop hits. Beauty Behind the Madness topped the album chart and earned a Grammy Award nomination for Album of the Year while taking home the award for Best Urban Contemporary Album.
• 2016 - Starboy -  The Weeknd's third studio album includes guest appearances from Daft Punk, Lana Del Rey , and Kendrick Lamar . It debuted at #1 on the US album chart selling more than 200,000 copies in its first week. According to The Weeknd, the album is influenced by Prince , The Smiths, and Talking Heads. 

Top Hit Singles

• 2014 - "Love Me Harder" with Ariana Grande - Republic Records put together this collaboration to promote their rising artists Ariana Grande and The Weeknd. With production from Max Martin's Swedish pop team, the record was a major success climbing into the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reaching #3 at mainstream pop radio.
• 2014 - "Earned It" - The Weeknd's contribution to the soundtrack for the film Fifty Shades of Grey is the only song heard twice in the movie. It was a massive hit going to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning an Academy Award for Best Original Song. "Earned It" also won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance while being nominated for Best R&B Song.
• 2015 - "The Hills" - Many critics praised The Weeknd for returning to a darker sound on "The Hills" after his pop success with "Earned It." It knocked his single "Can't Feel My Face" out of #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 even though it was originally released two weeks earlier than the other single. "The Hills" spent six weeks at the top. 
• 2015 - "Can't Feel My Face" - This song was The Weeknd's second hit collaboration with the Max Martin team after "Love Me Harder." It is strongly influenced by Michael Jackson's legendary work. "Can't Feel My Face" hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also earned a Grammy Award nomination for Record of the Year.
• 2016 - "Starboy" - This is the title song and first single from The Weeknd's third studio album. It details the impact of the celebrity lifestyle. Daft Punk co-wrote and co-produced the song. "Starboy" reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hit the top 10 across adult pop, dance, and mainstream pop radio.

The Weeknd acknowledges a heavy artistic debt to the work of Michael Jackson. He says that it was Michael Jackson's music that made him want to be a singer. Among his other influences are Aaliyah , Eminem and the Talking Heads.

He has been given credit for helping expand R&B music by including influences from indie rock and electronic music. Some refer to his music as alternative R&B while others place him entirely outside of the R&B genre.

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One of the biggest and most influential artists in pop, The Weeknd has transformed the music landscape.

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When we first encountered the Weeknd at the dawn of the 2010s, we had no way of knowing that he would become one of the biggest and most influential artists in popular music before the end of the decade. In fact, we had no way of knowing that he was a singular “he” – that the Weeknd was not a group, but the alter ego of singer and producer Abel Tesfaye. Even after some of his earliest songs were shared on Drake ’s OVO blog, it would be months before Tesfaye revealed his name and face. That secrecy made his tales of sex, drugs and partying feel all the more unsettling – and riveting. Within just a few years the Weeknd would embrace the spotlight and become the kind of pop star who dates supermodels and performs at the Super Bowl halftime show, all without losing his singular vision.

In contrast to Tesfaye’s performative anonymity, the persona he cultivated as the Weeknd left little to the imagination. Every song on his debut mixtape, House of Balloons , feels like it’s unfolding in the dim-lit back rooms of a nightclub, and every character in them is looking to get high, naked, or both. Throughout, Tesfaye comes across as the devil on your shoulder with the voice of a (fallen) angel. Even the song titled “What You Need” is really about what he wants. It’s as close as the Weeknd comes to classic R&B, and it underscores how, like Prince and R. Kelly before him, Tesfaye deconstructed the genre’s tropes by singing about sex rather than love, often doing so in explicit detail. He also shared his idols’ willingness to incorporate contemporary influences – in his case, moody electronic soundscapes and sampled hooks from post-punk bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees and Cocteau Twins. House of Balloons alone would have made 2011 a banner year for the Weeknd—many critics ranked it among the year’s best albums, and it was shortlisted for Canada’s Polaris Music Prize – but before the year was over, he released two more mixtapes, Thursday (which featured a guest verse from Drake himself) and Echoes of Silence .

The three mixtapes were re-released as Trilogy when the Weeknd signed with Republic Records in 2012, and the following year he emerged from the internet ether entirely with his debut studio album Kiss Land . Don’t be fooled by its lovey-dovey title: Kiss Land found Tesfaye building on the world of its predecessors and exploring its darkest corners. (He claimed the album’s mood was inspired by horror filmmakers John Carpenter and David Cronenberg.) The Weeknd continued to inch into the mainstream throughout 2014, collaborating with Beyoncé and Ariana Grande (remixing the former’s “Drunk in Love” and duetting with the latter on “Love Me Harder”), embarking on his first headlining tour, and landing a song on the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, “Earned It” – his first to win a Grammy Award, and his first to crack the top five on Billboard’s Hot 100.

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With his next two singles, the Weeknd would top the Billboard chart twice back-to-back. “The Hills” sounded like a big-budget version of the dark and edgy R&B that Tesfaye first made his name on, climaxing with his confession that “when I’m fucked up, that’s the real me”; “Can’t Feel My Face,” co-written and produced by pop mastermind Max Martin, was a dancefloor smash that drew comparisons to Michael Jackson. It was a one-two punch that set up the Weeknd’s knockout album, Beauty Behind the Madness , and established him as a full-fledged pop star whose early mystique had morphed into charisma. Furthermore, it showed Tesfaye’s willingness to venture beyond the sounds on which he’d made his name. Starboy , which arrived one year later, offered further proof, with sonic splashes of new wave and – on the Daft Punk-featuring title track and “I Feel It Coming” – electronica. Beauty Behind the Madness and Starboy both sold more than three million copies in the United States and won the Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album.

And then, after six full-lengths in as many years, the Weeknd slowed down. Aside from collaborations with Kendrick Lamar , Travis Scott, Lana Del Rey , and others, Tesfaye’s only new music was the six-track My Dear Melancholy EP. His return in late 2019 with “Blinding Lights” proved the wait had been worth it: The song spent 90 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 and more than a year in the top 10, and was later named the chart’s greatest Hot 100 hit of all time. The album that followed, After Hours , presented the most vivid configuration of the Weeknd’s sound yet, going all-in on Starboy ’s forays into new wave and synth-pop.

Had it not been for the COVID-19 pandemic, Tesfaye would have embarked on a well-earned world tour behind the album: Instead, he performed virtual concerts on TikTok, teamed with Spotify to create an artificial intelligence-enhanced listening experience for fans, and headlined the Super Bowl LV halftime show. All the while, he was hard at work on his fifth record, Dawn FM . Doubling down on After Hours ’ nocturnal nostalgia, Dawn FM ’s 80s pop throwbacks go hand in hand with moments only the Weeknd could’ve dreamed up. A concept album about listening to the radio in purgatory, narrated by Jim Carrey? How many other pop stars can call up Quincy Jones – the man who produced Thriller – only to have him unpack his childhood trauma on a spoken-word interlude?

To think that the young bohemian behind House of Balloons would go on to collaborate with everyone from Drake to Daft Punk, and rival them in popularity, still boggles the mind. Even Tesfaye himself must have been surprised – after all, the character he created for himself on his breakthrough mixtapes was a self-destructive hedonist given to losing himself, night after night, in drugs and any woman he could tempt into doing them with him. In his darkest moments, it sounded as if he might not make it to the dawn. Somehow, this villain lived long enough to see himself become pop’s next great antihero, and as the lines between Tesfaye and the Weeknd have continued to blur and redraw themselves, it’s only made for more fascinating music to lose ourselves in. – Jacob Nierenberg

Listen to the best of The Weeknd on Apple Music or Spotify .

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How The Weeknd climbed from indie music anonymity to being one of the world's biggest pop stars

• The Weeknd is the first artist to surpass 100 million monthly listeners in Spotify history.
• Prior to these mainstream milestones, singer Abel Tesfaye entered the music industry in an unorthodox way.
• His origin story includes anonymous YouTube videos, mysterious mixtapes, and internet hype.

February 24, 2011: Abel Tesfaye uploaded three songs to YouTube under the username "undefined."

No identifying name or photos were associated with the account, other than a curiously misspelled band name: "The Weeknd." Two weeks later, one of the songs, "What You Need,"  appeared on notorious indie-music review site Pitchfork  as a "Best New Track."

The single was described as "a twinkling, moonlit R&B protestation all made the more sensual by an anonymous, butter-dripping voice challenging a lover's relationship with suggestive come-ons." 

The Weeknd was gaining attention. The shroud of mystery clinging to those YouTube videos was captivating. Everyone wanted to know who was behind this new sound.

The Pitchfork review told readers: "If you haven't heard much about the Weeknd, it's because there isn't much info out there on them — that is, if the mysterious project ... is a 'them' and not just a 'him' or 'her.'"

The inscrutability of The Weeknd was a huge part of his draw, and why the internet couldn't get enough. 

March 20, 2011: Tesfaye anonymously dropped a mixtape titled "House of Balloons." His listeners still had no idea who was behind the project.

Popular rapper and fellow Canadian Drake  tweeted  the download link, only adding to the buzz surrounding the artist.

Pitchfork  gave the "House of Balloons" mixtape the coveted "Best New Album" stamp of approval,  with this mini explainer of his explosion into internet fame:

"As soon as the creepy R&B tracks from a  free mixtape  began to circulate, the hype engine revved up. There was the  Drake cosign , the album art that looked like Spiritualized crossed with Tumblr art-porn, the missing vowel, the stylish samples, and the project's creators hiding in the shadows. You can't buy buzz like this…"

April 2011: Tesfaye was uncovered as the man behind The Weeknd.

On April 7, 2011, Complex ran a mini breakdown of everything fans had discovered about the artist. Some fans were shocked to find out that The Weeknd was only one person and not a band of musicians.

Others weren't satisfied with just the singer's name — they wanted to know what the artist looked like.

July 2011: The Weeknd had his first public performance.

Just five months after his YouTube debut, Tesfaye performed at a small venue called the Mod Club in his hometown of Toronto. Despite the public performance, the mystery around The Weeknd continued .

"The official flyer proclaimed 'no guest list, no cameras, no media'; tickets could only be purchased in-person at a shoe store downtown a week earlier and sold out immediately," one review described the event.

Fans who weren't quick enough to grab tickets could only hope for leaked video footage of the momentous event.

2011: The Weeknd released two more mixtapes by the end of the year, "Thursday" and "Echoes of Silence."

"House of Balloons" featured on many music critic sites as one of the best albums of the year . The Weeknd still refused interviews, nor did he make many other public appearances.

He did, however,  sign with a major label and release two more mixtapes, titled "Thursday" and "Echoes of Silence." He eventually released those two mixtapes along  with "House of Balloons" as a single three-disc album called "Trilogy."

That same year, The Weeknd suffered his first major public controversy when producer Jeremy Rose, sometimes known as Zodiac, accused the artist of not crediting him as the musical brains behind his initial breakout tracks. Rose told his side of the story  to Vice. The Weeknd has remained silent on the issue to this day.

2012: The Weeknd's growing star power landed him a spot on that year's Coachella lineup.

In April 2012, The Weeknd performed at the iconically hip Coachella music festival, which kicked off his  first ever US tour . By 2013, the singer was opening for Justin Timberlake,   appearing on SNL , and performing live on the " Late Show with David Letterman ."

When marketing began for The Weeknd's first official full-length album "Kiss Land" in the fall of 2013, the artist finally sat down with Complex Magazine to discuss his enigmatic past.

When asked if his "air of mystery" was intentional, The Weeknd said, "Yes and no. In the beginning, I was very insecure."

"I hated how I looked in pictures ... I was very camera shy," he continued. "People like hot girls, so I put my music to hot girls, and it just became a trend ... I just ran with it. No one could find pictures of me. It reminded me of some villain shit. But you can't escape the internet."

2015: The single "Earned It" boosted The Weeknd to mainstream fame.

Released officially on February 15, 2015, "Earned It" became synonymous with erotic-novel-turned-movie, "50 Shades of Grey."

As The Weeknd's fame continued to grow, he began writing more songs about sex and love while reducing his references to drugs.

His persona still maintained his signature edgy darkness. In a recent interview with Time Magazine, the Weeknd reflected on how much changed in pop music since those early mixtape days.

"I think the [pop music] game is changing with songs like 'Earned It' as opposed to it changing me because 'Earned It' was very important," he said. "It was slow, it was sexy and it was smooth — all traits in my music."

His instincts seemed to be correct. The artist soon collaborated with major pop stars like Ariana Grande, Ed Sheeran, and hit-making pop-song writer Max Martin, who co-wrote the summer smash, "I Can't Feel My Face."

2016: The singer started winning awards and released "Starboy," an album that featured A-list collaborators like Kendrick Lamar.

In 2016, The Weeknd won Canada's Juno Artist of the Year award for the second time in a row, as well as multiple Grammys for "Earned It." That song even landed him an Oscar nomination as a part of the "50 Shades of Grey" movie soundtrack.

His success continued with "Starboy," a commercial hit pop record with features from Kendrick Lamar and Daft Punk. 

That same year, The Weeknd landed major collaborations of his own with megastars like Beyoncé on "Lemonade" and Kanye West on "The Life of Pablo."

2017: The Weeknd embarked on a massive global tour with the "Starboy" album and was named the "King of Sex Pop" by GQ Magazine.

At the same time, The Weeknd's love life made headlines for his relationship with Selena Gomez. The couple walked the carpet together at the Met Gala, invites to which are coveted by breakthrough celebrities.

As 2017 came to a close, fans looked forward to The Weeknd's next album, "My Dear Melancholy," and collaborations with projects like Marvel's "Black Panther."

2018: He kicked the year off with the announcement that he was headlining Coachella.

After headlining the festival in April, The Weeknd year went on to perform on an Apple Music 1 radio show and embarked on a sixth concert tour in Asia with a greatest hits' album.

Just seven years after those anonymous YouTube uploads, The Weeknd had enough smash records in his discography to comprise an entire greatest hits album. 

2019: The Weeknd ventured into acting, making his feature film debut in the crime-dramedy "Uncut Gems."

"Uncut Gems" was directed by Josh and Benny Safdie and starred Adam Sandler. The Weeknd was included as a celebrity cameo during pivotal night life scenes.

In an interview with Variety , Josh Safdie called The Weeknd a "real cinephile."

"Like, one of his favorite filmmakers is [David] Cronenberg, and that makes sense, because he's from Toronto," Safdie said. "But he watches a lot of movies."

The Weeknd's devotion to the project led to collaboration with Daniel Lopatin, the musical producer better known as Oneohtrix Point Never. The two artists recorded five original songs for the film's soundtrack, but they were scrapped .

However, the pairing didn't end there. Lopatin worked as one of the key producers on The Weeknd's fourth studio album, "After Hours."

March 20, 2020: His fourth studio album "After Hours" is released.

"Blinding Lights," the ninth track on the album, holds the record for most weeks in the top five (43 weeks), top ten (57 weeks), and top 100 (90 weeks) of the Billboard Hot 100. It also finished 2020 as the year's top Billboard Hot 100 song. 

In September, Elton John crowned The Weeknd as one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People and compared him to Prince.

"Like Prince, he marches to his own beat. That's an exemplary way for an artist to be," John wrote. 

In November, The Weeknd performed "In Your Eyes" and "Save Your Tears" at the 2020 American Music Awards with Kenny G. He took home three awards: Favorite Male Artist, Soul/R&B; Favorite Album, Soul/R&B; and Favorite Song, Soul/R&B.

February 7, 2021: His first Super Bowl LV Pepsi Halftime performance cemented The Weeknd as one of the greats in music.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Weeknd performed his 12-minute show to an "audience" of thousands of cardboard cut-outs in the stands of Florida's Raymond James Stadium.

He spent $7 million of his own money on the production, which garnered 96 million televised viewers.

2022: The Weeknd dropped a new album, headlined Coachella, and went on tour.

At the top of the year, The Weeknd released his fifth studio album, "Dawn FM ." 

Follwing the album's release, he co-headlined Coachella with Swedish House Mafia. The 51-minute set included a mix of 17 songs ranging from his earlier tunes to tracks from his latest albums. The performance marked The Weeknd's second time headlining the festival and third time performing overall.

In July, he kicked off his "After Hours Til Dawn" global tour in his hometown of Toronto. A second leg of the tour was announced for 2023, with expansion to Europe and Latin America. As a goodwill ambassador of the United Nations World Food Programme, The Weeknd plans to donate funds from the second leg of the tour to the XO Humanitarian Fund, Revolt reported .

The first leg was a solid success with 20 sold-out shows grossing over $130 million.

2023: The artist made a return to acting with his leading role in the upcoming HBO series "The Idol." The show has been roiled with controversy.

Created by The Weeknd, Reza Fahim, and Sam Levinson, "The Idol" was originally set to debut in 2022. The show follows the complicated relationship of a modern-day cult leader named Tedros (The Weeknd) and an aspiring pop idol, Jocelyn (Lily-Rose Depp).

On March 1, Rolling Stone reported the show had "gone wildly, disgustingly off the rails."

A plethora of reasons are attributed to the show's delay, the most pressing being Levinson taking over "as director and scrapping the nearly-finished $54-75 million project to rewrite and reshoot the entire thing," the report said.

Other controversial claims like elements of "rape fantasy" and "torture porn" were reported .

The Weeknd responded to the article on Twitter with a video from "The Idol," in which his character turns down an offer for a Rolling Stone cover shoot. "Did we upset you?" he wrote in the tweet. 

"The Idol" is currently still slated to premiere in summer 2023.

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In 2013, he released his debut studio album Kiss Land , which was supported by the singles " Kiss Land " and " Live For ". His second album, Beauty Behind the Madness , which became his first number one album on the Billboard 200, included the top-five single " Earned It " and produced the number-one singles " The Hills " and " Can't Feel My Face ." The songs have simultaneously held the top three spots on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart, making him the first artist in history to achieve this.

• 1 Early life
• 2.1 2010–2011: Career beginnings and mixtapes
• 2.2 2012–2014: Trilogy and Kiss Land
• 2.3 2015: Beauty Behind the Madness
• 2.4 2016–2017: Starboy
• 2.5 2018–2020: My Dear Melancholy, and After Hours
• 2.6 2021-Present: Super Bowl Halftime and Dawn FM
• 3 Artistry and image
• 4 Awards and nominations
• 5 Business ventures
• 6 Personal life
• 7 Legal issues
• 8 Philanthropy
• 9 Discography
• 10 Concert tours

Early life [ ]

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye was born on 16 February 1990, in Scarborough, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. He is the only child of Makkonen and Samra Tesfaye, who were Ethiopian migrants to Canada in the 1980's. He was raised in a multicultural neighbourhood in Scarborough. During his youth, his mother would work several jobs to support the family, often as a nurse and caterer, while also attending night school. His father later abandoned the family, prompting his maternal grandmother to take care for him. This allowed him to become fluent in Amharic, with the Semitic language acting as his first language. She would also take him to services at an Ethiopian Orthodox church.Abel and his grand mother would listen to Ethiopian music which further influenced his mysterious and sexy type of music he puts out.

He started smoking marijuana at age 11, and later moved on to hard drugs. Describing his teenage years as " KIDS without the AIDS", he would shoplift from the local supermarket with his high school friend, and began using MDMA, Xanax, cocaine, psilocybin and ketamine. He attended West Hill Collegiate Institute and Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute, but did not graduate from either of these high schools. His stage name was inspired by his high school dropout status, adopting the name "The Weeknd" after he left one weekend and never came home", although producer Jeremy Rose claims the name was his own idea. The spelling was modified to avoid trademark issues with the Canadian band The Weekend.

2010–2011: Career beginnings and mixtapes [ ]

Tesfaye met producer Jeremy Rose, who had an idea for a dark R&B musical project called "The Weeknd". After trying to pitch the idea to musician Curtis Santiago, Rose played one of his instrumentals for Tesfaye, who freestyled over it, and they began working on an album. He produced three songs – "What You Need", "Loft Music", and "The Morning" – and others that Tesfaye rapped on, which Rose ultimately scrapped. Rose let Tesfaye keep the tracks he had produced under the condition that he would ultimately be credited for them. However, in December 2010, Tesfaye uploaded "What You Need", "Loft Music" and "The Morning" to YouTube under the name "The Weeknd", though his identity was initially unknown. The songs drew attention online through word of mouth, including a blog featuring the songs posted by rapper Drake, who also helped generate interest in The Weeknd. They subsequently received coverage from outlets such as Pitchfork Media and The New York Times .

On 21 March 2011, Tesfaye released the nine-track mixtape House of Balloons for free through his website. It featured production by Illangelo and Doc McKinney, although it did not credit Rose for his tracks. House of Balloons was met with critical acclaim, and was named as one of ten shortlisted nominees for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize.

In July, Tesfaye embarked on a tour and delivered his first performance at the Mod Club in Toronto with Drake looking on from a balcony. The hour-and-a-half long performance created buzz about him. His next performance took place at Toronto’s Molson Canadian Amphitheatre. He collaborated extensively with Drake, lending his vocals to several standout tracks on Drake's Multi-Platinum Take Care album and appeared as one of the special guests to Drake's second Annual OVO Fest on 31 July 2011. During the summer, the press noted that The Weeknd refused to participate in interviews and chose to only communicate via Twitter. His second mixtape Thursday was released on 18 August 2011, as a free digital download from The Weeknd's website, and was well received by critics. The Weeknd's third mixtape, titled Echoes of Silence , was released on 21 December 2011. Upon this release, the three 2011 mixtapes were collectively known as the Balloons Trilogy , each receiving critical acclaim and growing Tesfaye's fanbase.

2012–2014: Trilogy and Kiss Land [ ]

In April 2012, The Weeknd began his U.S. tour by performing at the Coachella Festival. He and his band visited various major citie and culminated in New York, where two sold-out shows were positively reviewed by Rolling Stone . Tesfaye and his tour band continued in major European festivals, including the Primavera Sound Festivals in Spain and Portugal,Wireless Festival in London, plus concerts in Paris and Brussels. At his debut UK show in London, he covered Michael Jackson's "Dirty Diana" in front of an audience which included Katy Perry and Florence Welch. In June, it was reported that the Balloons Trilogy had been downloaded 8 million times and that it would be formally released later in the year.

In September 2012, The Weeknd signed with Republic Records in a joint venture with his own imprint XO. The compilation album Trilogy was released in November, consisting of remastered versions of the mixtapes and three additional songs. It also officially credited Rose as a producer and writer on three songs from House of Balloons . Trilogy charted at No. 5 on the Canadian Albums Chart, and No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 86,000 copies. Shortly after in December, the BBC announced that The Weeknd had been nominated for the Sound of 2013 poll. In May 2013, Trilogy was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and double-platinum by Music Canada.

On 16 May 2013, The Weeknd premiered the title track to his debut studio album Kiss Land , which he said will be released on 10 September. It was also promoted by the singles "Belong to the World", "Live For" featuring Drake and The Weeknd's The Fall tour beginning in September. Kiss Land received generally positive reviews from music critics. Kiss Land debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 96,000 copies, just two thousand copies short of Keith Urban's Fuse , which took the number one spot that week.

The Weeknd also appeared on the soundtrack to The Hunger Games: Catching Fire , contributing "Devil May Cry" and featuring on "Elastic Heart" by Sia, the second single from the soundtrack. In late 2013, The Weeknd joined Justin Timberlake on his The 20/20 Experience World Tour for six shows. In February 2014, he remixed the Beyoncé single "Drunk in Love". The remix was more of a cover, as The Weeknd tweaked the beat to fit better with his version of the song, that is told through the male perspective.

On 26 June 2014, The Weeknd announced that he will be headlining the King of the Fall tour, essentially a mini-tour across America in September and October 2014. ScHoolboy Q and Jhené Aiko were confirmed as support acts. The announcement came the day after The Weeknd released his new song, "Often", on SoundCloud, leading to speculation that the tour will unveil more new material from him. On 20 July 2014, The Weeknd released another track titled "King Of The Fall" to promote his upcoming tour, which started in September. On 30 September 2014, the song "Love Me Harder" was released which is a duet between The Weeknd and Ariana Grande, the song went on to peak at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. On 23 December 2014, he released "Earned It" , the song was released as a single from the 2015 film Fifty Shades of Grey , which has peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Weeknd performed a rendition of the song alongside Alicia Keys at the 2015 BET Awards.

2015: Beauty Behind the Madness [ ]

On 27 May 2015, The Weeknd released a music video for a new song "The Hills" . The song was later released as a digital download as the first single from The Weeknd's second studio album dubbed, Chapter III . "The Hills" debuted at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the week's "Hot Shot" debut; the single later went on to top the chart. In addition to the single's official release, a further three songs were leaked online in the corresponding days. On 8 June, "Can't Feel My Face" , one of the leaked tracks, was officially released as a second single following a performance of the song by The Weeknd at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on the same day. The song debuted at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100, and reached number-one on the Hot 100, making it his third top 10 hit and his first number-one hit in the United States. On 4 July, The Weeknd headlined FVDED in the Park in Surrey, BC, Canada.

In Billboard's Hot R&B Songs chart for the week of 25 July 2015, The Weeknd held down all of the top three spots, with "Can't Feel My Face" at number one, "The Hills" at number 2 and "Earned It" at number 3. This made him the first artist in the history of that chart to earn this distinction.

Abel at Coachella 2015

Following the announcement of the launch of Apple's new streaming service, Apple Music, it was unveiled that The Weeknd has joined as one of the musical faces alongside frequent collaborator Drake. During the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, Apple debuted a two-part promotional commercial featuring The Weeknd and a guest appearance from John Travolta.

On 28 August 2015, The Weeknd's second studio album, Beauty Behind the Madness , was released and topped the Billboard 200 with first week sales of 412,000 equivalent units (326,000 pure album sales). It spent three weeks at the top of the chart. The album reached the top 10 in over ten countries and topped the charts in Canada, Australia, Norway and the United Kingdom. The Weeknd promoted the album by headlining summer music festivals, including Lollapalooza in Chicago, the Hard Summer Music Festival in Pomona, the Summer Set Music and Camping Festival in Somerset, Philadelphia's Made in America Festival, Austin City Limits in Austin, and Seattle's Bumbershoot Festival. 'The Madness Fall Tour 2015', The Weeknd's North American tour to promote his new album was announced on 20 August 2015, and began in November. The tour featured opening acts from Travis Scott, Banks and Halsey. On 24 August 2015, The Weeknd released a video for "Tell Your Friends", a song produced by Kanye West from the album.

On the week of 8 September 2015, The Weeknd became the first male artist in nearly seven years with two songs on the Hot 100's top three in the same week, with "Can't Feel My Face" at number 2 and "The Hills" at number 3, both as a lead act. The Weeknd has been featured in several collaborations this year, including Belly's "Might Not", Meek Mill's "Pullin Up" and Travis Scott's "Pray 4 Love". The Weeknd also featured on Disclosure's sophomore album, Caracal , a collaboration entitled "Nocturnal". On 10 October 2015, The Weeknd joined actress Amy Schumer on Saturday Night Live as a musical guest. This was his first performance on the show as a solo artist after appearing during Ariana Grande’s set for their "Love Me Harder" collaboration.

In December 2015, Billboard reported Beauty Behind the Madness was the most-streamed album throughout 2015 with over 60 million listeners. It was also placed at number five on Rolling Stone's 50 Best Albums of 2015. Later that month, The Weeknd released two new songs, "Low Life" (a collaboration with Future), and a remixed version of Jeremih's "Pass Dat".

2016–2017: Starboy [ ]

In early 2016, The Weeknd was featured on the song "FML" from Kanye West's 2016 album, The Life of Pablo and appeared on Beyoncé's song "6 Inch" from her album Lemonade . In April, Spotify announced that the Weeknd was among the top five most streamed artists in their first year partnering with Sony on PlayStation 4.

Abel in 2016

On 24 August 2016, The Weeknd was reportedly working together with French electronic music duo Daft Punk, and was confirmed by Republic Records executive vice president Wendy Goldstein, while he was interviewed by Billboard . On 26 August 2016, Cashmere Cat released a single to his new album, "Wild Love", and The Weeknd is featured on this track providing vocals.

On 21 September 2016, The Weeknd announced the name of his third studio album, Starboy . The 18 track album was released through XO and Republic. The following day he released the title track, which features Daft Punk. Starboy was released on 25 November. On 1 October 2016, The Weeknd was a musical guest on Saturday Night Live where he performed " Starboy " and "False Alarm". On 17 November, The Weeknd announced two new singles from Starboy titled "Party Monster" and another collaboration with Daft Punk called "I Feel It Coming" .

On 23 November 2016, The Weeknd released a 12-minute-long short film in promotion of the album, directed by Grant Singer, who also directed the "Starboy" music video. Named Mania (stylized as M A N I A ), it features the songs such as "All I Know" featuring Future, "Sidewalks" featuring Kendrick Lamar, "Secrets", "Party Monster" (with background vocals from Lana Del Rey) and "I Feel It Coming" featuring Daft Punk. Within 24 hours of releasing Starboy , it was the number one album in over 80 countries.

In 2017, he also appeared on Future's sixth studio album, on the track "Comin Out Strong", Nav's "Some Way" and Lana Del Rey's "Lust For Life".

2018–2020: My Dear Melancholy, and After Hours [ ]

On February 2, 2018, Tesfaye released the Black Panther soundtrack song "Pray for Me" with Kendrick Lamar. It was featured as the third single from the soundtrack, and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.

On March 30, Tesfaye released his debut extended play My Dear Melancholy, . The EP debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 169,000 units, being Abel's third record in a row to do so and the shortest album by tracklist to hit number one in eight years. On April 6, he released the lead single for the EP "Call Out My Name" . It peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

On June 6, Tesfaye announced his Apple Music 1 radio show Memento Mori, with the first episode being released two days later. On November 21, he released his Japan-exclusive greatest hits album The Weeknd in Japan.

On January 11, 2019, The Weeknd was featured on Gesaffelstein's song "Lost in the Fire" from his album Hyperion. On April 18, he released the collaboration "Power is Power" with SZA and Travis Scott from the compilation album For The Throne with other Game of Thrones-inspired tracks.

On November 24, 2019, The Weeknd teased an upcoming single "Blinding Lights" in a Mercedes-Benz commercial. Three days later, the lead single to After Hours "Heartless" was released. The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

On November 29, Blinding Lights was released as the second single from the album. It peaked at number one for four weeks and charted for a record-breaking 90 weeks. On November 23, 2021, the song was ranked #1 on the Billboard Greatest Hot 100 of All Time list, surpassing long-time record holder "The Twist".

On February 19, 2020, Tesfaye revealed his fourth studio album After Hours and released the title track as a promotional single. On March 7, he appeared on Saturday Night Live alongside actor Daniel Craig to promote the record. He performed Blinding Lights and debuted a new track titled Scared to Live. Tesfaye released the album's third single "In Your Eyes" on March 24, which peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100.

2021-Present: Super Bowl Halftime and Dawn FM [ ]

On February 5, 2021, Tesfaye released The Highlights, his second greatest hits album.

Tesfaye headlined the Super LV Halftime Show on February 7, 2021 at the Raymond James Stadium

Tesfaye released his fifth studio album Dawn FM on January 7, 2022. Upon release, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 148,000 units, marking Tesfaye's eighth top ten entry and his second non-consecutive album to debut at number two. He also broke the record for the most simultaneous entries for a male soloist on the Billboard Global 200, with twenty-four songs on the chart. In addition to "Take My Breath", Dawn FM was supported by the singles "Sacrifice" and "Out of Time". An "alternate world" edition of the album, featuring a remix of Sacrifice, the single version of "Take My Breath" , and the previously released track "Moth To A Flame", was released on January 12. After a while, a remix of the song "Out Of Time" was also added to the version. The Alternate world edition was released alongside a music video for the song "Gasoline", and a music video for the Sacrifice Remix. On February 26, Tesfaye premiered The Dawn FM Experience , a television music special in partnership with Amazon Prime Video.

Artistry and image [ ]

Tesfaye cites Michael Jackson, Prince and R. Kelly as his main inspirations. He often says it was Jackson's music that made him want to be a singer, and the lyrics to "Dirty Diana". He also said his high-flying vocal style was influenced by habesha singers like Aster Aweke. He grew up listening to a variety of music genres, including soul, quiet storm, hip hop, funk, indie rock, and post-punk. His other influences include David Bowie, The Smiths, Bad Brains, Talking Heads, DeBarge and Eminem.

The Weeknd's songs are "built around a fogged, crepuscular production", and feature slow tempos, rumbling bass, and forlorn echoes. The Weeknd sings in a falsetto register, exhibiting an enticing tone. J. D. Considine finds his singing's "tremulous quality" similar to Michael Jackson, but writes that he eschews Jackson's "strong basis in the blues" for a more Arabic-influenced melisma. His music incorporates samples that are unconventional in R&B production, including punk and alternative rock. Marc Hogan of Spin says that The Weeknd's samples tend "to draw from rock critic-approved sources, though generally ones that already share elements of his sexual menace", with samples of artists such as Beach House, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Aaliyah. The Weeknd worked mostly with producers Illangelo and Doc McKinney, whom Pitchfork Media's Ian Cohen credits with developing "a state-of-the-art R&B template" with The Weeknd. In concert, The Weeknd reappropriates his digitized productions with a suite-like arena rock aesthetic.

His emotional, plaintive lyrics often express feelings of hurt and deal with subject matter such as sex, drugs, and partying. Hermione Hoby of The Guardian characterizes The Weeknd's songs as "narcotised-slow jams" and delineates their message as "partying is an existential experience, sex is fraught with alienation, and everything registers as unreal and unsettling". The Guardian 's Paul MacInnes interprets The Weeknd's trilogy of mixtapes as "a rough trajectory of party, after-party and hangover". Anupa Mistry of the Toronto Standard observes throughout his mixtapes a "cast of supine, stoned zombie-women ... whose legs willingly part after being plied with substances and who morph into threats only when [he is] coming down and feeling vulnerable". The Weeknd viewed that, by singing vulgar, ignorant lyrics in an elegant, sexy way, he is paying homage to R. Kelly and to some degree Prince.

Some journalists have associated The Weeknd with a broadening of R&B's musical palette to incorporate indie and electronic styles; his work has been categorized with the alternative R&B tag (sometimes humorously referred to as PBR&B). Mistry writes that he "will be obsequiously praised as the future of R&B music – because [he] is a black singer, not because he’s making quantifiable, canonical R&B". AllMusic's Andy Kellman categorizes him as an "alternative R&B act". Prior to his major label deal, The Weeknd withheld his identity and maintained an enigmatic, shadowy persona while releasing his mixtapes online.

The Weeknd has received praise from many musical artists. Veteran artist Babyface who spoke positively about The Weeknd stated, "I do love The Weeknd, and I love how, whoever he's working with, they're using pieces of R&B with other things that feel really great. [...] It's promising in the sense that I think there are other unknowns that will come forward and get back to being musicians. I think more than anything, what I miss is the musicians being part of the process". Drake, Halsey,Nick Jonas and Tove Lo have cited him as a musical influence.

Awards and nominations [ ]

See also: List of awards and nominations received by The Weeknd

The Weeknd has won two Grammy Awards, eight Billboard Music Awards, two American Music Awards, nine Juno Awards, and has been nominated for one Academy Award.

Business ventures [ ]

In November 2015, to further promote his album Beauty Behind the Madness during the "King of the Fall Madness 2015" Tour, The Weeknd collaborated with PAX Labs to release a limited edition version of the PAX 2 vaporizer. PAX was also an official sponsor for the "Madness" tour, which included presenting special backstage VIP activations. The limited edition vaporizer featured The Weeknd's "xo" brand on the front, and plays "The Hills" when turned on. The original PAX 2 was priced $279.99, while the "Madness" Tour Limited Edition cost $324.99.

PAX Labs chief marketing officer Richard Mumby stated "Music and fashion have always been a natural fit for Pax...This was the perfect opportunity to bring together The Weeknd's style with our technology."

In 2016, The Weeknd announced a partnership with Puma, signing on to the company as the new Global Brand ambassador, and will represent the "Run the Streets" campaign. Puma released an official statement saying "His laidback, streetwise style and swagger make him the right fit to headline PUMA's latest Sportstyle campaign, 'Run The Streets' which launches in November". The Weeknd will also star in H&M's Spring 2017 campaign, which would feature new collaborative pieces developed with the Weeknd’s XO brand. The menswear collection will be called "Spring Icons Selected by The Weeknd" and will be available on 2 March 2017.

Personal life [ ]

Tesfaye began dating model Bella Hadid at the beginning of 2015; the couple were first seen together in April at Coachella. Hadid has starred in his music video "In the Night" in December 2015. They also made their red carpet appearance as a couple at the 2016 Grammy Awards in February. On 11 November 2016, it was reported that the couple had split; citing that although the two are still in love, their schedules conflicted too much. He began a relationship with singer Selena Gomez in January 2017, they moved together and dated for a year.

His hairstyle—which was partly inspired by Jean-Michel Basquiat—was by far his most recognizable trait. "There's not much to maintaining it", he said — just a hard shampoo every once in a while. He began growing it out around 2011: "I want to be remembered as iconic and different," he said. "So I was like, 'Fuck it — I'm gonna let my hair just be what it wants'. I'll probably cut it if it starts interfering with my sight. I can kind of see it right now. But if I cut it, I'd look like everyone else. And that's just so boring to me". In 2016, he cut his hair, which was visually illustrated in the music video of the first single; the title track off of his third album, Starboy .

On social media outlets such as Twitter, he suffixed his name with "xo". According to Hoby, it is meant as an emoticon for "a kiss and a hug", while VH1's Zara Golden, The Torch and GQ have said that it is instead a reference to his recreational use of ecstasy and oxycodone.

He is a fan of the HBO hit series Game of Thrones . In the context of media outlets reporting cases of police brutality, in 2016, he tweeted "blue lives murder".

Legal issues [ ]

In January 2015, Tesfaye was arrested for punching a Las Vegas police officer. He pleaded no contest, and was sentenced to 50 hours of community service.

Philanthropy [ ]

Being presented the Bikila Award for Professional Excellence Award in 2014, he decided to donate $50,000 towards a class at the University of Toronto on Ge'ez, the classic language of Ethiopia. In 2015, he collaborated with Ryan Seacrest's foundation to visit Children's Hospital in Atlanta. In 2016, he donated $250,000 to Black Lives Matter.

Discography [ ]

Main article: The Weeknd discography

• Kiss Land (2013)
• Beauty Behind the Madness (2015)
• Starboy (2016)
• After Hours (2020)
• Dawn FM (2022)
• My Dear Melancholy, (2018)
• House Of Balloons (2011)
• Thursday (2011)
• Echoes Of Silence (2011)

Compilations

• Trilogy (2012)
• The Weeknd in Japan (2018, exclusively in Japan)
• The Highlights (2021)

Concert tours [ ]

• The Weeknd International Tour (Spring 2012)
• The Weeknd Fall Tour (2012)
• The Weeknd Kiss Land Fall Tour (2013)
• King of the Fall (2014)
• The Madness Fall Tour (2015)
• Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tou r (2017)
• After Hours til' Dawn Tour (2022)
• Ceremonials Tour (with Florence and the Machine) (2012)
• The 20/20 Experience World Tour (with Justin Timberlake) (2013)
• Would You Like a Tour? (with Drake) (2014)
• 1 The Weeknd

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The Weeknd: A Biography Paperback – February 3, 2018

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• Publisher ‏ : ‎ CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (February 3, 2018)
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The Weeknd pours love into his newest production: A specialty Ethiopian coffee

• Musician The Weeknd and Blue Bottle Coffee are debuting a new coffee brand, Samra Origins, on May 9.
• Made from top quality 2022 Ethiopian coffee, Samra Origins is named after The Weeknd's mother.
• He is the son of Ethiopian immigrants Makkonen and Samra Tesfaye.

The Weeknd is brewing what he hopes is another hit. But this one is music for your taste buds.The musician has partnered with Oakland, California-based specialty coffee company Blue Bottle Coffee on Samra Origins, a new brand of coffee products, the first of which becomes available May 9. Samra Origins is named after The Weeknd's mother and honors his Ethiopian roots and the culture of the country long considered the birthplace of coffee .

Born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye in Canada, The Weeknd is the son of Ethiopian immigrants Makkonen and Samra Tesfaye. “Ethiopian culture is an important part of my identity and I’m proud to work alongside the Blue Bottle Coffee team to shine a light on Ethiopian traditions, values, and of course, coffee,” he said in a press release.

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The first Samra Origins coffee available is the Exceedingly Rare Ethiopia Wolde Faye Koricha COE #7 ($65 for a tin of 100 grams of beans, about four ounces), a single origin whole bean coffee purchased through the prestigious Ethiopia Cup of Excellence competition and auction, and represents the pinnacle of Ethiopan coffee.

For the upcoming Summer blend series, Benjamin Brewer, Blue Bottle's head of innovation and quality, created three blend variations for The Weeknd and his mother to taste; they sought to arrive at a coffee similar to what she brews at home.

"We went back and forth with tastings and research to come up with the perfect blend," The Weeknd said in an email interview. "I wouldn’t put anything out that I wasn’t hands-on with."

You can sign up now at samraorigins.com to get on the waitlist and be notified when the coffee goes on sale May 9. The coffee will also be available at select Blue Bottle cafes in the U.S. as a warm and cold brew. Founded in Oakland, Calif., in 2002, Blue Bottle has cafes in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, and internationally in Korea, Japan, and China.

The Weeknd's new coffee buzz

Recently named the world's most popular artist by Guinness World Records , The Weeknd said his coffee taste has evolved from lattes – made with espresso and steamed milk – to Americanos, which are made with two espresso shots and hot water. "Coffee is key for me, it helps me focus and tap into creative flow in a really concerted way," he said.

He teamed up with Blue Bottle Coffee, because "they have the best tasting coffee – it’s really that simple," he said in an email interview with USA TODAY. "I have become really tuned into coffee and feel my palate has been honed and Blue Bottle is always so consistent."

On a normal day, he only has coffee in the morning. But while on set of "The Idol," the HBO drama series he co-created with Sam Levinson ("Euphoria") that arrives June 4, he might have coffee all day, The Weeknd said. And when it comes to music, he said, "many coffee-fueled days and nights went into the making of all the music for the show – The Idol."

What historic connection does The Weeknd have to coffee and Ethiopia?

The entertainer says he recalls watching his mother perform Buna Tetu , a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony meant to show a sign of respect for guests. "This sensory experience helped shape my understanding of community and taught me to always honor my roots," he said in the press release. "Samra Origins is a true passion project that I hope will inspire curiosity and encourage support for Ethiopia’s people, while also spreading the warmth and friendship so ingrained in Ethiopian culture.”

Blue Bottle is making a donation to The Weeknd’s XO Humanitarian Fund, which is administered by World Food Program USA and will target emergency food assistance in northern Ethiopia. His commitment to Ethiopian culture and charity made collaborating with The Weeknd an easy decision, Blue Bottle Coffee CEO Karl Strovink in an email interview.

"We share a mutual love for Ethiopia – its coffee, culture, and people – and a commitment to helping those in need," Strovink said.

How much coffee do Americans drink?

Americans drink an estimated 491 million cups of coffee daily, according to the National Coffee Association.In its spring 2023 National Coffee Data Trends report , released April 4, it found 83% of U.S. coffee drinkers had coffee at home in the past day, an increase of 4% since January 2020. More than one-third (35%) had coffee away from home, up from a low of 31% in January 2021 but still down from pre-pandemic levels of 41% in January 2020.

Traditional drip coffee makers remain the most popular way to make coffee at home, used by 41%, followed by single cup brewers, cold brew and espresso machines.

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