The Weeknd (OG).The Weeknd
The Weeknd, born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye on February 16, 1990, in Toronto, Canada, is a prominent singer and songwriter known for his unique sound that blends R&B, pop, and electronic music. Growing up in a challenging environment, he was raised by his single mother and grandmother after his parents separated shortly after his birth. He dropped out of high school at seventeen and began writing music, eventually adopting the stage name The Weeknd. His musical career took off after his songs gained exposure on social media and through fellow Canadian artist Drake.
The Weeknd's breakthrough mixtapes, released in 2011, garnered significant attention, leading to a record deal with Republic Records in 2012. His subsequent albums, including "Beauty Behind the Madness" and "Starboy," solidified his status as an international star, earning multiple Grammy Awards and breaking chart records. Known for his distinctive voice and production style, The Weeknd has influenced a generation of artists and has been recognized as one of the most significant figures in contemporary music. Besides his musical accomplishments, he maintains a private personal life while engaging in philanthropy and advocating for social causes.
The Weeknd
- Born: February 16, 1990
- Place of Birth: Toronto, Ontario
Background
Singer and songwriter the Weeknd was born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye in Toronto, Ontario, on February 16, 1990, and grew up in the nearby suburb of Scarborough. His parents, Samra and Makkonen Tesfaye, moved from Ethiopia to Canada in the 1980s and separated when he was a baby. His mother and maternal grandmother raised the artist, and his mother worked numerous jobs to support them. His father was largely absent from his childhood. The Weeknd later recalled spending a great deal of time alone in front of the television and feeling lonely, hoping to someday have a brother. He spoke the Ethiopian language of Amharic at home, learning English in school and while watching television. He also attended a French-language school for a time.
In 2007, at age seventeen, the Weeknd and his best friend, La Mar Taylor, decided to drop out of high school. The singer credited his mother’s disappointment with eventually motivating him to succeed, but initially the friends moved to an apartment in Parkdale, another Toronto suburb, and went on public assistance. They spent their meager funds on alcohol and drugs and stole food from neighborhood stores. After some legal trouble when he was eighteen, the Weeknd moved out of the Parkdale apartment and started a job folding clothes at an American Apparel retail store.
Music Career
The Weeknd began to write music while working at the clothing store, initially hoping that other artists would record his songs as he did not like his own voice. In the fall of 2010, his friend Taylor uploaded three of his songs, “The Morning,” “What You Need,” and “Loft Music,” to YouTube and shared them on other social media platforms. The singer assumed the name the Weeknd after the songs began to circulate, dropping one letter of “weekend” to avoid impinging on an existing rock band. At first, the Weeknd kept his identity a secret, refusing to give interviews or perform in public. He recalled that his coworkers at American Apparel would sometimes play his songs without realizing they were his.
In December 2010, the Weeknd’s songs were posted on superstar and fellow Canadian musician Drake’s blog, sparking intense international interest in the musician. In 2011, the Weeknd worked with Drake on his album and recorded mixtapes, which he released for free online. His first mixtape, “House of Balloons,” was released in March, followed by two additional mixtapes, “Thursday” and “Echoes of Silence.” Though he continued to work with Drake, opening for him at several major venues and appearing at his label’s festival in 2011, he did not sign with a record label until 2012. That year, he signed with Republic Records as a partnership with his own production company, XO. By the time he was signed, the artist was already an international sensation, playing the Coachella music festival and receiving a coveted positive review in Rolling Stone magazine. The Weeknd remastered his first three mixtapes and released them as a box set called “Trilogy” in December 2012, which went platinum.
The Weeknd’s first studio album, Kiss Land, was released in September 2013, and though reviews were generally positive, sales were disappointing; the album sold around 270,000 copies in the United States and did not produce a hit single. The Weeknd sought the guidance of Republic’s head of artists and repertoire, Wendy Goldstein, who began to shape his career. He took dance lessons and worked on choreography before embarking on his first headlining tour in the fall of 2014. Goldstein also paired the singer with superstar Ariana Grande for a duet, “Love Me Harder,” developed by Swedish producer Max Martin.
The following year, The Weeknd’s success continued to grow as he worked on more songs with Martin. He recorded the song “Earned It” with musician Alicia Keys, which rose to number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. By mid-July 2015, he had two additional songs on the Billboard Top 20, “The Hills” and “Can’t Feel My Face.” Both songs were singles for his upcoming album Beauty Behind the Madness, which was released in August 2015. The album, which paid homage to 1980s pop music, debuted at the top of the Billboard charts. Beauty Behind the Madness was an international sensation, reaching number one in Canada, Europe, and Australia. The album went double-platinum in the United States and was the most-streamed album of 2015. At the Grammy Awards, it won the award for best urban contemporary album, and “Earned It” won the award for best R&B performance.
The Weeknd’s third studio album, Starboy, was released in 2016 and was another huge success. Featuring collaborations with the French duo Daft Punk, the album went to the top of the charts in Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand, and the United States and produced the international hits “Starboy” and “I Feel It Coming.” The album also earned the Weeknd his second Grammy for best urban contemporary album and his third Grammy overall. Over the next two years, the Weeknd appeared on the hit singles of several popular artists, including Kanye West, Beyoncé, and Lana Del Ray. In 2018, a collaborative track with rapper Kendrick Lamar, "Pray for Me," was prominently featured on the soundtrack of the hit superhero film Black Panther. That same he also released an EP called “My Dear Melancholy” that produced a top single in Canada.
In 2020, the Weeknd released his fourth studio album, After Hours, which again debuted at number one in the US, Canada, Australia, and the UK, among other countries. The single “Blinding Lights” broke records for its time at the top of the international charts, and the album also produced two other hit singles, “Heartless” and “Save Your Tears.” On February 7, 2021, the Weeknd performed the Super Bowl LV halftime show, a performance that was held partly on stage and partly in the stands—a hybrid necessary because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. That year he also released a chart-topping greatest hits compilation entitled The Highlights.
In early 2022, the dance-oriented album Dawn FM marked the Weeknd's fifth full-length studio effort. It was well received by critics and debuted in second place on the Billboard 200. Soon after, the Weeknd had twenty-four songs on the Global 200 chart, setting a record for a male solo artist in a single week. He headlined the Coachella festival that April, and launched a major international tour that July.
In 2023, the Weeknd ventured into television, cocreating and staring in the HBO drama series The Idol. While the show was canceled after one season, it produced a series of commercially successful EPs, released after each episode.
Impact
The Weeknd’s music has had a significant impact on the world of popular music, and he has been credited with pioneering the R&B wave of the 2010s and beyond. His songs have influenced many other contemporary artists, such as Usher and Diplo, who began incorporating the Weeknd’s alternative R&B sound into their own works. His success was recognized with multiple Grammy Award wins and many other honors, including a place as one of Time magazine's most influential people in 2020, and he became one of the best-selling musical acts in the world. The Guinness Book of World Records named him the statistically most popular musician worldwide in 2023.
Personal Life
While known for rarely granting interviews and keeping his personal life private, the Weeknd nevertheless received tabloid attention as a noted celebrity. He was romantically linked to supermodel Bella Hadid as well as to singer and actor Selena Gomez. He also earned attention for his philanthropic efforts, including significant donations to the Black Lives Matter Movement, the MusiCares Foundation, and the United Nations World Food Programme. After rising to fame, he lived primarily in Los Angeles and New York.
Principal Works
Kiss Land, 2013
Beauty Behind the Madness, 2015
Starboy, 2016
After Hours, 2020
The Highlights, 2021
Dawn FM, 2022
Suggested Reading
Aswad, Jem. “The Weeknd Opens Up about His Past, Turning 30 and Getting Vulnerable on ‘After Hours.’” Variety, 30 Apr. 2020, variety.com/2020/music/news/the-weeknd-exclusive-interview-after-hours-1234573754/. Accessed 12 Aug. 2021.
Campione, Katie. "'The Idol' Canceled at HBO after One Season." Deadline, 28 Aug. 2023, deadline.com/2023/08/the-idol-canceled-at-hbo-after-one-season-1235429399/. Accessed 28 Aug. 2024.
Caramanica, Jon. “Can the Weeknd Turn Himself into the Biggest Pop Star in the World?” The New York Times, 27 July 2015, www.nytimes.com/2015/08/02/magazine/can-the-weeknd-turn-himself-into-the-biggest-pop-star-in-the-world.html. Accessed 12 Aug. 2021.
Caramanica, Jon. “The Weeknd Emerges from the Shadows at the Super Bowl Halftime Show.” The New York Times, 8 Feb. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/02/07/arts/music/the-weeknd-super-bowl-halftime-review.html. Accessed 12 Aug. 2021.
Lamont, Tom. “The Weeknd: ‘Drugs Were a Crutch for Me.’” The Guardian, 3 Dec. 2016, www.theguardian.com/music/2016/dec/03/the-weeknd-abel-tesfaye-interview-music-tom-lamont. Accessed 12 Aug. 2021.