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The Weeknd

The Weeknd

ALL ARTIST INFO IS PULLED FROM PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATA.
IF YOU REPRESENT THIS ARTIST AND WOULD LIKE TO VERIFY YOUR PAGE OR UPDATE THE INFO, Click Here
birthday
16th
February, 1990
Birth Place
Toronto, Canada
Birth Sign
aquarius
Biography

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, better known by his stage name The Weeknd, is a renowned Canadian singer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He’s known for his distinct blend of R&B, hip-hop, and pop. 

Born on February 16, 1990, the 31-year-old musician has already had high-profile collaborations with the likes of Daft Punk, Drake, Lana Del Ray, Ariana Grande, and many other notable artists. In addition, he’s recently made a foray into film, making his acting debut in The Safdie Brothers’ corruption-soaked thriller Uncut Gems. 

Want to know how Abel made it in the music business? Keep on reading.

 

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instruments played
Vocals
Associated Acts

Ariana Grande Belly Daft Punk DaHeala Drake Doc McKinney Max Martin Illangelo Lana Del Rey Lil Uzi Vert Nav Travis Scott

Genres

R&B alternative R&B pop electropop synth-pop

Labels

XO Republic

Occupation

Singer songwriter record producer

Website

theweeknd.com

Years Active

2010 present

Name

The Weeknd

Nationality

Canada

Wiki Link

The Weeknd’s Origins 

Tesfaye grew up in Scarborough, a neighborhood in Toronto. In 2007, Abel made the decision to drop out of high school at a point when his life was mostly characterized by shoplifting and excessive drug use. He moved by himself to Parkdale, another Toronto neighborhood, and started honing his craft as a songwriter. Abel released his first music in August 2009 via YouTube. Uploading as “AbelOfficial,” he dropped the single “Do It,” followed by several more songs the next year – “Loft Music,” “What You Need,” and “The Morning.”  For those three follow-up singles, Tesfaye switched his YouTube moniker to “xoxxxoooxo.” All of his uploads were anonymous at the time, but he soon revealed his identity. Around this time, Abel got a big break when Canadian rapper Drake shouted out his songs on his personal blog. After Drake drew more attention to Abel’s music, his songs started getting coverage from the likes of The New York Times and Pitchfork. At the time, Tesfaye was still releasing music anonymously, switching between aliases like The Noise and Kin Kane. Meanwhile, he worked a retail job at an American Apparel store in Toronto, and the world had yet to know his name.

Making His Own Label 

Following the commercial success of his YouTube-uploaded songs, Abel adopted the moniker The Weeknd. Shortly after, he got hooked up with his managers-to-be, Sal Slaiby and Amir Esmailian, as well as a creative director – Abel’s longtime best friend La Mar Taylor. The foursome went on to form XO Records, the label that released The Weeknd’s debut mixtape, House of Balloons.  After House of Balloons became a huge success, XO Records was acquired by Universal Music Group, and The Weeknd was well on his way to becoming a household name.

Early Records 

On November 13, 2012, The Weeknd released Trilogy, a compilation album featuring recordings from three earlier mixtapes – House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence. A year later, on September 10, 2013, Abel dropped his debut studio album – Kiss Land. 

Making It Big 

On August 28, 2015, The Weeknd released his second studio album, the record that went on to earn him his first Grammy. Beauty Behind the Madness features the singles “Often,” “The Hills,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” “In The Night,” and “Acquainted,” two of which became number-one Billboard Hot 100 hits in the US.  Thanks to an appearance on the soundtrack for Fifty Shades of Grey, Abel also became an Academy Award Nominee for the album cut “Earn It.”

Starboy and After Hours 

On November 25, 2016, The Weeknd Dropped Starboy, his third studio album, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. The album features the singles “Starboy,” “I Feel It Coming,” “Party Monster,” “Reminder,” “Rockin,” “Die For You,” and “Secrets. Nearly four years later, the Weeknd released his most successful album yet in March 2020 – After Hours. The record features production work by Ricky Reed, Max Martin, DaHeala, Kevin Parker of Tame Impala, and several others. After the release of the standard edition of the album, The Weeknd also put out a remix collection, which features synth-pop group Chromatics and Lil Uzi Vert. After Hours features three singles that made it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 – “Save Your Tears,’ “Blinding Lights,” and “In Your Eyes.” Save Your Tears” was later re-released as a duet with Ariana Grande. The record went double-Platinum in the US, France, Norway, and Sweden. 

Greatest Hits and More Success

Following the success of After Hours, Abel released a greatest hits collection called The Highlights. The album features collaborations with Ariana Grande and Kendrick Lamar, as well as tracks dating all the way back to House of Balloons.

Bonus Facts About The Weeknd

As of 2021, with some of the best-selling releases of all time under his belt, The Weeknd has an estimated net worth of around $100 million. He’s previously been in relationships with both Selena Gomez and Bella Hadid, and he is of Ethiopian Descent.

The Weeknd in Film and TV 

In July 2020, The Weeknd contributed his likeness, voice, and writing talents to the adult cartoon series American Dad. In an episode titled “A Starboy is Born,” The Weeknd is abducted by Stan, the main character in the series. In addition, Abel made a high-profile cameo as himself in the 2020 film Uncut Gems. In February 2021, The Weeknd performed at the Superbowl LV Halftime Show.

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