The Weeknd

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer known for his unconventional music production, artistic reinventions, and distinctive use of the falsetto register.


Born and raised in Toronto, Tesfaye began his career in 2009 by anonymously releasing music on YouTube. Two years later, he co-founded the record label XO and gained recognition for his mixtapes "House of Balloons," "Thursday," and "Echoes of Silence," which showcased his contemporary and alternative R&B style and added to the mystique surrounding his identity. In 2012, he signed with Republic Records and re-released the mixtapes as part of his compilation album Trilogy.


Tesfaye explored dark wave for his debut studio album "Kiss Land" (2013), which debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200. He began contributing to film soundtracks, with his single "Earned It" from "Fifty Shades of Grey" (2015) winning the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance and receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.


His second album, "Beauty Behind the Madness" (2015), propelled him to critical and commercial success, featuring chart-topping singles like "Can't Feel My Face" and "The Hills." It won the Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album. His third album, "Starboy" (2016), also achieved commercial success, with the title track featuring Daft Punk reaching number one on the charts.


Tesfaye returned to alternative R&B with his extended play "My Dear Melancholy" (2018), featuring the US top-ten single "Call Out My Name." His fourth studio album, "After Hours" (2020), showcased new wave and dream pop elements and included the chart-topping single "Blinding Lights."


In 2022, Tesfaye released his fifth album, "Dawn FM," featuring the US top-ten single "Take My Breath." He also co-created and starred in the drama series "The Idol" in 2023.
Tesfaye holds numerous streaming and Billboard chart records, including being the first Canadian artist with four diamond-certified singles and the first artist to hold the top three spots on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart simultaneously. His song "Blinding Lights" holds the record for the most-streamed song in Spotify history.


Recognized for his influence and popularity, Tesfaye has received numerous awards, including four Grammy Awards, 20 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 Juno Awards. He has also been appointed a World Food Programme Goodwill Ambassador for his advocacy for racial equality and food security.


Abel Makkonen Tesfaye was born on February 16, 1990, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to Ethiopian Amhara immigrants Makkonen Tesfaye and Samrawit Hailu, who separated shortly after his birth. Raised in Scarborough by his mother and grandmother, Tesfaye has an estranged relationship with his father, who he saw only briefly during his childhood.


Growing up, Tesfaye was raised in the Ethiopian Orthodox faith but has since questioned his religious beliefs, describing life's challenges as a test for those who are religious or spiritual. He learned Amharic, his native language, from his grandmother and became fluent in French while attending a French-immersion school. His education continued at West Hill Collegiate Institute and Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute.


At the age of 17, Tesfaye dropped out of school and moved to an apartment in Parkdale with friends, including his creative director La Mar Taylor. This period of his life was marked by a hedonistic lifestyle, reminiscent of the film "Kids" but without the AIDS epidemic. Tesfaye experienced homelessness and was incarcerated multiple times during this period, which prompted him to reevaluate his life and focus on his music career.


Throughout his early adulthood, Tesfaye struggled with substance abuse, using drugs like ketamine, cocaine, MDMA, magic mushrooms, and cough syrup. He has acknowledged that drugs were a "crutch" for him when it came to writing music. In more recent years, he has adopted a "sober lite" lifestyle, meaning he has stopped using most drugs except marijuana. He also drinks alcohol occasionally but has reduced his consumption significantly compared to his past habits.



Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known as the Weeknd, began his music career in August 2009 by anonymously releasing music on YouTube. In 2010, he met producer Jeremy Rose, who had a concept for a dark contemporary R&B project. Rose produced several tracks for Tesfaye, including "What You Need", "Loft Music", and "The Party & The After Party". Tesfaye uploaded these songs to YouTube in December 2010 under the username "xoxxxoooxo", initially keeping his identity hidden.


Before adopting the stage name the Weeknd, Tesfaye released music under the aliases the Noise and Kin Kane. His stage name was chosen in reference to when he dropped out of school and left home with his mattress, never returning for the weekend. However, there is some dispute over the origin of the name.


In 2011, Tesfaye founded the XO record label with music executives Wassim "Sal" Slaiby and Amir "Cash" Esmailian, along with his creative director La Mar Taylor. On March 21, 2011, he released his debut mixtape "House of Balloons", which received critical acclaim and was shortlisted for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize. This was followed by the release of his second mixtape "Thursday" on August 18, and his third mixtape "Echoes of Silence" on December 21.


In July 2011, Tesfaye performed live for the first time at the Mod Club Theatre in Toronto. Following this, he collaborated with Drake, contributing to four songs on Drake's album "Take Care", including the single "Crew Love". This collaboration helped to further boost Tesfaye's profile in the music industry.


Between January and March 2012, Tesfaye performed at various Ontario universities and began his first international tour in April, which included performances at Coachella and sold-out shows in New York City. He also performed at European festivals such as Primavera Sound in Spain and Portugal, and the Wireless Festival in the United Kingdom. In September of the same year, Tesfaye signed with Republic Records, and XO became a subsidiary label under the company. He embarked on his first official concert tour, The Fall Tour, opening for Florence and the Machine on their Ceremonials Tour in five cities, including two shows at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.


On November 13, 2012, Tesfaye released "Trilogy", a compilation album featuring re-mixed and remastered versions of his 2011 mixtapes along with three additional tracks. The album credited Jeremy Rose as a producer and writer on the three songs from "House of Balloons" for which he initially did not receive credit. "Trilogy" debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 and number five on the Canadian Albums Chart. It was later certified platinum by the RIAA and double-platinum by Music Canada. The album also earned Tesfaye a nomination for the Sound of 2013 poll award by BBC.

References

1.  Marsh, Calum (February 16, 2021). "Everything We Know About The Weeknd Before He Blew Up". Complex. Archived from the original on March 15, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2021. He apparently also recorded music under the names The Noise and Kin Kane.
2. ^ Eells, Josh (October 21, 2015). "Sex, Drugs and R&B: Inside The Weeknd's Dark Twisted Fantasy". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 15, 2018.
3. ^ Donnelly, Matt; Sharf, Zack (May 22, 2023). "'The Idol' Scandalizes Cannes With Five-Minute Standing Ovation for Lily-Rose Depp's Masturbating Pop Star, Explicit Nudity and the Weeknd's TV Acting Debut". Variety. Archived from the original on October 29, 2023. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
4. ^ Wimmer, Micah (March 21, 2018). "On the Weeknd, House of Balloons, and Its Massive Influence". Medium. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021. Listening to House of Balloons now, years after its initial release, its influence stands out as much as its quality. It might not be fully accurate to name it as the first so-called alternative R&B album, the one that set the stage for Frank Ocean, FKA Twigs, Rhye, Tinashe, and Miguel's more experimental work, but regardless, it still seems like a dividing line in the progression of R&B in the 2010s.
5. ^ Kennedy, Gerrick D. (February 12, 2016). "How the Weeknd got his revenge and became one of the biggest pop stars". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 8, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
6. ^ "House of Balloons – The Weeknd". Metacritic. Archived from the original on January 7, 2021.
7. ^ Cox, Jamieson (February 28, 2016). "Watch The Weeknd reenact the "Earned It" video on the Oscar stage". The Verge. Archived from the original on April 18, 2023. Retrieved November 9, 2021.