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Wikipedia

The Weeknd

January 26, 2023

"Weeknd" redirects here. Not to be confused with weekend.

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter and actor.[2] Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, romance, and melancholia, and is often inspired by personal experiences.[3] He has received numerous accolades, including four Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy Award, 20 Billboard Music Awards, 17 Juno Awards, six American Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, and nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

The Weeknd
The Weeknd in 2021
Born
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye

(1990-02-16) February 16, 1990 (age 32)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Other names
  • The Noise
  • Kin Kane[1]
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
  • actor
  • businessman
Years active2009–present
Works
AwardsFull list
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • keyboards
  • guitar
  • bass
  • drums
Labels
Websitetheweeknd.com
Signature

Born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Tesfaye began his career in 2009 by anonymously releasing music on YouTube. Two years later, he co-founded the XO record label and released the mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence, which gained recognition for his style of contemporary and alternative R&B and the mystique surrounding his identity.[4] In 2012, he signed with Republic Records and rereleased the mixtapes in the compilation album Trilogy. He explored dark wave in his debut studio album Kiss Land (2013), which debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200. After its release, Tesfaye began contributing to film soundtracks, with his acclaimed single "Earned It" from Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) winning the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance, while also being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song.[5]

Tesfaye earned critical and commercial success with his pop-leaning second album Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), which reached number one in the US, contained the US Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles "Can't Feel My Face" and "The Hills", and won the Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album and was nominated for Album of the Year.[6] His trap-infused third studio album Starboy (2016) saw similar commercial success and included the US number-one single of the same name and won the Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album. Tesfaye explored new wave and dream pop with his critically acclaimed fourth studio album After Hours (2020), which featured the chart record-setting single "Blinding Lights" and the US number-one singles "Heartless" and "Save Your Tears".[7] His dance-pop inspired fifth album Dawn FM (2022) included the US top-ten single "Take My Breath".

Among the world's best-selling music artists with over 75 million records sold,[8] Tesfaye holds several streaming and Billboard chart records.[9][10] He is the first artist to simultaneously debut on the top three on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs,[11] while "Blinding Lights" is ranked as the greatest Hot 100 song in Billboard history.[12][13] Often considered as a prominent figure in contemporary popular music,[14] Tesfaye was listed by Time as one of the world's most influential people in 2020.[15] An advocate for racial equality and food security, he was appointed a World Food Programme Goodwill Ambassador in 2021.[16][17]

Early life

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye[a] was born on February 16, 1990, in Toronto, Ontario.[18] He is the only child of Ethiopian immigrants Makkonen Tesfaye and Samrawit Hailu,[b] who separated shortly after his birth.[20][21] He was brought up in the district of Scarborough by his mother and grandmother.[18][22] He has an estranged relationship with his father, in which he explained to Rolling Stone, "I saw him vaguely when I was six, and then again when I was 11 or 12, and he had a new family and kids. I don't even know where he lived — I'd see him for, like, a night. I'm sure he's a great guy. I never judged him. He wasn't abusive, he wasn't an alcoholic, he wasn't an asshole. He just wasn't there."[21]

Tesfaye was raised as an Ethiopian Orthodox.[21][23] When asked whether or not he was still religious, he stated to Variety in 2020, "I dunno...everything is a test, and if you are religious or spiritual, you have to go through things."[24] His native language is Amharic, which he learned through his grandmother.[25] He later became fluent in French by attending a French-immersion school.[26] He was further educated at West Hill Collegiate Institute and Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute.[27]

When he was 17, Tesfaye dropped out of school and moved to an apartment in the neighbourhood of Parkdale with two friends; including his best friend and now creative director La Mar Taylor.[28] He has described this period as being like the film Kids (1995) "without the AIDS", as they lived a hedonistic lifestyle.[18][29] He has also experienced homelessness and was incarcerated on several occasions during this time, which encouraged him to "smarten up, to focus."[30][31]

Tesfaye often used drugs and abused illegal substances such as ketamine, cocaine, MDMA, magic mushrooms, and cough syrup.[32] In December 2016, he stated that drugs were a "crutch" for him when it came to writing music.[33] In August 2021, during a cover story with GQ, he described himself as being "sober lite", meaning that he has stopped using drugs with the exception of marijuana. He also noted that he drinks alcohol occasionally, stating: "I'm not a heavy drinker, as much as I used to be. The romance of drinking isn't there."[34]

Career

2009–2011: Early beginnings

Main articles: House of Balloons, Thursday (album), and Echoes of Silence

In August 2009, Tesfaye began anonymously releasing music on YouTube.[35][36] The following year, he met Jeremy Rose, a producer who had an idea for a dark contemporary R&B project. After initially trying to pitch the idea to musician Curtis Santiago, Rose played one of his instrumentals for Tesfaye, who freestyle rapped over it. Rose produced three songs – "What You Need", "Loft Music" and "The Morning" – and others that Tesfaye had sung on, which were ultimately scrapped. Rose let Tesfaye keep the tracks he had produced under the condition that he would be credited for them.[37] In December 2010, Tesfaye uploaded "What You Need", "Loft Music" and "The Morning" to YouTube under the username "xoxxxoooxo".[38][39] His identity was initially unknown. The songs drew some attention online, and were later included in a blog post from rapper Drake.[37][40] The songs subsequently received coverage from various media outlets, including Pitchfork and The New York Times.[41]

Before adopting the stage name the Weeknd, Tesfaye released music under two aliases; the Noise and Kin Kane.[21] His current stage name was chosen in tribute to when he dropped out of school, took his mattress, "left one weekend and never came home." However, Rose claims the name was his idea.[42][43] The last 'e' was excluded to avoid trademark problems with pop rock band the Weekend.[44] In the beginning of his career, Tesfaye worked at American Apparel. Due to his anonymity, his co-workers listened to his music without knowing it was him.[45][46][47]

In 2011, Tesfaye met music executives Wassim "Sal" Slaiby and Amir "Cash" Esmailian, with whom, along with Taylor, he founded the XO record label.[48] On March 21, Tesfaye released his debut mixtape House of Balloons.[49][50][51] The mixtape included production from producers Illangelo and Doc McKinney, and included the tracks produced by Rose, although he did not receive production credits.[37] House of Balloons was named as one of ten shortlisted nominees for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize.[52] On August 18, Tesfaye released his second mixtape Thursday, which received generally positive reviews.[53] His third mixtape, Echoes of Silence, was released on December 21. It was a longlisted nominee for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize.[54][55]

In July 2011, Tesfaye held his first live performance at the Mod Club Theatre in Toronto.[56] After the performance, Drake met with Tesfaye to discuss collaborations, which led to Tesfaye earning an appearance at his OVO Festival.[57] He also participated in concerts hosted by the Black Student Association at the University of Toronto.[47][58] Tesfaye contributed to four songs on Drake's second studio album Take Care, which was released on November 15, as a songwriter, producer and a featured artist on the album's seventh single "Crew Love".[59]

2012–2014: Trilogy and Kiss Land

Main articles: Trilogy (The Weeknd album) and Kiss Land
 
Tesfaye performing at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2012

Between January and March 2012, Tesfaye performed at several Ontario universities, including Waterloo's Laurier University, Hamilton's Mohawk College and McMaster University.[60] In April, he began his first international tour; which included performances at Coachella,[61] sold-out shows at such venues as the Bowery Ballroom in New York City, which were positively reviewed by Rolling Stone,[61][62] and various European festivals, including Primavera Sound in Spain and Portugal,[63] and the Wireless Festival in the United Kingdom.[64][65][66] In September, Tesfaye signed with Republic Records and XO was assumed as a subsidiary label.[67] In september, he also began his first official concert tour: The Fall Tour, during which he opened for Florence and the Machine on their Ceremonials Tour in 5 cities, which included 2 shows at the iconic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

On November 13, 2012, Tesfaye released Trilogy, a compilation album consisting of re-mixed and remastered versions of his 2011 mixtapes and three additional tracks.[68][69][70] The album officially credited Rose as a producer and writer on the three songs from House of Balloons for which he did not initially receive credit.[71] Trilogy debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 86,000 copies. It also debuted at number five on the Canadian Albums Chart, with similar sales.[72][73] The album was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and double-platinum by Music Canada.[74][75] It also earned Tesfaye a nomination for the Sound of 2013 poll award by BBC.[76]

 
Tesfaye performing at Massey Hall in October 2013

On May 17, 2013, Tesfaye released the title track to his debut studio album Kiss Land,[77] and announced the album's release date of September 10.[78] Upon release, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 96,000 copies,[79] and received generally positive reviews from music critics.[80] The album was later supported by the singles "Belong to the World", "Love in the Sky" and "Live For" featuring Drake. Tesfaye embarked on a fall tour from September 6 to November 26.[81] As of August 2015, the album had sold 273,000 copies in the United States.[82] On August 10, 2020, almost seven years after its release, Kiss Land reached number one on the iTunes R&B chart.[83]

In November 2013, Tesfaye opened for Justin Timberlake on The 20/20 Experience World Tour.[84] He then contributed to the soundtrack for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), on the songs "Devil May Cry" and "Elastic Heart" with Sia and Diplo, the latter serving as the second single from the soundtrack.[85]

In February 2014, Tesfaye remixed Beyoncé's single "Drunk in Love" from her eponymous studio album. Retaining the theme and concept of the song, he detailed the synopsis through a male's perspective.[86] On August 25, Tesfaye collaborated with Ariana Grande on the song "Love Me Harder" from Grande's second studio album My Everything. The song was then released on September 30 as the fourth single from the album, and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.[87]

Tesfaye's first headlining tour, the King of the Fall Tour, a 4-city tour of North America was held in September and October 2014, and was supported by Schoolboy Q and Jhené Aiko.[88] The tour was followed by release of the songs "Often" and "King of the Fall", leading to speculation that the former was the lead single from his second studio album, Beauty Behind the Madness (2015).[89] On December 23, Tesfaye released the song "Earned It" from the soundtrack for Fifty Shades of Grey (2015). The single, which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, earned Tesfaye his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.[90] The song won Best R&B Performance and was nominated for Best R&B Song and Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.[91]

2015–2017: Beauty Behind the Madness and Starboy

Main articles: Beauty Behind the Madness and Starboy (album)
 
Tesfaye performing at Bumbershoot 2015

On May 27, 2015, Tesfaye released the second single from Beauty Behind the Madness, "The Hills".[92] The single debuted at number twenty on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number one, becoming Tesfaye's first number-one single. In June 2019, "The Hills" was certified diamond by the RIAA, marking Tesfaye's first diamond-certified record.[93][94]

In June 2015, after winning the Centric Award at the BET Awards, Tesfaye performed "Earned It" with Alicia Keys.[95] On June 8, he released the song "Can't Feel My Face" as the album's third single. The track was previously leaked in May, but was released as a single following a performance by Tesfaye at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference.[96] The single debuted at number twenty-four on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number one, making it Tesfaye's third top 10 hit and his second number-one song in the United States.[97][98] The song was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.[99] He occupied all three slots on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart simultaneously with the aforementioned singles, becoming the first artist in history to accomplish this.[100] He was also unveiled as one of the musical faces of the streaming service Apple Music, alongside Drake.[101] During the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, Apple debuted a two-part promotional commercial featuring Tesfaye, which had a guest appearance from John Travolta.[102] In July, Tesfaye headlined the inaugural FVDED in the Park festival in Surrey, British Columbia.[103] On June 29, Tesfaye was featured on Meek Mill's second studio album Dreams Worth More Than Money (2015), on the track "Pullin' Up".[104]

Beauty Behind the Madness, Tesfaye's second studio album, was released on August 28, 2015, and debuted atop the Billboard 200, earning 412,000 album-equivalent units in its first week.[105][106] It reached the top 10 in over ten countries and reached number one in Canada, Australia, Norway, and the United Kingdom.[107][108] The album was promoted by Tesfaye headlining various summer music festivals, including Lollapalooza, the Hard Summer Music Festival, and the Bumbershoot Festival.[109] He announced The Madness Fall Tour, his first large-scale tour across the United States, which began in November, and concluded in December.[110][111] The album was certified double platinum in the U.S., and sold 1.5 million copies worldwide.[112] It was the most-streamed album in 2015, with over 60 million streams,[113] and was ranked on multiple lists of albums of the year.[114] The three singles that preceded the album were certified platinum in the United States.[115] The album won Best Urban Contemporary Album and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.[116]

On September 4, 2015, Tesfaye was featured on Travis Scott's debut album Rodeo, on the track "Pray 4 Love".[117] On October 10, Tesfaye appeared on Saturday Night Live alongside actress Amy Schumer, performing as the show's musical guest.[118][119] This was his first performance on the show as a solo artist, after appearing with Ariana Grande to perform "Love Me Harder".[119]In November, he began his debut arena tour, The Madness Fall Tour, which included shows at Toronto's Air Canada Centre and New York City's Madison Square Garden. On December 18, Tesfaye was featured on Belly's single "Might Not" from his eighth mixtape Up For Days.[120]

On February 14, 2016, Tesfaye was featured on Kanye West's seventh studio album The Life of Pablo on the track "FML".[121][122] It marked their second collaboration, with West previously writing and producing on Tesfaye's single "Tell Your Friends" from Beauty Behind the Madness. On March 1, Tesfaye was featured on Future's single "Low Life" from his fourth studio album Evol.[123] On April 23, he was featured on Beyoncé's sixth studio album Lemonade on the track "6 Inch".[124] On August 26, Tesfaye was featured on Cashmere Cat's single "Wild Love" with Francis and the Lights, which served as the lead single from Cashmere Cat's debut studio album 9 (2017).[125]

In September 2016, Tesfaye announced that his third studio album, Starboy, would be released on November 25, and included collaborations with former French electronic music duo Daft Punk.[126][127] He released the album's title track, which featured Daft Punk on September 21.[128] The song debuted at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number one, making it Tesfaye's third number-one single.[129] As of March 2020, the song is certified 8× platinum by the RIAA.[130] Their second collaboration, "I Feel It Coming" was released on November 24. The single peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.[131] On October 1, Tesfaye made a second appearance on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest alongside actress Margot Robbie. During the show, he performed "Starboy" and "False Alarm".[132] On November 23, he released the short film M A N I A. Directed by Grant Singer, it featured excerpts from the album, including snippets from "All I Know" featuring Future, "Sidewalks" featuring Kendrick Lamar, "Secrets" and "Die for You".[133][134] Upon release, the album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 with 348,000 units, making it Tesfaye's second consecutive number-one album.[135] As of January 2019, the album is certified triple platinum by the RIAA.[136] The album won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, making it Tesfaye's second win in the category.[137]

On February 17, 2017, The Weeknd began his fifth concert tour, called Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour. The tour was in support of his third studio album Starboy (2016) and concluded on December 14, 2017. He visited the continents Europa, North- and South America and Oceania. On February 15, 2017, Tesfaye was featured on Nav's commercial debut single "Some Way", which also served as the lead single from his self-titled mixtape.[138] On February 24, he appeared on Future's sixth studio album Hndrxx, on the song "Comin Out Strong".[139] On April 19, Tesfaye appeared on the title track and second single from Lana Del Rey's fifth studio album.[140][141] On August 15, he was featured on French Montana's track "A Lie", the third single from his second studio album Jungle Rules. He then appeared on the Virgil Abloh-directed music video for Lil Uzi Vert's "XO Tour Llif3" alongside Nav. He was later featured on Lil Uzi Vert's debut album Luv Is Rage 2 on the track "UnFazed" and on Gucci Mane's eleventh studio album Mr. Davis on the track "Curve".

2018–2020: My Dear Melancholy, and After Hours

Main articles: My Dear Melancholy, The Weeknd in Japan, and After Hours (The Weeknd album)
 
Tesfaye performing in Hong Kong in November 2018

On February 2, 2018, Tesfaye contributed to the soundtrack for Black Panther on the song "Pray for Me" with Kendrick Lamar. The track served as the third single from the soundtrack, and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100.[142][143]

On March 30, 2018, Tesfaye released his debut extended play My Dear Melancholy,[144][145] after news of the project were teased and leaked.[146][147] The EP debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 169,000 units, making it Tesfaye's third consecutive number-one album and the shortest album, by track count, to top the chart in eight years.[148] On April 6, Tesfaye released the EP's lead single "Call Out My Name", which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100.[149][150] On April 13, he headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for the first time.[151][152]

On June 6, 2018, Tesfaye announced his new Apple Music 1 radio show Memento Mori. The first episode was released two days later.[153] On November 21, he released his first greatest hits album The Weeknd in Japan.[154] In support of the album and his EP My Dear Melancholy, he began his sixth concert tour: The Weeknd Asia Tour. The tour began on November 30, 2018 and concluded on December 18, 2018. Tesfaye did six shows in Asia. On January 11, 2019, Tesfaye was featured on Gesaffelstein's song "Lost in the Fire", the second single from his second studio album Hyperion.[155][156] On April 18, he released "Power Is Power" with SZA and Travis Scott, the lead single from the Game of Thrones-inspired soundtrack.[157][158]

On November 24, 2019, Tesfaye teased his single "Blinding Lights" through a Mercedes-Benz commercial.[159] On November 27, he released "Heartless" as the lead single from his fourth studio album. The song debuted at number thirty-two on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number one, making it Tesfaye's fourth number-one single.[160][161] "Blinding Lights" was released two days after the release of "Heartless" on November 29. The single debuted at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number one, making it Tesfaye's fifth number-one single.[162] "Blinding Lights" would then go on to become the first song in the chart's history to hold a spot in the top ten for an entire year.[163] It also became the longest charting song on the Hot 100 of all-time at 90 weeks, ending the week of September 11, 2021.[164][165] On November 23, 2021, "Blinding Lights" was ranked as the #1 Greatest Hot 100 Hit of All Time by Billboard, surpassing "The Twist" by Chubby Checker.[166]

On February 19, 2020, Tesfaye revealed that his fourth studio album would be titled After Hours, and would be released on March 20. He also released the album's title track as a promotional single.[167] On March 7, he made his third appearance as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, alongside actor Daniel Craig. On the show, he performed "Blinding Lights" and debuted the track "Scared to Live".[168] Tesfaye released the album's third single "In Your Eyes" on March 24. The track peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100.[169]

Upon release,[170] After Hours debuted atop the Billboard 200, earning 444,000 units, marking Tesfaye's fourth consecutive number-one album.[171] It became the most streamed R&B album of all-time, surpassing Tesfaye's own Starboy.[172][7] In the album's first charting week, Tesfaye also became the first artist to lead the Billboard 200, Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Artist 100, Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts simultaneously, and repeated his lead the following week.[173][174] The deluxe version of After Hours was released on March 29, 2020, and contained the tracks "Nothing Compares", "Missed You" and "Final Lullaby".[175]

On August 7, 2020, Tesfaye was featured on the late Juice Wrld's single "Smile" from his first posthumous album Legends Never Die. On August 28, he was featured on Calvin Harris' single "Over Now". On October 30, Tesfaye appeared on Ariana Grande's song "Off the Table" from her sixth studio album Positions.[176][177] On the same day, he appeared on Oneohtrix Point Never's track "No Nightmares" from his ninth studio album Magic Oneohtrix Point Never, which he also executive produced with OPN.[178] On November 5, he appeared on the remix of Maluma's "Hawái", was nominated for Best Urban Fusion/Performance at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards.[179][180] Later that month, he debuted three live performances on Vevo.[181] On December 10, he performed at iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball.[182]

2021–present: Super Bowl LV halftime show and Dawn FM

Main articles: The Highlights, Super Bowl LV halftime show, Dawn FM, and After Hours til Dawn Tour
 
Tesfaye headlined the Super Bowl LV halftime show at the Raymond James Stadium in 2021

On February 5, 2021, Tesfaye released his second greatest hits album The Highlights. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, making it Tesfaye's highest charting compilation album and the biggest first week debut for a greatest hits album since Fully Loaded: God's Country (2019).[183]

Tesfaye headlined the Super Bowl LV halftime show on February 7, 2021, becoming the first Canadian solo artist to headline the show.[184][185][186][187] He reportedly spent US$7 million of his own money on the Super Bowl performance.[188] Reviews of the performance were mixed.[189][190][191][192][193][194] The show resulted in a surge in streaming and downloads for Tesfaye's After Hours album as well as for the seven other songs he performed.[195][196] The halftime show earned three nominations at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Variety Special (Live), Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special, and Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Special.[197]

In March 2021, Tesfaye reissued his debut mixtape House of Balloons in its authentic form with the original mixes and samples to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its release.[198][199] In a collaboration with architect Daniel Arsham, limited edition merchandise was also released alongside the reissue. Six months later, in August, Tesfaye reissued his second 2011 mixtape Thursday to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its release.[200] Like House of Balloons, limited edition merchandise was released to accompany the reissue, designed by artist Mr. Yanen.[201] Four months later, in December, Tesfaye reissued his final 2011 mixtape Echoes of Silence to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its release.[202] Following the earlier two mixtapes, limited edition merchandise was released alongside the reissue, designed by illustrator Hajime Sorayama.[203] Tesfaye began to tease new music in May 2021. When asked about a new album during an interview with Variety, he explained that "if the last record is the After Hours of the night, then The Dawn is coming".[204] On May 11, Tesfaye performed "Save Your Tears" at the Brit Awards. He also accepted his first Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist, which was presented to him by former first lady of the United States Michelle Obama.[205][206] On May 24, Tesfaye performed "Save Your Tears" at the Billboard Music Awards. He was nominated for a record sixteen awards, and won ten, including Top Artist and Top Hot 100 Song. When accepting his awards, Tesfaye continued to tease new music by saying "the After Hours are done, and The Dawn is coming".[207] On May 28, he performed the remix of "Save Your Tears" at the iHeartRadio Music Awards with Ariana Grande. On June 25, Tesfaye appeared on Doja Cat's single "You Right" from her third studio album Planet Her.[208] On July 22, he appeared on Belly's single "Better Believe" with Young Thug from his third studio album See You Next Wednesday.[209]

On August 2, 2021, Tesfaye released a snippet of new music on social media.[210] Later that day, he covered the September 2021 issue of GQ, marking the magazine's first global publication.[211][212] Then, in a collaboration with NBC Sports and the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tesfaye announced his single "Take My Breath", which was released on August 6.[213][214] Later that month, he appeared on Kanye West's tenth studio album Donda on the track "Hurricane", which won Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards.[215]

On October 4, 2021, during an episode of Memento Mori, Tesfaye revealed that his fifth studio album is complete and that he was waiting on a "couple characters that are key to the narrative."[216] He also revealed that he will be featured in a couple of songs that will arrive prior to the album's release.[217] On October 18, Tesfaye announced that his upcoming tour, originally titled The After Hours Tour, will be held entirely in stadiums due to arena constraints and is now scheduled to commence in July 2022.[218] The tour was renamed as the After Hours til Dawn Tour, and will incorporate elements from his fourth and fifth studio albums.[219][220] The Weeknd is currently on tour in North America, and will visit the continents South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East and the country Australia.[221]

On October 22, 2021, Tesfaye appeared on Swedish House Mafia's single "Moth To A Flame" from their debut studio album Paradise Again.[222] On November 5, he appeared on Post Malone's single "One Right Now" from his fourth studio album Twelve Carat Toothache.[223][224] On November 11, he was featured on Rosalía's single "La Fama" from her third studio album Motomami.[225][226] On December 16, Tesfaye was featured on FKA Twigs' single "Tears in the Club" from her debut mixtape Caprisongs.[227][228] The next day, on December 17, he was featured on Aaliyah's single "Poison" from her posthumous album Unstoppable.[229][230]

Tesfaye released his fifth studio album Dawn FM on January 7, 2022.[231] 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.[232][233] 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.[234][235] In addition to "Take My Breath", Dawn FM was supported by the singles "Sacrifice" and "Out of Time".[236][237] 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.[238] 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.[239][240] On February 26, Tesfaye premiered The Dawn FM Experience, a television music special in partnership with Amazon Prime Video.[241]

On March 3, Tesfaye announced show dates of leg 1 of his After Hours til Dawn Stadium Tour. Leg 1 spans across the United States and Canada.[242] Dates for other countries are yet to be announced. On March 20, the Weeknd played in an episode of the cartoon The Simpsons.[243] A music video was released on April 5, for the song "Out of Time".[244] The music video stars HoYeon Jung and Jim Carrey. On April 18, he headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for the second time, performing alongside Swedish House Mafia.[245][246] On July 22, another music video was released, for the song "How Do I Make You Love Me?"[247] On July 26, 2022, the Weeknd announced that will host a haunted house at Universal Studios Hollywood for Halloween, as part of the Universal's Halloween Horror Nights hosted every Halloween.[248] He will style the haunted houses with aesthetic of his 2020 album After Hours and the corresponding music videos and other artworks.

The Weeknd released various remixes of songs off of Dawn FM. On April 22, 2022, he released a remix of the song "Out Of Time", in collaboration with Kaytranada.[249] On July 1, 2022, he collaborated with Mike Dean and made a remix for the song "Starry Eyes".[250] On July 8, 2022, Tesfaye released a remix for the song "Dawn FM", in collaboration with Oneohtrix Point Never.[251] With the music video for the song "How Do I Make You Love Me?", the Weeknd released a remix of the song on July 22, 2022. He collaborated with Sebastian Ingrosso and Salvatore Ganacci.[252] On August 5, 2022, the Weeknd collaborated with Summer Walker, to make a remix of the song "Best Friends".[253] On December 4, 2022, The Weeknd announced that he will contribute an original song, called "Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)," to the Avatar: The Way of Water Soundtrack. The song is produced by Simon Franglen & Swedish House Mafia.

Artistry

Influences

 
 
 
Tesfaye cites Michael Jackson, Prince, and R. Kelly as his main musical inspirations

Tesfaye cites Michael Jackson, Prince, and R. Kelly as his main musical inspirations.[254] He has attributed Jackson's music as key in spurring him to be a singer, referencing the lyrics to "Dirty Diana" as an example.[21] His high-flying vocal style was influenced by Ethiopian singers such as Aster Aweke.[21] He grew up listening to a variety of music genres, including soul, hip hop, funk, indie rock, and post-punk.[255] Tesfaye is heavily influenced by 1980s music, and credits the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) for "opening my eyes" to the music of that era.[256] "I've always had an admiration for the era before I was born", he said in an interview for Billboard. "You can hear it as far back as my first mixtape that the '80s – Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins – play such a huge role in my sound."[257]

Tesfaye has named Deftones as one of his influences during the making of House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence.[258] He has also cited Lana Del Rey,[259] David Bowie,[260] the Smiths, Bad Brains, Talking Heads, DeBarge,[261] 50 Cent, Wu-Tang Clan,[262][263] and Eminem as influences and inspirations.[264][265] When Daft Punk announced their split in 2021, Tesfaye praised them during an interview with Variety, saying: "Those guys are one of the reasons I make music, so I can't even compare them to other people..."[266]

Production and songwriting

Tesfaye's songs are "built around a fogged, crepuscular production",[267] and feature slow tempos,[268] rumbling bass, and forlorn echoes.[20] His music incorporates samples that are unconventional in R&B production, including punk, Shoegaze, Dream pop and alternative rock.[269] Marc Hogan of Spin says that Tesfaye's samples tend "to draw from rock critic-approved sources, though generally ones that already share elements of his sexual menace", sampling artists such as Beach House, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Aaliyah.[270] Tesfaye worked mostly with producers Illangelo and Doc McKinney, whom Ian Cohen of Pitchfork credits with developing "a state-of-the-art R&B template" with the artist.[268] In concert, Tesfaye reappropriates his digitized productions with a suite-like arena rock aesthetic.[20]

His emotional, plaintive lyrics often express feelings of hurt and deal with subject matter such as sex,[267] drugs, and partying; this is seen especially in After Hours and House of Balloons.[20] Hermione Hoby of The Guardian characterizes Tesfaye'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."[267] Paul MacInnes of The Guardian stated that he views Tesfaye's three mixtapes as "a rough trajectory of party, after-party and hangover."[271] 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."[20] Tesfaye has viewed that, by singing vulgar, ignorant lyrics in an elegant, sexy way, he is paying homage to R. Kelly and Prince.[272]

Voice and music style

Tesfaye often sings in a falsetto register,[273] 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.[269] Tesfaye possesses a wide light-lyric tenor vocal range, which spans over three octaves. His vocal range reaches its extreme low at the bass F (F2), and its peak high at the tenor G♯ (G♯5), with a natural tessitura within the upper fourth octave.[274][275] Tesfaye often makes use of his head voice to build resonance to belt out strong high notes within the fifth octave.[275] Tesfaye's vocals have a recognizable Ethiopian characteristic. Hannah Giogis of Pitchfork notes that "his trademark vibrato, the characteristically pained whine that pervades much of Tesfaye's music, draws from a long Ethiopian musical legacy of tortured pining. Imbuing our voices with the shaky pain of loss—romantic or otherwise—is a hallmark of Ethiopian musical tradition. Tesfaye, with his staccato wails and aching nostalgia, is a young, North American addition to a dynasty of melodramatic Ethiopian singers."[276]

Tesfaye's discography spans R&B, pop, hip hop, dance, alternative and new wave genres.[277] His work is generally categorized as alternative R&B, due to his contributions in broadening the genre's musical palette to incorporate indie and electronic styles.[278][68] Mistry writes that he "will be obsequiously praised as the future of R&B music—because Tesfaye is a black singer, not because he's making quantifiable, canonical R&B."[20] Tesfaye shared his thoughts on the primary label during an interview with Time in 2015, stating: "Alternative R&B is in my soul. It's not going anywhere. When I put out songs from House of Balloons in 2010, people said I made R&B cool again. I'm assuming that's when the label was created. I feel honored that a good part of today's music is inspired by it, consciously or subconsciously. The only way I could have done that was to be ambitious and grand."[279] Tesfaye's first three mixtapes; House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence, are alternative R&B projects that draw on dream pop, post-punk and trip hop, amongst others.[280][281] His debut studio album Kiss Land is categorized as R&B and dark wave.[282] His next three albums, Beauty Behind the Madness, Starboy and After Hours, are considered R&B and pop; with Starboy utilizing heavy trap influences,[283][284] and After Hours drawing on new wave and dream pop influences.[285][286] Tesfaye's fifth studio album Dawn FM explores dance-pop and synth-pop genres.[287][288]

Plagiarism allegations

In December 2015, Tesfaye was sued by Cutting Edge Music, which alleged that the bassline for "The Hills" had been taken from a composition featured in the score for the 2013 science fiction film The Machine.[289] One of the producers of the song was alleged to have sent a private Twitter message to Tom Raybould, the composer of the film's score, to tell him about the sample.[290] In September 2018, Tesfaye and Daft Punk were sued for allegedly stealing the rhythm for "Starboy" from Ethiopian poet and singer-songwriter Yasminah.[291] Tesfaye denied the allegations.[292]

In April 2019, Tesfaye was sued by British trio William Smith, Brian Clover, and Scott McCulloch, who accused Tesfaye of copyright infringement from plagiarising their song "I Need to Love" in order to create his song "A Lonely Night". They sought $150,000 from Tesfaye and Belly. In August 2019, the lawsuit was dismissed via summary judgment with the option to amend, with the court ruling that they had failed to show that Tesfaye or anyone else involved in making "A Lonely Night" had access to their song or that the works were substantially similar.[293] In September 2019, the plaintiffs filed an amended claim based on secondary infringement, which is still in litigation.[294][295]

In February 2020, Tesfaye and Kendrick Lamar were sued by the now-defunct indie band Yeasayer, claiming that "Pray for Me" includes an unauthorized sample of their song "Sunrise".[296] Later that year, Yeasayer voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit.[297] In September 2021, Tesfaye, Nicolás Jaar, and Frank Dukes were sued for copyright infringement by producers Suniel Fox and Henry Strange, protesting that "Call Out My Name" is "strikingly [or] substantially similar, if not identical" to their 2015 track "Vibeking".[298][299]

Allegations of homophobic lyrics

In January 2019, Tesfaye was criticized for some of the lyrics in his and Gesaffelstein's single "Lost in the Fire". The second verse of the song, with the lines "You said you might be into girls, said you're going through a phase / Keeping your heart safe / Well, baby, you can bring a friend / She can ride on top your face / While I fuck you straight", were accused of being homophobic, fetishizing bisexuality, and perpetuating the falsehood that a person who identifies as being part of the LGBTQ+ community can be "turned straight".[300][301] However, some listeners have suggested that the lyrics were actually referring to a sex position.[302] Tesfaye quietly addressed the controversy in the song "Snowchild" from After Hours, with the lines "Every month another accusation / Only thing I'm phobic of is failing".[303][304]

Other ventures

Acting

Tesfaye is a cinephile, and has made numerous movie references in his music videos and teasers.[305][306] On August 30, 2019, during the Telluride Film Festival, he made his acting debut in the film Uncut Gems.[307] On March 7, 2020, during his third appearance as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, he starred in the skit "On The Couch" with actors Kenan Thompson and Chris Redd.[308] On May 4, he co-wrote and starred in an episode of American Dad!.[309] In July, he voiced three characters during the 200th episode of Robot Chicken.[310] On June 29, 2021, Tesfaye announced that he will be co-creating, co-writing, executive producing and starring in the upcoming HBO television drama series The Idol, alongside his producing partner Reza Fahim and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson.[311] On March 20, 2022, Tesfaye voiced two characters during an episode of The Simpsons.[312]

Business

In 2013, Tesfaye collaborated with condom company ONE to give away limited-edition condoms at his shows during the Kiss Land Fall Tour.[313][314] In November 2015, he partnered with electronic vaporizer company Pax Labs to release a limited edition vaporizer.[315][316] He also collaborated with fashion designer Alexander Wang for an apparel collection.[317] In 2016, Tesfaye became a creative collaborator and global brand ambassador for the clothing brand Puma.[318] With the partnership, he released numerous capsule collections and hosted several pop-up retail stores.[319][320]

In 2017, Tesfaye partnered with retail company H&M for their men's collection.[321] He cut ties with the company in 2018, following a racist incident within the company.[322] In July 2018, Tesfaye collaborated with Marvel Comics to release a comic book inspired by his third studio album Starboy.[323] In August, he released an apparel collection in collaboration with A Bathing Ape.[324][325] A second collection was released in January 2020.[326]

In April 2019, Tesfaye became an owner and global ambassador of the esports company OverActive Media, who owns the Splyce and Overwatch League team Toronto Defiant.[327]

On August 31, 2020, Tesfaye partnered with TD Bank to launch Black HXOUSE, an entrepreneurial initiative within the incubator HXOUSE, where he serves as a sleeping partner.[328] On September 9, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a CA$221,000,000 joint venture with HXOUSE for Black Canadian entrepreneurs.[329]

In March 2021, Tesfaye auctioned a collection of visual artwork and an unreleased song in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) on Nifty Gateway.[330][331] In October, he joined football player Tom Brady's NFT platform Autograph as a member of their board of directors.[332]

Philanthropy

After being presented with a Bikila Award for Professional Excellence in 2014, Tesfaye donated CA$50,000 to the University of Toronto to fund a new course on Ge'ez, the classic language of Ethiopia.[333] In December 2015, he worked with Ryan Seacrest's foundation to visit the Children's Hospital of Atlanta.[334][335] In May 2016, during Orthodox Easter, Tesfaye donated CA$50,000 to the St. Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Toronto, Canada, a church he attended growing up.[336][337] Despite having previously worked with the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto,[338] Tesfaye cancelled a scheduled appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with Belly in May 2016 due to then-presidential candidate Donald Trump being present.[339][340] In August 2016, he funded a new Ethiopian studies program at the University of Toronto.[341]

In June 2017, Tesfaye donated US$100,000 to the Suubi Health Center, a maternity and children's medical facility in Budondo, Uganda. He was inspired to support the center after learning of French Montana's work with Global Citizen and Mama Hope to help raise awareness for Suubi and the people of Uganda.[342]

In April 2020, Tesfaye launched a line of non-medical face masks with all of the proceeds going to the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund, a campaign launched by the Recording Academy to help musicians affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.[343] In addition, Tesfaye donated US$500,000 to MusiCares and CA$500,000 to the Scarborough Health Network.[344]

In August 2016, Tesfaye donated US$250,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation following numerous reports of police brutality in the United States.[345][341][346] In May 2020, in response to the murder of George Floyd and the protests that followed, Tesfaye donated US$500,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Colin Kaepernick's Know Your Rights Camp, and the National Bail Out.[347] He then urged other music executives, major record labels, and streaming services to donate to the cause as well.[348][349]

On August 7, 2020, Tesfaye held "the Weeknd Experience", an interactive virtual concert on the social media platform TikTok that drew two million total viewers, including 275,000 concurrent viewers. The concert raised over US$350,000 for the Equal Justice Initiative. He also donated US$300,000 to Global Aid for Lebanon in support of victims of the Beirut explosion.[350][351] On November 2, the University of Toronto announced that it was able to reach and surpass its fundraising goal of CA$500,000 for its Ethiopic program, which included a CA$30,000 donation from Tesfaye.[352] In May 2021, he was among the celebrities expressing more solidarity for civilians who died during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.[353][354] On September 23, Tesfaye was honored with the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award at the inaugural Music in Action Awards, which was presented by the Black Music Action Coalition.[355]

WFP ambassadorship

On April 4, 2021, Tesfaye announced a US$1,000,000 donation through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to relief efforts in Ethiopia for people affected by the Tigray War.[356] On June 9, he met with the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, to discuss the humanitarian crisis of the Tigray War. During the meeting, Tesfaye was briefed on the latest developments and discussed ways of increasing public pressure so direct action can be made to help civilians.[357][358] Tesfaye was appointed as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the World Food Programme on October 7.[359][360] On March 3, 2022, he partnered with the WFP to launch the XO Humanitarian Fund. Through the fund, Tesfaye will donate US$1 from every ticket sold at his After Hours til Dawn Tour, in addition to a US$500,000 donation, to the WFP.[361]

Personal life

Tesfaye is known to be very enigmatic, and prefers to keep his personal life out of the public eye.[362][363] In the beginning of his career, he refrained from participating in interviews and instead chose to communicate via Twitter, which he attributed to shyness and insecurities.[364] To this day, he is still adamant about not participating in interviews, only agreeing to be interviewed in rare situations.[365]

From April 2015 to August 2019, Tesfaye was in an on-again, off-again relationship with American model Bella Hadid.[366][367] She starred in the music video for his single "In the Night" in December 2015.[368] He briefly dated American singer-actress Selena Gomez from January to October 2017.[369][370] Both of the relationships received widespread media attention, and were the topic of tabloid speculation.[371][372][373]

Tesfaye's hairstyle, which has been described as one of his most recognizable traits, has been claimed to be partly inspired by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat.[21][374] He began growing it out in 2011 and remarked at how easy it was to maintain with "a hard shampoo every once in a while".[21] He cut his hair in 2016, prior to the release of Starboy.[375] On social media, Tesfaye typically suffixed his first name with "xo",[376] which is often used as an emoticon for hugs and kisses.[376] According to The Guardian's Hermione Hoby, this was his intention, though others believe it was a reference to his recreational use of ecstasy and oxycodone.[377][378] He later altered the handles on his social media to reflect his stage name in preparation for the release of Starboy.[379]

In January 2015, Tesfaye was arrested for allegedly punching a police officer in Las Vegas after being taken into an elevator to break up a fight.[380][381] He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to complete fifty hours of community service.[382]

As of August 2021, Tesfaye resides in Bel Air, Los Angeles.[383][384] In 2017, he purchased a home in Hidden Hills, California for $18.5 million, which he sold to Madonna in 2021 for $19.3 million.[385] Tesfaye previously lived in penthouses in Westwood, Los Angeles[386][387] and New York City.[388][389]

Accolades

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

Tesfaye has won four Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy Award, 20 Billboard Music Awards, six American Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards and 17 Juno Awards.[390] He has also received nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.[391]

In October 2014, Tesfaye was awarded the Allan Slaight Honour by Canada's Walk of Fame for "making a positive impact in the fields of music, film, literature, visual or performing arts, sports, innovation or philanthropy".[392]

In February 2021, the Mayor of Toronto John Tory announced that the city would observe February 7 as "The Weeknd Day" to commemorate Tesfaye's Super Bowl halftime performance.[393][394]

Discography

Main articles: The Weeknd discography and List of songs recorded by the Weeknd

Studio albums

Filmography

Main article: The Weeknd videography

Tours

Headlining

Supporting

Touring members[c]

  • Patrick Greenaway – lead guitar (2012–present), synthesizer (2020-present)
  • Ledaris "LJ" Jones – bass, keyboards (2013–present)
  • Ricky Lewis – drums (2011–present)

Notes

  1. ^ Ethiopians do not use surnames but rather their father's first name as their family name. Makonnen would traditionally be his family name and Tesfaye would be his grandfather's name.
  2. ^ Tesfaye's biological parents were never married. When Tesfaye made a donation to the University of Toronto's Ethiopic program in November 2020, the full name of his mother was revealed as Samrawit Hailu.[19]
  3. ^ During his early performances in 2011, respective tours in 2012 and 2013 prior to the Kiss Land Fall Tour, he had other guitar, bass, and keyboard players, as well as two female backup singers; these former members' names are unknown.

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January 26, 2023
weeknd, weeknd, redirects, here, confused, with, weekend, abel, makkonen, tesfaye, born, february, 1990, known, professionally, weeknd, canadian, singer, songwriter, actor, known, sonic, versatility, dark, lyricism, music, explores, escapism, romance, melancho. Weeknd redirects here Not to be confused with weekend Abel Makkonen Tesfaye born February 16 1990 known professionally as the Weeknd is a Canadian singer songwriter and actor 2 Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism his music explores escapism romance and melancholia and is often inspired by personal experiences 3 He has received numerous accolades including four Grammy Awards a Latin Grammy Award 20 Billboard Music Awards 17 Juno Awards six American Music Awards two MTV Video Music Awards and nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award The WeekndThe Weeknd in 2021BornAbel Makkonen Tesfaye 1990 02 16 February 16 1990 age 32 Toronto Ontario CanadaOther namesThe Noise Kin Kane 1 OccupationsSinger songwriter record producer actor businessmanYears active2009 presentWorksDiscographysongsvideographyAwardsFull listMusical careerGenresR amp B pop hip hop dance alternative R amp B new waveInstrumentsVocals keyboards guitar bass drumsLabelsXO RepublicWebsitetheweeknd wbr comSignatureBorn and raised in Toronto Ontario Tesfaye began his career in 2009 by anonymously releasing music on YouTube Two years later he co founded the XO record label and released the mixtapes House of Balloons Thursday and Echoes of Silence which gained recognition for his style of contemporary and alternative R amp B and the mystique surrounding his identity 4 In 2012 he signed with Republic Records and rereleased the mixtapes in the compilation album Trilogy He explored dark wave in his debut studio album Kiss Land 2013 which debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 After its release Tesfaye began contributing to film soundtracks with his acclaimed single Earned It from Fifty Shades of Grey 2015 winning the Grammy Award for Best R amp B Performance while also being nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song 5 Tesfaye earned critical and commercial success with his pop leaning second album Beauty Behind the Madness 2015 which reached number one in the US contained the US Billboard Hot 100 chart topping singles Can t Feel My Face and The Hills and won the Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album and was nominated for Album of the Year 6 His trap infused third studio album Starboy 2016 saw similar commercial success and included the US number one single of the same name and won the Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album Tesfaye explored new wave and dream pop with his critically acclaimed fourth studio album After Hours 2020 which featured the chart record setting single Blinding Lights and the US number one singles Heartless and Save Your Tears 7 His dance pop inspired fifth album Dawn FM 2022 included the US top ten single Take My Breath Among the world s best selling music artists with over 75 million records sold 8 Tesfaye holds several streaming and Billboard chart records 9 10 He is the first artist to simultaneously debut on the top three on Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs 11 while Blinding Lights is ranked as the greatest Hot 100 song in Billboard history 12 13 Often considered as a prominent figure in contemporary popular music 14 Tesfaye was listed by Time as one of the world s most influential people in 2020 15 An advocate for racial equality and food security he was appointed a World Food Programme Goodwill Ambassador in 2021 16 17 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2 1 2009 2011 Early beginnings 2 2 2012 2014 Trilogy and Kiss Land 2 3 2015 2017 Beauty Behind the Madness and Starboy 2 4 2018 2020 My Dear Melancholy and After Hours 2 5 2021 present Super Bowl LV halftime show and Dawn FM 3 Artistry 3 1 Influences 3 2 Production and songwriting 3 3 Voice and music style 3 4 Plagiarism allegations 3 5 Allegations of homophobic lyrics 4 Other ventures 4 1 Acting 4 2 Business 5 Philanthropy 5 1 WFP ambassadorship 6 Personal life 7 Accolades 8 Discography 9 Filmography 10 Tours 11 Notes 12 References 13 External linksEarly lifeAbel Makkonen Tesfaye a was born on February 16 1990 in Toronto Ontario 18 He is the only child of Ethiopian immigrants Makkonen Tesfaye and Samrawit Hailu b who separated shortly after his birth 20 21 He was brought up in the district of Scarborough by his mother and grandmother 18 22 He has an estranged relationship with his father in which he explained to Rolling Stone I saw him vaguely when I was six and then again when I was 11 or 12 and he had a new family and kids I don t even know where he lived I d see him for like a night I m sure he s a great guy I never judged him He wasn t abusive he wasn t an alcoholic he wasn t an asshole He just wasn t there 21 Tesfaye was raised as an Ethiopian Orthodox 21 23 When asked whether or not he was still religious he stated to Variety in 2020 I dunno everything is a test and if you are religious or spiritual you have to go through things 24 His native language is Amharic which he learned through his grandmother 25 He later became fluent in French by attending a French immersion school 26 He was further educated at West Hill Collegiate Institute and Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute 27 When he was 17 Tesfaye dropped out of school and moved to an apartment in the neighbourhood of Parkdale with two friends including his best friend and now creative director La Mar Taylor 28 He has described this period as being like the film Kids 1995 without the AIDS as they lived a hedonistic lifestyle 18 29 He has also experienced homelessness and was incarcerated on several occasions during this time which encouraged him to smarten up to focus 30 31 Tesfaye often used drugs and abused illegal substances such as ketamine cocaine MDMA magic mushrooms and cough syrup 32 In December 2016 he stated that drugs were a crutch for him when it came to writing music 33 In August 2021 during a cover story with GQ he described himself as being sober lite meaning that he has stopped using drugs with the exception of marijuana He also noted that he drinks alcohol occasionally stating I m not a heavy drinker as much as I used to be The romance of drinking isn t there 34 Career2009 2011 Early beginnings Main articles House of Balloons Thursday album and Echoes of Silence In August 2009 Tesfaye began anonymously releasing music on YouTube 35 36 The following year he met Jeremy Rose a producer who had an idea for a dark contemporary R amp B project After initially trying to pitch the idea to musician Curtis Santiago Rose played one of his instrumentals for Tesfaye who freestyle rapped over it Rose produced three songs What You Need Loft Music and The Morning and others that Tesfaye had sung on which were ultimately scrapped Rose let Tesfaye keep the tracks he had produced under the condition that he would be credited for them 37 In December 2010 Tesfaye uploaded What You Need Loft Music and The Morning to YouTube under the username xoxxxoooxo 38 39 His identity was initially unknown The songs drew some attention online and were later included in a blog post from rapper Drake 37 40 The songs subsequently received coverage from various media outlets including Pitchfork and The New York Times 41 Before adopting the stage name the Weeknd Tesfaye released music under two aliases the Noise and Kin Kane 21 His current stage name was chosen in tribute to when he dropped out of school took his mattress left one weekend and never came home However Rose claims the name was his idea 42 43 The last e was excluded to avoid trademark problems with pop rock band the Weekend 44 In the beginning of his career Tesfaye worked at American Apparel Due to his anonymity his co workers listened to his music without knowing it was him 45 46 47 In 2011 Tesfaye met music executives Wassim Sal Slaiby and Amir Cash Esmailian with whom along with Taylor he founded the XO record label 48 On March 21 Tesfaye released his debut mixtape House of Balloons 49 50 51 The mixtape included production from producers Illangelo and Doc McKinney and included the tracks produced by Rose although he did not receive production credits 37 House of Balloons was named as one of ten shortlisted nominees for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize 52 On August 18 Tesfaye released his second mixtape Thursday which received generally positive reviews 53 His third mixtape Echoes of Silence was released on December 21 It was a longlisted nominee for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize 54 55 In July 2011 Tesfaye held his first live performance at the Mod Club Theatre in Toronto 56 After the performance Drake met with Tesfaye to discuss collaborations which led to Tesfaye earning an appearance at his OVO Festival 57 He also participated in concerts hosted by the Black Student Association at the University of Toronto 47 58 Tesfaye contributed to four songs on Drake s second studio album Take Care which was released on November 15 as a songwriter producer and a featured artist on the album s seventh single Crew Love 59 2012 2014 Trilogy and Kiss Land Main articles Trilogy The Weeknd album and Kiss Land Tesfaye performing at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2012 Between January and March 2012 Tesfaye performed at several Ontario universities including Waterloo s Laurier University Hamilton s Mohawk College and McMaster University 60 In April he began his first international tour which included performances at Coachella 61 sold out shows at such venues as the Bowery Ballroom in New York City which were positively reviewed by Rolling Stone 61 62 and various European festivals including Primavera Sound in Spain and Portugal 63 and the Wireless Festival in the United Kingdom 64 65 66 In September Tesfaye signed with Republic Records and XO was assumed as a subsidiary label 67 In september he also began his first official concert tour The Fall Tour during which he opened for Florence and the Machine on their Ceremonials Tour in 5 cities which included 2 shows at the iconic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles On November 13 2012 Tesfaye released Trilogy a compilation album consisting of re mixed and remastered versions of his 2011 mixtapes and three additional tracks 68 69 70 The album officially credited Rose as a producer and writer on the three songs from House of Balloons for which he did not initially receive credit 71 Trilogy debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 with first week sales of 86 000 copies It also debuted at number five on the Canadian Albums Chart with similar sales 72 73 The album was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America RIAA and double platinum by Music Canada 74 75 It also earned Tesfaye a nomination for the Sound of 2013 poll award by BBC 76 Tesfaye performing at Massey Hall in October 2013 On May 17 2013 Tesfaye released the title track to his debut studio album Kiss Land 77 and announced the album s release date of September 10 78 Upon release the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 96 000 copies 79 and received generally positive reviews from music critics 80 The album was later supported by the singles Belong to the World Love in the Sky and Live For featuring Drake Tesfaye embarked on a fall tour from September 6 to November 26 81 As of August 2015 the album had sold 273 000 copies in the United States 82 On August 10 2020 almost seven years after its release Kiss Land reached number one on the iTunes R amp B chart 83 In November 2013 Tesfaye opened for Justin Timberlake on The 20 20 Experience World Tour 84 He then contributed to the soundtrack for The Hunger Games Catching Fire 2013 on the songs Devil May Cry and Elastic Heart with Sia and Diplo the latter serving as the second single from the soundtrack 85 In February 2014 Tesfaye remixed Beyonce s single Drunk in Love from her eponymous studio album Retaining the theme and concept of the song he detailed the synopsis through a male s perspective 86 On August 25 Tesfaye collaborated with Ariana Grande on the song Love Me Harder from Grande s second studio album My Everything The song was then released on September 30 as the fourth single from the album and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 87 Tesfaye s first headlining tour the King of the Fall Tour a 4 city tour of North America was held in September and October 2014 and was supported by Schoolboy Q and Jhene Aiko 88 The tour was followed by release of the songs Often and King of the Fall leading to speculation that the former was the lead single from his second studio album Beauty Behind the Madness 2015 89 On December 23 Tesfaye released the song Earned It from the soundtrack for Fifty Shades of Grey 2015 The single which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 earned Tesfaye his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song 90 The song won Best R amp B Performance and was nominated for Best R amp B Song and Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards 91 2015 2017 Beauty Behind the Madness and Starboy Main articles Beauty Behind the Madness and Starboy album Tesfaye performing at Bumbershoot 2015 On May 27 2015 Tesfaye released the second single from Beauty Behind the Madness The Hills 92 The single debuted at number twenty on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number one becoming Tesfaye s first number one single In June 2019 The Hills was certified diamond by the RIAA marking Tesfaye s first diamond certified record 93 94 In June 2015 after winning the Centric Award at the BET Awards Tesfaye performed Earned It with Alicia Keys 95 On June 8 he released the song Can t Feel My Face as the album s third single The track was previously leaked in May but was released as a single following a performance by Tesfaye at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 96 The single debuted at number twenty four on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number one making it Tesfaye s third top 10 hit and his second number one song in the United States 97 98 The song was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards 99 He occupied all three slots on Billboard s Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs chart simultaneously with the aforementioned singles becoming the first artist in history to accomplish this 100 He was also unveiled as one of the musical faces of the streaming service Apple Music alongside Drake 101 During the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards Apple debuted a two part promotional commercial featuring Tesfaye which had a guest appearance from John Travolta 102 In July Tesfaye headlined the inaugural FVDED in the Park festival in Surrey British Columbia 103 On June 29 Tesfaye was featured on Meek Mill s second studio album Dreams Worth More Than Money 2015 on the track Pullin Up 104 Beauty Behind the Madness Tesfaye s second studio album was released on August 28 2015 and debuted atop the Billboard 200 earning 412 000 album equivalent units in its first week 105 106 It reached the top 10 in over ten countries and reached number one in Canada Australia Norway and the United Kingdom 107 108 The album was promoted by Tesfaye headlining various summer music festivals including Lollapalooza the Hard Summer Music Festival and the Bumbershoot Festival 109 He announced The Madness Fall Tour his first large scale tour across the United States which began in November and concluded in December 110 111 The album was certified double platinum in the U S and sold 1 5 million copies worldwide 112 It was the most streamed album in 2015 with over 60 million streams 113 and was ranked on multiple lists of albums of the year 114 The three singles that preceded the album were certified platinum in the United States 115 The album won Best Urban Contemporary Album and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards 116 On September 4 2015 Tesfaye was featured on Travis Scott s debut album Rodeo on the track Pray 4 Love 117 On October 10 Tesfaye appeared on Saturday Night Live alongside actress Amy Schumer performing as the show s musical guest 118 119 This was his first performance on the show as a solo artist after appearing with Ariana Grande to perform Love Me Harder 119 In November he began his debut arena tour The Madness Fall Tour which included shows at Toronto s Air Canada Centre and New York City s Madison Square Garden On December 18 Tesfaye was featured on Belly s single Might Not from his eighth mixtape Up For Days 120 On February 14 2016 Tesfaye was featured on Kanye West s seventh studio album The Life of Pablo on the track FML 121 122 It marked their second collaboration with West previously writing and producing on Tesfaye s single Tell Your Friends from Beauty Behind the Madness On March 1 Tesfaye was featured on Future s single Low Life from his fourth studio album Evol 123 On April 23 he was featured on Beyonce s sixth studio album Lemonade on the track 6 Inch 124 On August 26 Tesfaye was featured on Cashmere Cat s single Wild Love with Francis and the Lights which served as the lead single from Cashmere Cat s debut studio album 9 2017 125 In September 2016 Tesfaye announced that his third studio album Starboy would be released on November 25 and included collaborations with former French electronic music duo Daft Punk 126 127 He released the album s title track which featured Daft Punk on September 21 128 The song debuted at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number one making it Tesfaye s third number one single 129 As of March 2020 the song is certified 8 platinum by the RIAA 130 Their second collaboration I Feel It Coming was released on November 24 The single peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 131 On October 1 Tesfaye made a second appearance on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest alongside actress Margot Robbie During the show he performed Starboy and False Alarm 132 On November 23 he released the short film M A N I A Directed by Grant Singer it featured excerpts from the album including snippets from All I Know featuring Future Sidewalks featuring Kendrick Lamar Secrets and Die for You 133 134 Upon release the album debuted at number one on the U S Billboard 200 with 348 000 units making it Tesfaye s second consecutive number one album 135 As of January 2019 the album is certified triple platinum by the RIAA 136 The album won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards making it Tesfaye s second win in the category 137 On February 17 2017 The Weeknd began his fifth concert tour called Starboy Legend of the Fall Tour The tour was in support of his third studio album Starboy 2016 and concluded on December 14 2017 He visited the continents Europa North and South America and Oceania On February 15 2017 Tesfaye was featured on Nav s commercial debut single Some Way which also served as the lead single from his self titled mixtape 138 On February 24 he appeared on Future s sixth studio album Hndrxx on the song Comin Out Strong 139 On April 19 Tesfaye appeared on the title track and second single from Lana Del Rey s fifth studio album 140 141 On August 15 he was featured on French Montana s track A Lie the third single from his second studio album Jungle Rules He then appeared on the Virgil Abloh directed music video for Lil Uzi Vert s XO Tour Llif3 alongside Nav He was later featured on Lil Uzi Vert s debut album Luv Is Rage 2 on the track UnFazed and on Gucci Mane s eleventh studio album Mr Davis on the track Curve 2018 2020 My Dear Melancholy and After Hours Main articles My Dear Melancholy The Weeknd in Japan and After Hours The Weeknd album Tesfaye performing in Hong Kong in November 2018 On February 2 2018 Tesfaye contributed to the soundtrack for Black Panther on the song Pray for Me with Kendrick Lamar The track served as the third single from the soundtrack and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 142 143 On March 30 2018 Tesfaye released his debut extended play My Dear Melancholy 144 145 after news of the project were teased and leaked 146 147 The EP debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 169 000 units making it Tesfaye s third consecutive number one album and the shortest album by track count to top the chart in eight years 148 On April 6 Tesfaye released the EP s lead single Call Out My Name which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 149 150 On April 13 he headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for the first time 151 152 On June 6 2018 Tesfaye announced his new Apple Music 1 radio show Memento Mori The first episode was released two days later 153 On November 21 he released his first greatest hits album The Weeknd in Japan 154 In support of the album and his EP My Dear Melancholy he began his sixth concert tour The Weeknd Asia Tour The tour began on November 30 2018 and concluded on December 18 2018 Tesfaye did six shows in Asia On January 11 2019 Tesfaye was featured on Gesaffelstein s song Lost in the Fire the second single from his second studio album Hyperion 155 156 On April 18 he released Power Is Power with SZA and Travis Scott the lead single from the Game of Thrones inspired soundtrack 157 158 On November 24 2019 Tesfaye teased his single Blinding Lights through a Mercedes Benz commercial 159 On November 27 he released Heartless as the lead single from his fourth studio album The song debuted at number thirty two on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number one making it Tesfaye s fourth number one single 160 161 Blinding Lights was released two days after the release of Heartless on November 29 The single debuted at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number one making it Tesfaye s fifth number one single 162 Blinding Lights would then go on to become the first song in the chart s history to hold a spot in the top ten for an entire year 163 It also became the longest charting song on the Hot 100 of all time at 90 weeks ending the week of September 11 2021 164 165 On November 23 2021 Blinding Lights was ranked as the 1 Greatest Hot 100 Hit of All Time by Billboard surpassing The Twist by Chubby Checker 166 On February 19 2020 Tesfaye revealed that his fourth studio album would be titled After Hours and would be released on March 20 He also released the album s title track as a promotional single 167 On March 7 he made his third appearance as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live alongside actor Daniel Craig On the show he performed Blinding Lights and debuted the track Scared to Live 168 Tesfaye released the album s third single In Your Eyes on March 24 The track peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100 169 Upon release 170 After Hours debuted atop the Billboard 200 earning 444 000 units marking Tesfaye s fourth consecutive number one album 171 It became the most streamed R amp B album of all time surpassing Tesfaye s own Starboy 172 7 In the album s first charting week Tesfaye also became the first artist to lead the Billboard 200 Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Artist 100 Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts simultaneously and repeated his lead the following week 173 174 The deluxe version of After Hours was released on March 29 2020 and contained the tracks Nothing Compares Missed You and Final Lullaby 175 On August 7 2020 Tesfaye was featured on the late Juice Wrld s single Smile from his first posthumous album Legends Never Die On August 28 he was featured on Calvin Harris single Over Now On October 30 Tesfaye appeared on Ariana Grande s song Off the Table from her sixth studio album Positions 176 177 On the same day he appeared on Oneohtrix Point Never s track No Nightmares from his ninth studio album Magic Oneohtrix Point Never which he also executive produced with OPN 178 On November 5 he appeared on the remix of Maluma s Hawai was nominated for Best Urban Fusion Performance at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards 179 180 Later that month he debuted three live performances on Vevo 181 On December 10 he performed at iHeartRadio s Jingle Ball 182 2021 present Super Bowl LV halftime show and Dawn FM Main articles The Highlights Super Bowl LV halftime show Dawn FM and After Hours til Dawn Tour Tesfaye headlined the Super Bowl LV halftime show at the Raymond James Stadium in 2021 On February 5 2021 Tesfaye released his second greatest hits album The Highlights The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 making it Tesfaye s highest charting compilation album and the biggest first week debut for a greatest hits album since Fully Loaded God s Country 2019 183 Tesfaye headlined the Super Bowl LV halftime show on February 7 2021 becoming the first Canadian solo artist to headline the show 184 185 186 187 He reportedly spent US 7 million of his own money on the Super Bowl performance 188 Reviews of the performance were mixed 189 190 191 192 193 194 The show resulted in a surge in streaming and downloads for Tesfaye s After Hours album as well as for the seven other songs he performed 195 196 The halftime show earned three nominations at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Variety Special Live Outstanding Lighting Design Lighting Direction for a Variety Special and Outstanding Technical Direction Camerawork Video Control for a Special 197 In March 2021 Tesfaye reissued his debut mixtape House of Balloons in its authentic form with the original mixes and samples to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its release 198 199 In a collaboration with architect Daniel Arsham limited edition merchandise was also released alongside the reissue Six months later in August Tesfaye reissued his second 2011 mixtape Thursday to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its release 200 Like House of Balloons limited edition merchandise was released to accompany the reissue designed by artist Mr Yanen 201 Four months later in December Tesfaye reissued his final 2011 mixtape Echoes of Silence to celebrate the tenth anniversary of its release 202 Following the earlier two mixtapes limited edition merchandise was released alongside the reissue designed by illustrator Hajime Sorayama 203 Tesfaye began to tease new music in May 2021 When asked about a new album during an interview with Variety he explained that if the last record is the After Hours of the night then The Dawn is coming 204 On May 11 Tesfaye performed Save Your Tears at the Brit Awards He also accepted his first Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist which was presented to him by former first lady of the United States Michelle Obama 205 206 On May 24 Tesfaye performed Save Your Tears at the Billboard Music Awards He was nominated for a record sixteen awards and won ten including Top Artist and Top Hot 100 Song When accepting his awards Tesfaye continued to tease new music by saying the After Hours are done and The Dawn is coming 207 On May 28 he performed the remix of Save Your Tears at the iHeartRadio Music Awards with Ariana Grande On June 25 Tesfaye appeared on Doja Cat s single You Right from her third studio album Planet Her 208 On July 22 he appeared on Belly s single Better Believe with Young Thug from his third studio album See You Next Wednesday 209 On August 2 2021 Tesfaye released a snippet of new music on social media 210 Later that day he covered the September 2021 issue of GQ marking the magazine s first global publication 211 212 Then in a collaboration with NBC Sports and the 2020 Summer Olympics Tesfaye announced his single Take My Breath which was released on August 6 213 214 Later that month he appeared on Kanye West s tenth studio album Donda on the track Hurricane which won Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards 215 On October 4 2021 during an episode of Memento Mori Tesfaye revealed that his fifth studio album is complete and that he was waiting on a couple characters that are key to the narrative 216 He also revealed that he will be featured in a couple of songs that will arrive prior to the album s release 217 On October 18 Tesfaye announced that his upcoming tour originally titled The After Hours Tour will be held entirely in stadiums due to arena constraints and is now scheduled to commence in July 2022 218 The tour was renamed as the After Hours til Dawn Tour and will incorporate elements from his fourth and fifth studio albums 219 220 The Weeknd is currently on tour in North America and will visit the continents South America Europe Asia Africa the Middle East and the country Australia 221 On October 22 2021 Tesfaye appeared on Swedish House Mafia s single Moth To A Flame from their debut studio album Paradise Again 222 On November 5 he appeared on Post Malone s single One Right Now from his fourth studio album Twelve Carat Toothache 223 224 On November 11 he was featured on Rosalia s single La Fama from her third studio album Motomami 225 226 On December 16 Tesfaye was featured on FKA Twigs single Tears in the Club from her debut mixtape Caprisongs 227 228 The next day on December 17 he was featured on Aaliyah s single Poison from her posthumous album Unstoppable 229 230 Tesfaye released his fifth studio album Dawn FM on January 7 2022 231 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 232 233 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 234 235 In addition to Take My Breath Dawn FM was supported by the singles Sacrifice and Out of Time 236 237 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 12 238 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 239 240 On February 26 Tesfaye premiered The Dawn FM Experience a television music special in partnership with Amazon Prime Video 241 On March 3 Tesfaye announced show dates of leg 1 of his After Hours til Dawn Stadium Tour Leg 1 spans across the United States and Canada 242 Dates for other countries are yet to be announced On March 20 the Weeknd played in an episode of the cartoon The Simpsons 243 A music video was released on April 5 for the song Out of Time 244 The music video stars HoYeon Jung and Jim Carrey On April 18 he headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for the second time performing alongside Swedish House Mafia 245 246 On July 22 another music video was released for the song How Do I Make You Love Me 247 On July 26 2022 the Weeknd announced that will host a haunted house at Universal Studios Hollywood for Halloween as part of the Universal s Halloween Horror Nights hosted every Halloween 248 He will style the haunted houses with aesthetic of his 2020 album After Hours and the corresponding music videos and other artworks The Weeknd released various remixes of songs off of Dawn FM On April 22 2022 he released a remix of the song Out Of Time in collaboration with Kaytranada 249 On July 1 2022 he collaborated with Mike Dean and made a remix for the song Starry Eyes 250 On July 8 2022 Tesfaye released a remix for the song Dawn FM in collaboration with Oneohtrix Point Never 251 With the music video for the song How Do I Make You Love Me the Weeknd released a remix of the song on July 22 2022 He collaborated with Sebastian Ingrosso and Salvatore Ganacci 252 On August 5 2022 the Weeknd collaborated with Summer Walker to make a remix of the song Best Friends 253 On December 4 2022 The Weeknd announced that he will contribute an original song called Nothing Is Lost You Give Me Strength to the Avatar The Way of Water Soundtrack The song is produced by Simon Franglen amp Swedish House Mafia ArtistryInfluences Tesfaye cites Michael Jackson Prince and R Kelly as his main musical inspirations Tesfaye cites Michael Jackson Prince and R Kelly as his main musical inspirations 254 He has attributed Jackson s music as key in spurring him to be a singer referencing the lyrics to Dirty Diana as an example 21 His high flying vocal style was influenced by Ethiopian singers such as Aster Aweke 21 He grew up listening to a variety of music genres including soul hip hop funk indie rock and post punk 255 Tesfaye is heavily influenced by 1980s music and credits the video game Grand Theft Auto Vice City 2002 for opening my eyes to the music of that era 256 I ve always had an admiration for the era before I was born he said in an interview for Billboard You can hear it as far back as my first mixtape that the 80s Siouxsie and the Banshees Cocteau Twins play such a huge role in my sound 257 Tesfaye has named Deftones as one of his influences during the making of House of Balloons Thursday and Echoes of Silence 258 He has also cited Lana Del Rey 259 David Bowie 260 the Smiths Bad Brains Talking Heads DeBarge 261 50 Cent Wu Tang Clan 262 263 and Eminem as influences and inspirations 264 265 When Daft Punk announced their split in 2021 Tesfaye praised them during an interview with Variety saying Those guys are one of the reasons I make music so I can t even compare them to other people 266 Production and songwriting Tesfaye s songs are built around a fogged crepuscular production 267 and feature slow tempos 268 rumbling bass and forlorn echoes 20 His music incorporates samples that are unconventional in R amp B production including punk Shoegaze Dream pop and alternative rock 269 Marc Hogan of Spin says that Tesfaye s samples tend to draw from rock critic approved sources though generally ones that already share elements of his sexual menace sampling artists such as Beach House Siouxsie and the Banshees and Aaliyah 270 Tesfaye worked mostly with producers Illangelo and Doc McKinney whom Ian Cohen of Pitchfork credits with developing a state of the art R amp B template with the artist 268 In concert Tesfaye reappropriates his digitized productions with a suite like arena rock aesthetic 20 His emotional plaintive lyrics often express feelings of hurt and deal with subject matter such as sex 267 drugs and partying this is seen especially in After Hours and House of Balloons 20 Hermione Hoby of The Guardian characterizes Tesfaye 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 267 Paul MacInnes of The Guardian stated that he views Tesfaye s three mixtapes as a rough trajectory of party after party and hangover 271 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 20 Tesfaye has viewed that by singing vulgar ignorant lyrics in an elegant sexy way he is paying homage to R Kelly and Prince 272 Voice and music style Tesfaye often sings in a falsetto register 273 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 269 Tesfaye possesses a wide light lyric tenor vocal range which spans over three octaves His vocal range reaches its extreme low at the bass F F2 and its peak high at the tenor G G 5 with a natural tessitura within the upper fourth octave 274 275 Tesfaye often makes use of his head voice to build resonance to belt out strong high notes within the fifth octave 275 Tesfaye s vocals have a recognizable Ethiopian characteristic Hannah Giogis of Pitchfork notes that his trademark vibrato the characteristically pained whine that pervades much of Tesfaye s music draws from a long Ethiopian musical legacy of tortured pining Imbuing our voices with the shaky pain of loss romantic or otherwise is a hallmark of Ethiopian musical tradition Tesfaye with his staccato wails and aching nostalgia is a young North American addition to a dynasty of melodramatic Ethiopian singers 276 Tesfaye s discography spans R amp B pop hip hop dance alternative and new wave genres 277 His work is generally categorized as alternative R amp B due to his contributions in broadening the genre s musical palette to incorporate indie and electronic styles 278 68 Mistry writes that he will be obsequiously praised as the future of R amp B music because Tesfaye is a black singer not because he s making quantifiable canonical R amp B 20 Tesfaye shared his thoughts on the primary label during an interview with Time in 2015 stating Alternative R amp B is in my soul It s not going anywhere When I put out songs from House of Balloons in 2010 people said I made R amp B cool again I m assuming that s when the label was created I feel honored that a good part of today s music is inspired by it consciously or subconsciously The only way I could have done that was to be ambitious and grand 279 Tesfaye s first three mixtapes House of Balloons Thursday and Echoes of Silence are alternative R amp B projects that draw on dream pop post punk and trip hop amongst others 280 281 His debut studio album Kiss Land is categorized as R amp B and dark wave 282 His next three albums Beauty Behind the Madness Starboy and After Hours are considered R amp B and pop with Starboy utilizing heavy trap influences 283 284 and After Hours drawing on new wave and dream pop influences 285 286 Tesfaye s fifth studio album Dawn FM explores dance pop and synth pop genres 287 288 Plagiarism allegations In December 2015 Tesfaye was sued by Cutting Edge Music which alleged that the bassline for The Hills had been taken from a composition featured in the score for the 2013 science fiction film The Machine 289 One of the producers of the song was alleged to have sent a private Twitter message to Tom Raybould the composer of the film s score to tell him about the sample 290 In September 2018 Tesfaye and Daft Punk were sued for allegedly stealing the rhythm for Starboy from Ethiopian poet and singer songwriter Yasminah 291 Tesfaye denied the allegations 292 In April 2019 Tesfaye was sued by British trio William Smith Brian Clover and Scott McCulloch who accused Tesfaye of copyright infringement from plagiarising their song I Need to Love in order to create his song A Lonely Night They sought 150 000 from Tesfaye and Belly In August 2019 the lawsuit was dismissed via summary judgment with the option to amend with the court ruling that they had failed to show that Tesfaye or anyone else involved in making A Lonely Night had access to their song or that the works were substantially similar 293 In September 2019 the plaintiffs filed an amended claim based on secondary infringement which is still in litigation 294 295 In February 2020 Tesfaye and Kendrick Lamar were sued by the now defunct indie band Yeasayer claiming that Pray for Me includes an unauthorized sample of their song Sunrise 296 Later that year Yeasayer voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit 297 In September 2021 Tesfaye Nicolas Jaar and Frank Dukes were sued for copyright infringement by producers Suniel Fox and Henry Strange protesting that Call Out My Name is strikingly or substantially similar if not identical to their 2015 track Vibeking 298 299 Allegations of homophobic lyrics In January 2019 Tesfaye was criticized for some of the lyrics in his and Gesaffelstein s single Lost in the Fire The second verse of the song with the lines You said you might be into girls said you re going through a phase Keeping your heart safe Well baby you can bring a friend She can ride on top your face While I fuck you straight were accused of being homophobic fetishizing bisexuality and perpetuating the falsehood that a person who identifies as being part of the LGBTQ community can be turned straight 300 301 However some listeners have suggested that the lyrics were actually referring to a sex position 302 Tesfaye quietly addressed the controversy in the song Snowchild from After Hours with the lines Every month another accusation Only thing I m phobic of is failing 303 304 Other venturesActing Tesfaye is a cinephile and has made numerous movie references in his music videos and teasers 305 306 On August 30 2019 during the Telluride Film Festival he made his acting debut in the film Uncut Gems 307 On March 7 2020 during his third appearance as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live he starred in the skit On The Couch with actors Kenan Thompson and Chris Redd 308 On May 4 he co wrote and starred in an episode of American Dad 309 In July he voiced three characters during the 200th episode of Robot Chicken 310 On June 29 2021 Tesfaye announced that he will be co creating co writing executive producing and starring in the upcoming HBO television drama series The Idol alongside his producing partner Reza Fahim and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson 311 On March 20 2022 Tesfaye voiced two characters during an episode of The Simpsons 312 Business In 2013 Tesfaye collaborated with condom company ONE to give away limited edition condoms at his shows during the Kiss Land Fall Tour 313 314 In November 2015 he partnered with electronic vaporizer company Pax Labs to release a limited edition vaporizer 315 316 He also collaborated with fashion designer Alexander Wang for an apparel collection 317 In 2016 Tesfaye became a creative collaborator and global brand ambassador for the clothing brand Puma 318 With the partnership he released numerous capsule collections and hosted several pop up retail stores 319 320 In 2017 Tesfaye partnered with retail company H amp M for their men s collection 321 He cut ties with the company in 2018 following a racist incident within the company 322 In July 2018 Tesfaye collaborated with Marvel Comics to release a comic book inspired by his third studio album Starboy 323 In August he released an apparel collection in collaboration with A Bathing Ape 324 325 A second collection was released in January 2020 326 In April 2019 Tesfaye became an owner and global ambassador of the esports company OverActive Media who owns the Splyce and Overwatch League team Toronto Defiant 327 On August 31 2020 Tesfaye partnered with TD Bank to launch Black HXOUSE an entrepreneurial initiative within the incubator HXOUSE where he serves as a sleeping partner 328 On September 9 Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a CA 221 000 000 joint venture with HXOUSE for Black Canadian entrepreneurs 329 In March 2021 Tesfaye auctioned a collection of visual artwork and an unreleased song in the form of a non fungible token NFT on Nifty Gateway 330 331 In October he joined football player Tom Brady s NFT platform Autograph as a member of their board of directors 332 PhilanthropyAfter being presented with a Bikila Award for Professional Excellence in 2014 Tesfaye donated CA 50 000 to the University of Toronto to fund a new course on Ge ez the classic language of Ethiopia 333 In December 2015 he worked with Ryan Seacrest s foundation to visit the Children s Hospital of Atlanta 334 335 In May 2016 during Orthodox Easter Tesfaye donated CA 50 000 to the St Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church in Toronto Canada a church he attended growing up 336 337 Despite having previously worked with the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Toronto 338 Tesfaye cancelled a scheduled appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live with Belly in May 2016 due to then presidential candidate Donald Trump being present 339 340 In August 2016 he funded a new Ethiopian studies program at the University of Toronto 341 In June 2017 Tesfaye donated US 100 000 to the Suubi Health Center a maternity and children s medical facility in Budondo Uganda He was inspired to support the center after learning of French Montana s work with Global Citizen and Mama Hope to help raise awareness for Suubi and the people of Uganda 342 In April 2020 Tesfaye launched a line of non medical face masks with all of the proceeds going to the MusiCares COVID 19 Relief Fund a campaign launched by the Recording Academy to help musicians affected by the COVID 19 pandemic 343 In addition Tesfaye donated US 500 000 to MusiCares and CA 500 000 to the Scarborough Health Network 344 In August 2016 Tesfaye donated US 250 000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation following numerous reports of police brutality in the United States 345 341 346 In May 2020 in response to the murder of George Floyd and the protests that followed Tesfaye donated US 500 000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation Colin Kaepernick s Know Your Rights Camp and the National Bail Out 347 He then urged other music executives major record labels and streaming services to donate to the cause as well 348 349 On August 7 2020 Tesfaye held the Weeknd Experience an interactive virtual concert on the social media platform TikTok that drew two million total viewers including 275 000 concurrent viewers The concert raised over US 350 000 for the Equal Justice Initiative He also donated US 300 000 to Global Aid for Lebanon in support of victims of the Beirut explosion 350 351 On November 2 the University of Toronto announced that it was able to reach and surpass its fundraising goal of CA 500 000 for its Ethiopic program which included a CA 30 000 donation from Tesfaye 352 In May 2021 he was among the celebrities expressing more solidarity for civilians who died during the 2021 Israel Palestine crisis 353 354 On September 23 Tesfaye was honored with the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award at the inaugural Music in Action Awards which was presented by the Black Music Action Coalition 355 WFP ambassadorship On April 4 2021 Tesfaye announced a US 1 000 000 donation through the United Nations World Food Programme WFP to relief efforts in Ethiopia for people affected by the Tigray War 356 On June 9 he met with the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development Samantha Power to discuss the humanitarian crisis of the Tigray War During the meeting Tesfaye was briefed on the latest developments and discussed ways of increasing public pressure so direct action can be made to help civilians 357 358 Tesfaye was appointed as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the World Food Programme on October 7 359 360 On March 3 2022 he partnered with the WFP to launch the XO Humanitarian Fund Through the fund Tesfaye will donate US 1 from every ticket sold at his After Hours til Dawn Tour in addition to a US 500 000 donation to the WFP 361 Personal lifeTesfaye is known to be very enigmatic and prefers to keep his personal life out of the public eye 362 363 In the beginning of his career he refrained from participating in interviews and instead chose to communicate via Twitter which he attributed to shyness and insecurities 364 To this day he is still adamant about not participating in interviews only agreeing to be interviewed in rare situations 365 From April 2015 to August 2019 Tesfaye was in an on again off again relationship with American model Bella Hadid 366 367 She starred in the music video for his single In the Night in December 2015 368 He briefly dated American singer actress Selena Gomez from January to October 2017 369 370 Both of the relationships received widespread media attention and were the topic of tabloid speculation 371 372 373 Tesfaye s hairstyle which has been described as one of his most recognizable traits has been claimed to be partly inspired by American artist Jean Michel Basquiat 21 374 He began growing it out in 2011 and remarked at how easy it was to maintain with a hard shampoo every once in a while 21 He cut his hair in 2016 prior to the release of Starboy 375 On social media Tesfaye typically suffixed his first name with xo 376 which is often used as an emoticon for hugs and kisses 376 According to The Guardian s Hermione Hoby this was his intention though others believe it was a reference to his recreational use of ecstasy and oxycodone 377 378 He later altered the handles on his social media to reflect his stage name in preparation for the release of Starboy 379 In January 2015 Tesfaye was arrested for allegedly punching a police officer in Las Vegas after being taken into an elevator to break up a fight 380 381 He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to complete fifty hours of community service 382 As of August 2021 Tesfaye resides in Bel Air Los Angeles 383 384 In 2017 he purchased a home in Hidden Hills California for 18 5 million which he sold to Madonna in 2021 for 19 3 million 385 Tesfaye previously lived in penthouses in Westwood Los Angeles 386 387 and New York City 388 389 AccoladesSee also List of awards and nominations received by the Weeknd Tesfaye has won four Grammy Awards a Latin Grammy Award 20 Billboard Music Awards six American Music Awards two MTV Video Music Awards and 17 Juno Awards 390 He has also received nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award 391 In October 2014 Tesfaye was awarded the Allan Slaight Honour by Canada s Walk of Fame for making a positive impact in the fields of music film literature visual or performing arts sports innovation or philanthropy 392 In February 2021 the Mayor of Toronto John Tory announced that the city would observe February 7 as The Weeknd Day to commemorate Tesfaye s Super Bowl halftime performance 393 394 DiscographyMain articles The Weeknd discography and List of songs recorded by the Weeknd Studio albums Kiss Land 2013 Beauty Behind the Madness 2015 Starboy 2016 After Hours 2020 Dawn FM 2022 FilmographyMain article The Weeknd videography Michael Jackson s Journey from Motown to Off the Wall 2016 Uncut Gems 2019 The Show 2021 The Idol 2023 ToursHeadlining The Fall Tour 2012 The Kiss Land Fall Tour 2013 King of the Fall Tour 2014 The Madness Fall Tour 2015 Starboy Legend of the Fall Tour 2017 The Weeknd Asia Tour 2018 After Hours til Dawn Tour 2022 Supporting Florence and the Machine Ceremonials Tour 2012 Justin Timberlake The 20 20 Experience World Tour 2013 Drake Would You Like A Tour 2014 Touring members c Patrick Greenaway lead guitar 2012 present synthesizer 2020 present Ledaris LJ Jones bass keyboards 2013 present Ricky Lewis drums 2011 present Notes Ethiopians do not use surnames but rather their father s first name as their family name Makonnen would traditionally be his family name and Tesfaye would be his grandfather s name Tesfaye s biological parents were never married When Tesfaye made a donation to the University of Toronto s Ethiopic program in November 2020 the full name of his mother was revealed as Samrawit Hailu 19 During his early performances in 2011 respective tours in 2012 and 2013 prior to the Kiss Land Fall Tour he had other guitar bass and keyboard players as well as two female backup singers these former members names are unknown References Marsh Calum February 16 2021 Everything We Know About The Weeknd Before He Blew Up Complex He apparently also recorded music under the names The Noise and Kin Kane Eells Josh October 21 2015 Sex Drugs and R amp B Inside The Weeknd s Dark Twisted Fantasy Rolling Stone Archived from the original on June 15 2018 McDuffie Candace November 23 2016 5 Reasons the Weeknd Is Redefining Music Teen Vogue Retrieved December 23 2021 Born Abel Tesfaye The Weeknd is a provocative and groundbreaking artist with a vocal style that simultaneously channels the greats putting the Toronto native in a league of his own Not only does he champion and embrace individuality he chooses to be both lyrically and sonically daring The Weeknd s creative approach to music is uniquely appealing because he offers a form of escapism he is able to transport you to the exact moments he sings about through his use of explicit detail House of Balloons The Weeknd Metacritic Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Cox Jamieson February 28 2016 Watch The Weeknd reenact the Earned It video on the Oscar stage The Verge Retrieved November 9 2021 59th Annual GRAMMY Awards 59th Annual Grammy Awards November 28 2017 Archived from the original on January 31 2018 a b McIntyre Hugh The Weeknd Scores The Largest Streaming Week Ever For An R amp B Album Forbes Retrieved November 26 2021 Tyska Jane February 7 2021 Photos The Weeknd plays Super Bowl LV halftime show The Mercury News Lavin Will December 1 2020 Billie Eilish The Weeknd and Bad Bunny among Spotify s most streamed artists of 2020 NME Aswad Jem November 30 2020 Bad Bunny The Weeknd Top Spotify s Year End Wrapped Lists Variety Alston Trey November 19 2020 Soul Train Awards 20 Here s Why Each R amp B Soul Male Nominee Deserves The Top Spot The Weeknd BET Archived from the original on November 30 2020 Trust Gary March 8 2021 Olivia Rodrigo s Drivers License Leads Hot 100 for 8th Week The Weeknd s Blinding Lights Marks a Year in Top 10 Billboard The Weeknd s Blinding Lights Is Now the Longest Charting Billboard Hot 100 Song of All Time Complex Retrieved November 9 2021 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 amp 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 amp B in the 2010s John Elton September 22 2020 THE 100 MOST INFLUENTIAL PEOPLE OF 2020 The Weeknd Time Archived from the original on January 7 2021 U N World Food Programme Announces The Weeknd as Global Goodwill Ambassador World Food Programme www wfp org Retrieved March 3 2022 WFP Goodwill Ambassador The Weeknd Raises 5 Million to Fight Global Hunger Web3Wire December 1 2022 a b c Caramanica Jon July 27 2015 Can The Weeknd Turn Himself into the Biggest Pop Star in the World The New York Times Magazine Archived from the original on October 1 2015 With support from The Weeknd U of T s Ethiopic program soars past 500 000 endowment goal University of Toronto November 2 2020 a b c d e f Mistry Anupa December 23 2011 Daily Disc The Weeknd s Echoes Of Silence Toronto Standard MeshSquared Ventures Archived from the original on November 29 2019 a b c d e f g h Eells Josh October 21 2015 Sex Drugs and R amp B Inside The Weeknd s Dark Twisted Fantasy Rolling Stone Archived from the original on June 15 2018 Rivera Joe February 7 2021 Who is The Weeknd Super Bowl 55 halftime show performer s songs lyrics amp more to know Sporting News Archived from the original on February 8 2021 Ehrlich Brenna September 13 2013 The Weeknd Reveals How He Got His Name And Where The E Went MTV News Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Mamo Heran The Weeknd Says His Song Faith Recalls The Darkest Time of My Entire Life Billboard Archived from the original on February 11 2021 Lamb Karas September 16 2013 The Weeknd Reveals The Origin Of His Name More Okayplayer Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Aswad Jem April 8 2020 The Weeknd Opens Up About His Past Turning 30 and Getting Vulnerable on After Hours Variety Retrieved March 22 2022 HATHERLY TARA December 7 2015 Scarborough native The Weeknd scores seven Grammy nominations Metroland Media Group Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Mistry Anupa October 30 2015 Why The Weeknd is truly Toronto s very own The Globe and Mail Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Wagstaff Keith Swanson David October 26 2015 10 Things You Should Know About the Weeknd GQ Archived from the original on July 4 2018 The Weeknd Went From Being Homeless To Headlining The Super Bowl www ladbible com Retrieved March 23 2022 Kennedy John R The Weeknd Talks About Troubled Past Friendship With Jim Carrey www iheartradio ca Retrieved March 23 2022 Fisher Luchina December 5 2016 The Weeknd Opens Up About His Dark Past ABC News Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Weeknd opens up about heavy drug use NME December 3 2016 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Weeknd says he s sober lite after giving up drugs except for weed www yahoo com Retrieved August 3 2021 10 Year High The Weeknd s Game Changing Decade PAPER December 27 2019 Retrieved December 20 2021 Everything We Know About The Weeknd Before He Blew Up Complex Retrieved December 20 2021 a b c McGuire Patrick March 22 2012 How the Producer of The Weeknd s Breakout Tracks Got Majorly Screwed Vice Archived from the original on December 24 2012 Caramanica Jon December 31 2010 Screams That Charmed and Other Overlooked Highlights The New York Times Archived from the original on February 10 2015 Stewart Allison March 14 2011 Singles File Da Phuture The Weeknd Fever Ray The Washington Post Archived from the original on December 8 2013 Shepherd Julianne Escobedo March 23 2011 Love and Other Drugs The Weeknd s Altered State R amp B WNET Archived from the original on November 29 2020 Fitzmaurice Larry March 4 2011 The Weeknd What You Need Pitchfork Archived from the original on March 26 2011 The Weeknd Reveals How He Got His Name And Where The E Went MTV MTV July 14 2021 Archived from the original on July 14 2021 Retrieved September 28 2021 How the Producer of the Weeknd s Breakout Tracks Got Majorly Screwed www vice com Retrieved September 28 2021 Can the Weeknd Turn Himself Into the Biggest Pop Star in the World The New York Times The New York Times July 20 2021 Archived from the original on July 20 2021 Retrieved September 28 2021 Leight Elias July 27 2015 9 Things We Learned From The New York Time sic Story On The Weeknd The Fader COX CAILYN December 5 2016 The Weeknd is hugely successful now but that wasn t always the case SHE Media a b MARSH CALUM February 16 2021 Everything We Know About The Weeknd Before He Blew Up Complex Networks The Weeknd on the Crew That Boosted Him From Basically Homeless to the Super Bowl Billboard published 2021 January 28 2021 Kameir Rawiya Hockley Smith Sam Mistry Anupa March 21 2016 How House of Balloons Changed R amp B The Fader Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Five years since its veiled release a conversation about The Weeknd s debut and its influence on contemporary pop music The album was documenting a nascent scene that has gone on to shift the cultural paradigm of Toronto and it did so through a sound that has had a lasting effect on contemporary pop music Ramirez Erika March 21 2011 Say Hello to The Weeknd Drake Co Signs MTV News Archived from the original on October 12 2015 25 best Canadian debut albums ever CBC Music June 16 2017 Archived from the original on September 6 2017 Polaris Music Prize Polaris Music Prize Archived from the original on April 9 2014 Diver Mike BBC Music Review of The Weeknd Thursday www bbc co uk Retrieved September 28 2021 Dunlevy T Cha March 23 2012 365 days of Weeknd We chart Abel Tesfaye s rise to fame a year after House of Balloons National Post Archived from the original on March 21 2012 Mudhar Raju June 14 2012 Polaris Prize long list includes lots of Toronto bands The Toronto Star ISSN 0319 0781 Retrieved September 28 2021 Ritchie Kevin July 25 2011 The Weeknd s perfect premiere NOW Toronto Archived from the original on December 22 2011 Fitzmaurice Larry July 3 2011 The Weeknd to Play Drake s OVO Festival Pitchfork Archived from the original on January 7 2021 GlowRadio ca presents The Weeknd what you need black student Association University of Toronto GlowRadio April 7 2011 via YouTube Berry Peter A November 16 2017 Drake Sets The Record Straight On How Much The Weeknd Wrote On Take Care Album XXL Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Exclusive Pictures From The Weeknd s Concert in Waterloo Canada Complex February 7 2012 a b Snapes Laura April 16 2012 Abel Tesfaye makes his U S debut Pitchfork Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Krishnamurthy Sowmya April 29 2012 The Weeknd Mesmerizes at Bowery Ballroom Rolling Stone Archived from the original on May 26 2012 Battan Carrie March 1 2012 The Weeknd to Headline Pitchfork Stage at Primavera Pitchfork Lough Kate May 31 2012 Wireless Festival 2012 London Evening Standard THE WEEKND CHIDDY BANG amp MORE FOR WIRELESS 2012 DIY March 27 2012 Goodwyn Tom June 8 2012 The Weeknd covers Michael Jackson as he plays his debut UK show NME Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Hampp Andrew November 12 2012 The Weeknd amp Reps Talk Clearing Samples Touring For Trilogy Release Billboard Archived from the original on January 7 2021 a b Kellman Andy The Weeknd Music Biography Credits and Discography AllMusic Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Echoes Of Silence The Weeknd reveals final part of the Balloons Trilogy The Line Of Best Fit The Line of Best Fit December 22 2011 Archived from the original on September 19 2020 Battan Carrie October 2 2012 The Weeknd Shares Rolling Stone Video Trilogy Artwork Pitchfork Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Trilogy Booklet Media notes The Weeknd 2012 via Genius a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Trilogy The Weeknd Billboard Caulfield Keith October 10 2012 One Direction Tops Billboard 200 Chart Twilight Debuts at No 3 Billboard Los Angeles Archived from the original on February 24 2017 Gold amp Platinum Searchable Database Recording Industry Association of America Gold and Platinum Search Music Canada Archived from the original on September 27 2013 Sound of 2013 Profiles The Weeknd BBC December 9 2012 Archived from the original on December 13 2012 Nostro Lauren May 16 2013 Listen The Weeknd Kiss Land Complex Networks Archived from the original on November 24 2020 Williott Carl July 22 2013 The Weeknd Unveils Kiss Land Release Date amp Cover Artwork Idolator Caulfield Keith December 1 2012 Keith Urban Edges The Weeknd for No 1 Debut on Billboard 200 Billboard Archived from the original on September 19 2013 Kiss Land Reviews Metacritic Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Battan Carrie July 8 2013 The Weeknd Announces Big Fall Tour Kiss Land Out Late Summer Pitchfork The Weeknd on Beauty Behind the Madness Album Taylor Swift and Michael Jackson Billboard Billboard Billboard January 31 2021 Archived from the original on January 31 2021 Retrieved September 28 2021 Complex Music on Twitter In 2013 theweeknd dropped KissLand Today it s 1 on the iTunes R amp B chart Timeless August 10 2020 Archived from the original on August 10 2020 Retrieved September 28 2021 Payne Chris November 4 2013 The Weeknd To Open For Justin Timberlake On 20 20 Experience Tour Billboard Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Hakimian Rob November 19 2013 Album Review Various Artists The Hunger Games Catching Fire Soundtrack Consequence Archived from the original on December 11 2018 Lee Ashley February 18 2014 Audio Beyonce s Drunk in Love Kanye West The Weeknd Release Remixes The Hollywood Reporter Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Ariana Grande and The Weeknd Team Up In Love Me Harder Video Rap Up October 3 2014 Archived from the original on October 5 2014 The Weeknd touring w Schoolboy Q amp Jhene Aiko playing Barclays Center dates SBQ played Central Park BrooklynVegan June 26 2014 Archived from the original on September 24 2014 Ida Maria Gets Exclamatory Idolator March 19 2008 Archived from the original on December 8 2015 Cox Jamieson February 28 2016 Oscars 2016 Watch The Weeknd reenact his sultry video for Earned It The Verge Grammys 2016 The Weeknd Wins Two Awards PEOPLE com Retrieved September 28 2021 Lockett Dee May 27 2015 The Weeknd Returns With The Hills Which Probably Isn t About Lauren Conrad Vulture com Archived from the original on January 7 2021 McIntyre Hugh June 28 2019 The Weeknd s No 1 Hit The Hills Becomes His First Diamond Certified Single Forbes Lamare Carl June 28 2019 The Weeknd s The Hills Certified Diamond Exclusive Billboard Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Beauchemin Molly June 28 2015 Janelle Monae Performs Yoga The Weeknd Performs Earned It with Alicia Keys at the BET Awards Pitchfork Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Kreps Daniel June 8 2015 Hear The Weeknd s Funky New Song Can t Feel My Face Rolling Stone Archived from the original on June 18 2015 Trust Gary July 1 2015 Wiz Khalifa No 1 on Hot 100 Again Selena Gomez Debuts at No 9 Billboard Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Trust Gary August 10 2015 The Weeknd Tops Hot 100 With Can t Feel My Face One Direction Debuts at No 3 Billboard Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Grammy Nominations 2016 See the Full List of Nominees Billboard December 7 2015 Retrieved September 28 2021 Mendizabal Amaya July 15 2015 The Weeknd Is First Artist to Own Entire Top Three on Hot R amp B Songs Chart Billboard Apple s new musical faces Drake and The Weeknd Business Insider Agence France Presse June 8 2015 Archived from the original on March 4 2021 Latest Apple Music ads debut during MTV VMAs feature The Weeknd amp playlists August 31 2015 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Deadmau5 amp The Weeknd headline FVDED IN THE PARK 2015 Daily Hive December 19 2017 Harling Danielle June 22 2015 Meek Mill Reveals Dreams Worth More Than Money Features HipHopDX Archived from the original on November 30 2019 Caulfield Keith September 6 2015 The Weeknd s Beauty Behind the Madness Debuts at No 1 on Billboard 200 Chart Billboard Archived from the original on March 23 2018 Caulfield Keith September 20 2015 The Weeknd spends third week at No 1 on Billboard 200 Billboard Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Ryan Gavin September 5 2015 ARIA Albums The Weeknd Takes Top Spot On Australian Chart Noise11 Archived from the original on November 30 2020 Top 20 Albums Music Canada Archived from the original on September 27 2015 Mansfield Brian July 10 2015 The Weeknd s new album is coming Aug 28 USA Today Archived from the original on July 13 2015 Gordon Jeremy August 20 2015 The Weeknd announces The Madness Fall Tour Pitchfork Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Martin Paley August 21 2015 The Weeknd Announces The Madness Fall Tour With Travi Scott Halsey amp Banks Billboard Archived from the original on August 23 2015 MORRIS JESSIE August 30 2016 The Weeknd Now Holds Two Guinness World Records Complex Networks Schneider Marc December 1 2015 Spotify s Year in Music Drake Most Streamed Artist Major Lazer amp DJ Snake Had Top Song Billboard Archived from the original on December 2 2015 The Weeknd Beauty Behind the Madness Rolling Stone December 1 2015 Archived from the original on December 2 2016 Trust Gary September 8 2015 The Weeknd Doubles Up in Hot 100 s Top Three Billboard Archived from the original on January 7 2021 See All the Winners of the 2016 Grammys Time Retrieved September 28 2021 Justin Bieber Kanye West The Weeknd amp more featuring on Travi Scott s Rodeo album Inquisitr June 29 2017 Archived from the original on January 17 2021 Strecker Erin September 1 2015 The Weeknd amp Demi Lovato Announced as SNL Musical Guests Billboard Archived from the original on January 7 2021 a b Gracie Bianca September 1 2015 Demi Lovato amp The Weeknd To Perform On Saturday Night Live This Season Idolator Hudson Alex May 8 2015 Belly Might Not ft The Weeknd Exclaim Archived from the original on October 31 2020 Guiducci Mark May 3 2016 The Weeknd on Going From Indie R amp B Enigma to the Pacesetting Prince of Pop Vogue Hooton Christopher February 12 2016 The Life of Pablo tracklist Kanye West s new album features Frank Ocean The Weeknd and Young Thug The Independent Archived from the original on June 20 2022 Listen The Weeknd Surprises Fans By Dropping Two New Songs CKIS FM December 27 2015 Archived from the original on December 4 2020 6 Inch Beyonce via YouTube Morris Jesse August 24 2016 It Sounds Like a Weeknd and Cashmere Cat Collab Is on the Way Complex Networks Archived from the original on January 7 2021 MENCH CHRIS August 23 2016 The Weeknd Is Reportedly Working with Daft Punk Complex Networks Archived from the original on August 24 2016 Pearce Sheldon September 21 2016 The Weeknd Announces New Album Starboy Pitchfork Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Hear the Weeknd s new track with Daft Punk Starboy The Guardian September 22 2016 ISSN 0261 3077 Archived from the original on March 1 2021 The Weeknd s Starboy Featuring Daft Punk Hits No 1 on Hot 100 Billboard Billboard Billboard January 20 2021 Archived from the original on January 20 2021 Retrieved September 28 2021 Gold amp Platinum RIAA Recording Industry Association of America February 1 2021 Archived from the original on February 1 2021 Retrieved September 28 2021 Zwilling Eric September 21 2016 Listen to Daft Punk s new collaboration with The Weeknd Starboy Dancing Astronaut Archived from the original on November 7 2020 Peters Mitchell October 2 2016 Watch The Weeknd Perform Starboy and False Alarm on SNL Season Premiere Billboard Watch The Weeknd s New Short Film Mania Pitchfork November 23 2016 Archived from the original on November 24 2016 Watch The Weeknd Mania on YouTube The Weeknd November 23 2016 Archived from the original on November 24 2016 via YouTube The Weeknda s a Starboya Bows at No 1 on Billboard 200 With Third Biggest Debut of 2016 Billboard Billboard Billboard January 30 2021 Archived from the original on January 30 2021 Retrieved September 29 2021 Gold amp Platinum RIAA Recording Industry Association of America February 1 2021 Archived from the original on February 1 2021 Retrieved September 29 2021 NewsAlert Starboy Wins Best Urban Contemporary Album for the Weeknd National Post The Canadian Press January 28 2018 Blistein John February 16 2017 Hear the Weeknd s Sultry Some Way Collaboration With Nav Rolling Stone Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Brandle Lars February 24 2017 Future Releases New Album HNDRXX Featuring The Weeknd and Rihanna Listen Billboard Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Gaca Anna April 19 2017 For Better or Worse Lana Del Rey and the Weeknd s Lust for Life Is a Lana Del Rey Song Spin Pearce Sheldon April 20 2017 Lana Del Rey Lust for Life ft The Weeknd Pitchfork Boykins Austin January 31 2018 TDE Reveals Loaded Tracklist for Black Panther Soundtrack Hypebeast Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Madden Sidney February 2 2018 Kendrick Lamar And The Weeknd Team Up For Pray For Me NPR org Retrieved August 15 2021 Sargent Jordan March 29 2018 The Weekend Announces New Album My Dear Melancholy Spin Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Is The Weeknd Dropping A New Album This Week Vibe March 27 2018 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Murray Robin March 29 2018 Has Someone Accidentally Leaked News of the Weeknd s New Album Clash Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Lamarre Carl March 27 2018 Is The Weeknd Dropping a New Album on Friday Billboard Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Weeknd Scores Third Consecutive No 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With My Dear Melancholy Billboard Billboard November 9 2020 Archived from the original on November 9 2020 Retrieved September 29 2021 The Weeknd teases new song release Independent Online March 28 2018 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Goddard Kevin March 29 2018 Stream The Weeknd s My Dear Melancholy EP HotNewHipHop Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Unterberger Andrew April 14 2018 The Weeknd Fulfills His Coachella Destiny With Triumphant Headlining Set Billboard Retrieved April 20 2022 Blistein Jon January 3 2018 Beyonce Eminem the Weeknd to Headline Coachella 2018 Rolling Stone Retrieved April 20 2022 Penrose Nerisha June 6 2018 The Weeknd Announces New Beats 1 Radio Show Memento Mori Billboard Archived from the original on January 7 2021 ザ ウィークエンド イン ジャパン シングルス コレクション The Weeknd in Japan Singles Collection in Japanese Universal Music Group Archived from the original on October 20 2019 Gesaffelstein Lost In The Fire feat The Weeknd Teaser Gesaffelstein January 7 2019 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 via YouTube Blais Billie Braudie January 11 2019 Listen to Gesaffelstein and the Weeknd s New Song Lost in the Fire Pitchfork Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Pearce Sheldon April 18 2019 SZA The Weeknd Travis Scott Power Is Power Pitchfork Archived from the original on April 19 2019 SZA The Weeknd and Travis Scott Share Video For Game of Thrones Inspired Track Billboard May 5 2019 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Weeknd to Release New Single Blinding Lights on Black Friday Rap Up November 24 2019 Archived from the original on November 28 2019 Five Burning Questions Billboard Staffers Discuss The Weeknd s Top 40 Debut For Heartless Billboard December 3 2019 Archived from the original on March 19 2020 Trust Gary December 9 2019 The Weeknd s Heartless Hits No 1 on Hot 100 Mariah Carey s All I Want for Christmas Is You Returns to No 3 High Billboard Archived from the original on January 16 2020 Trust Gary March 30 2020 The Weeknd s Blinding Lights Hits No 1 on Billboard Hot 100 Doja Cat s Say So Enters Top 10 Billboard Archived from the original on March 31 2020 Trust Gary March 9 2021 The Weeknd Talks Unprecedented Year in Hot 100 s Top 10 With Blinding Lights This Is Truly a Result of the Fans Billboard Retrieved November 26 2021 Trust Gary August 16 2021 The Weeknd s Blinding Lights Spends Record Breaking 88th Week on Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Retrieved November 26 2021 The Weeknd s Blinding Lights Is Now the Longest Charting Billboard Hot 100 Song of All Time Complex Retrieved September 29 2021 Mamo Heran November 23 2021 The Greatest Hit The New No 1 Song of All Time Billboard Retrieved November 26 2021 Brandle Lars February 19 2020 The Weeknd Sets After Hours Release Date Shares Dark Title Track Listen Billboard Archived from the original on March 13 2020 Young Alex March 8 2020 The Weeknd Debuts New Song Appears in Sketch on SNL Consequence Archived from the original on March 20 2020 The Weeknd Loses His Head in Gory New In Your Eyes Video Pitchfork Pitchfork November 27 2020 Archived from the original on November 27 2020 Retrieved September 29 2021 Strauss Matthew March 20 2020 Listen to the Weeknd s New Album After Hours Pitchfork Archived from the original on March 20 2020 Caulfield Keith March 29 2020 The Weeknd s After Hours Debuts at No 1 on Billboard 200 Chart With Biggest Week of 2020 Billboard Archived from the original on March 29 2020 THE WEEKND CAPTURES 1 ALBUM AND 1 ON BILLBOARD HOT 100 WITH AFTER HOURS AND BLINDING LIGHTS Umusic Retrieved November 26 2021 Trust Gary April 1 2020 The Weeknd on Being the First Artist to Top These 5 Charts at Once It Feels Like a Huge Blessing Exclusive Billboard Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Zellner Xander April 8 2020 The Weeknd also repeats at No 1 on the Billboard 200 Hot 100 amp Artist 100 Billboard Archived from the original on January 7 2021 theweeknd March 29 2020 nothing compares missed you final lullaby Tweet via Twitter BAILEY ALYSSA October 30 2020 Ariana Grande And The Weeknd s Off The Table Lyrics Are About Her Finding Love After Losing Mac Miller Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Iasimone Ashley October 24 2020 Ariana Grande Unveils Positions Track List Billboard Archived from the original on October 24 2020 The Weeknd Joins Oneohtrix Point Never on New Song No Nightmares Rolling Stone October 26 2020 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Roiz Jessica November 5 2020 The Weeknd Sings in Spanglish on Fiery Hawai Remix With Maluma Watch the Video Billboard Archived from the original on January 7 2021 2021 Latin Grammy nominations Bad Bunny Maluma and more www yahoo com Retrieved September 29 2021 The Weeknd Trailer Official Live Performance The Weeknd November 20 2020 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 via YouTube Slater Georgia October 30 2020 Harry Styles Billie Eilish Shawn Mendes to Perform at Virtual iHeartRadio Jingle Ball People Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Morgan Wallen s Dangerous No 1 for Fifth Week on Billboard 200 While If I Know Me Hits Top 10 for First Time Billboard February 14 2021 Retrieved July 14 2021 McCarriston Shanna November 12 2020 Super Bowl LV The Weeknd announced as Pepsi Halftime Show performer CBSSports com Archived from the original on January 7 2021 O Connor Roisin Michallon Clemence February 8 2021 Super Bowl halftime show live The Weeknd performs with dancers in face bandages at 2021 game The Independent Archived from the original on February 8 2021 Steussy Lauren DeNinno Nadine February 8 2021 What happened to The Weeknd s face at Super Bowl 2021 halftime show New York Post Archived from the original on February 8 2021 Best of The Weeknd and the Super Bowl 55 halftime show USA Today February 7 2021 Archived from the original on February 9 2021 Bain Katie January 28 2021 The Weeknd on the Crew That Boosted Him From Basically Homeless to the Super Bowl Billboard Archived from the original on January 28 2021 Caramanica Jon February 8 2021 The Weeknd Emerges From the Shadows at the Super Bowl Halftime Show The New York Times Archived from the original on February 8 2021 Super Bowl halftime show review The Weeknd wasn t great but it s not all his fault USA Today February 8 2021 Archived from the original on February 8 2021 Kornhaber Spencer February 8 2021 The First Super Bowl Halftime Show About the Depravity of Halftime Shows The Atlantic Archived from the original on February 10 2021 Patten Dominic February 8 2021 The Weeknd s Super Bowl Halftime Show Scores A Touchdown With A Technical Spectacle amp Mixtape Of Hits Review Deadline Hollywood Archived from the original on February 8 2021 Julious Britt February 7 2021 Review The Weeknd s Super Bowl halftime performance was an expensive nothing Chicago Tribune Archived from the original on February 8 2021 Fekau Mesfin February 7 2021 Review Yawn is it Monday yet The Weeknd bores at halftime Associated Press Archived from the original on February 8 2021 Caulfield Keith February 11 2021 The Weeknd s Streams Increase 41 After Super Bowl Halftime Show Billboard Archived from the original on February 11 2021 Caulfield Keith February 9 2021 The Weeknd s Sales Up 385 After Super Bowl Halftime Show Billboard Archived from the original on February 9 2021 Libbey Peter July 13 2021 Emmys 2021 The List of Nominees The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Archived from the original on December 28 2021 Retrieved July 14 2021 theweeknd March 17 2021 On Sunday for its 10 year anniversary I m releasing House of Balloons on all streaming platforms for the first time in its original incarnation With the original mixes and samples Tweet via Twitter Kiefer Halle March 21 2021 Step Inside the Weeknd s House of Balloons Reissued for Its 10th Anniversary Vulture Retrieved August 3 2021 The Weeknd Shares Original Version of Thursday Mixtape and MR Capsule Collection for Its Tenth Anniversary HYPEBEAST August 18 2021 Retrieved August 30 2021 The Weeknd and MR Team Up for Capsule Collection to Commemorate Thursday Original Streaming Release Complex Retrieved August 30 2021 The Weeknd shares new Echoes of Silence video The FADER Retrieved December 21 2021 The Weeknd Celebrates 10 Year Anniversary of Echoes of Silence by Sharing Title Track Video Complex Retrieved December 21 2021 Aswad Jem May 4 2021 The Weeknd Drops Hints About Beautiful New Music The Dawn Is Coming Variety Retrieved June 1 2021 The Weeknd Brings Rainy Save Your Tears to 2021 Brit Awards Watch Billboard May 11 2021 Retrieved June 30 2021 Beaumont Thomas Ben May 11 2021 Brit awards 2021 the ceremony as it happened with Dua Lipa Taylor Swift and more The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved June 30 2021 Singh Ashish May 28 2021 Is The Weeknd dropping an album Fans say dawn is coming after cryptic post Meaww com Retrieved June 1 2021 Park Sabrina June 25 2021 Doja Cat and The Weeknd Take Us to Another Universe in Their You Right Music Video Harper s BAZAAR Retrieved September 29 2021 Belly Enlists The Weeknd Young Thug For Better Believe 91 5 The Beat Retrieved August 3 2021 Lynch Joe August 2 2021 The Weeknd Previews New Era With The Dawn Is Coming Teaser Watch Billboard Retrieved August 2 2021 Announcing the Worldwide Era of GQ GQ August 2 2021 Retrieved August 2 2021 The Weeknd vs Abel Tesfaye GQ August 2 2021 Retrieved August 2 2021 Hussey Allison August 2 2021 The Weeknd Releasing New Song Take My Breath This Friday Watch Preview Pitchfork Retrieved August 3 2021 Sinha Charu August 3 2021 The Weeknd Announces New Single Take My Breath Vulture Retrieved August 3 2021 Every Song on Kanye West s Donda Album Ranked Critic s Pick Billboard August 29 2021 Retrieved September 2 2021 Mamo Heran October 5 2021 The Weeknd Says His Next Album Is Complete Billboard Retrieved October 5 2021 Mahadevan Tara C October 5 2021 The Weeknd Says Album Is Complete Teases Exciting Features Before It Drops Complex Retrieved October 5 2021 Kreps Daniel March 3 2022 The Weeknd Sets After Hours Til Dawn North American Stadium Tour Rolling Stone Archived from the original on March 3 2022 Retrieved April 19 2022 Aswad Jem October 18 2021 The Weeknd Moves Tour Dates to Summer 2022 Variety Retrieved October 24 2021 The Weeknd Announces After Hours Til Dawn Stadium Tour Rap Up Retrieved October 24 2021 The Weeknd announcing the tour on Instagram Instagram Retrieved August 26 2022 Aswad Jem October 22 2021 The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia Team Up for Smoldering New Single Moth to a Flame Variety Retrieved October 24 2021 Listen to a snippet of Post Malone and The Weeknd s new collaboration One Right Now NME November 3 2021 Retrieved November 4 2021 The Weeknd amp Post Malone Tease First Ever Collaboration Listen Billboard November 3 2021 Retrieved November 4 2021 Rosalia and the Weeknd share trailer for new track La Fama The FADER Retrieved November 9 2021 Sport November 8 2021 Rosalia La Fama Asi es la primera cancion del nuevo disco de Rosalia junto a The Weeknd sport in Spanish Retrieved November 9 2021 FKA twigs teases new The Weeknd collaboration Tears In The Club NME December 13 2021 Retrieved December 14 2021 Sisavat Monica December 14 2021 FKA Twigs Teases a Collab With The Weeknd and It Sounds Like a Total Banger POPSUGAR Entertainment Retrieved December 14 2021 The Weeknd Follows Drake amp Chris Brown By Landing Posthumous Aaliyah Collaboration HipHopDX December 14 2021 Retrieved December 15 2021 Aaliyah s Posthumous Song With The Weeknd Poison Coming Soon Report HotNewHipHop December 14 2021 Retrieved December 15 2021 Corcoran Nina Monroe Jazz January 3 2022 The Weeknd Releasing New Album Dawn FM This Week Pitchfork Retrieved January 3 2022 Caulfield Keith January 18 2022 Gunna Scores Second No 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With DS4Ever Billboard Retrieved January 19 2022 Gunna s DS4EVER Scores the No 1 Spot on the Billboard 200 as The Weeknd s Dawn FM Debuts at No 2 Complex Retrieved January 19 2022 The Weeknd Breaks Billboard Global 200 Record With Dawn FM Complex Retrieved January 20 2022 Unterberger Andrew January 19 2022 The Weeknd s New Dawn FM Tops Charts Around The World Showing His Undeniable Global Appeal Billboard Retrieved January 20 2022 Watch The Weeknd s New Video for Sacrifice Complex Retrieved April 20 2022 Avila Daniela April 5 2022 The Weeknd Drops a Creepy Karaoke Singing Out of Time Music Video and It Features Jim Carrey People Retrieved April 19 2022 Abraham Mya January 12 2022 The Weeknd Shares Alternate World Version Of Dawn FM VIBE com Retrieved April 20 2022 The Weeknd Gasoline Official Music Video retrieved August 26 2022 The Weeknd Sacrifice Remix music video retrieved August 26 2022 Kreps Daniel February 21 2022 The Weeknd to Premiere Dawn FM Experience Special This Weekend Rolling Stone Retrieved April 20 2022 The Weeknd announces first leg of his tour via Instagram Instagram Retrieved August 26 2022 The Weeknd playing in The Simpsons on Instagram Instagram Retrieved August 26 2022 The Weeknd Out of Time Official Video retrieved August 26 2022 Aswad Jem April 18 2022 The Weeknd Closes Out Coachella With Hit Filled Tag Team Set With Swedish House Mafia Variety Retrieved April 20 2022 Coachella 2022 The Weeknd covers Kanye Drake as part of hits filled headlining set Consequence April 18 2022 Retrieved April 20 2022 The Weeknd How Do I Make You Love Me Official Music Video retrieved August 26 2022 Mier Tomas July 26 2022 The Weeknd Brings After Hours to Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights Rolling Stone Retrieved August 26 2022 Out Of Time Remix Bundle April 22 2022 retrieved August 26 2022 Starry Eyes MIKE DEAN Remix July 1 2022 retrieved August 26 2022 Dawn FM OPN Remix July 8 2022 retrieved August 26 2022 How Do I Make You Love Me Sebastian Ingrosso amp Salvatore Ganacci Remix July 22 2022 retrieved August 26 2022 Best Friends Remix August 5 2022 retrieved August 26 2022 Scott Damien July 15 2013 The Weeknd Kiss And Tell 2013 Cover Story Complex Networks Archived from the original on June 14 2015 Roberts Randall December 17 2012 Review Abel Tesfaye a k a The Weeknd has hall smoldering Los Angeles Times Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Weeknd Grand Theft Auto Vice City opened my eyes to 80s music NME November 24 2021 Retrieved February 16 2022 Trust Gary April 1 2020 The Weeknd on Being the First Artist to Top These 5 Charts At Once It Feels Like a Huge Blessing Exclusive Billboard The Weeknd Says Deftones Inspired His Music MetalSucks August 22 2021 Retrieved January 8 2022 Mistry Anupa August 31 2015 The Dark Knight Returns A Conversation With the Weeknd Pitchfork Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Reed Ryan November 2 2016 The Weeknd Talks David Bowie Prince Influences on New Album Rolling Stone Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Slingerland Calum February 6 2016 The Weeknd s New Album Is Inspired by Bad Brains Talking Heads and the Smiths Exclaim Archived from the original on February 25 2021 Schwadron Eli December 14 2016 50 Cent and Wu Tang Are Influences on The Weeknd s New Starboy Album Read More 50 Cent Wu Tang Are Influences on The Weeknd s New Starboy Album XXL Archived from the original on March 25 2017 Exposito Suzy Harris Keith Mistry Anupa Murray Nick Spanos Brittany October 21 2015 12 Great Songs That Wouldn t Exist Without the Weeknd Rolling Stone Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Weeknd Says Eminem Crashed Jay Z on Renegade Talks The Hills Remix Southpawer November 25 2016 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 via YouTube The Weeknd Says Eminem Destroyed The Hills Remix and Jay Z on Renegade Southpawer November 25 2016 Archived from the original on February 18 2019 The Weeknd Recalls Working With Daft Punk They re One of the Reasons I Make Music February 23 2021 Archived from the original on February 26 2021 a b c Hoby Hermione November 8 2012 The Weeknd Sounds and sensibility The Guardian Archived from the original on October 2 2013 a b Cohen Ian November 13 2012 The Weeknd Trilogy Pitchfork Archived from the original on January 7 2021 a b Considine J D November 17 2012 How The Weeknd became R amp B s next big thing The Globe and Mail Toronto Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Hogan Marc October 26 2012 The Weeknd Imbues Enemy With the Smiths Seductive Power Spin New York City Archived from the original on January 7 2021 MacInnes Paul November 15 2012 The Weeknd Trilogy review The Guardian London section G2 p 23 Archived from the original on October 30 2013 Morgan Nakiya July 15 2013 The Weeknd s Kiss Land Album Captures First Experiences Outside Of Toronto MTV News Archived from the original on November 10 2015 Robbins Winston December 7 2011 Rookie of the Year The Weeknd Consequence Archived from the original on January 12 2013 HD The Weeknd s Vocal Range D2 C6 Prettiboimico January 5 2013 via YouTube a b Macdonald Kyle March 22 2021 Is The Weeknd a good singer and what is his vocal range Classic FM Giorgis Hannah June 11 2015 The Weeknd s East African Roots Pitchfork Aswad Jem October 1 2020 Is the Weeknd Pop R amp B or Hip Hop Why the Distinction Matters at the Grammys Variety Retrieved February 15 2022 Grammys 2016 Preview The Weeknd D Angelo and More Soulful Singers Nominated for Best R amp B Song and Best Urban Contemporary Album Billboard February 13 2016 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Rise of the Weeknd I Want to Make Pop Cool Again Time Retrieved February 15 2022 Conteh Mankaprr March 22 2021 The Weeknd s The Party amp the After Party Paved the Way for our Genre less Future Rolling Stone Retrieved December 9 2021 The Weeknd s massive career was built on a foundation of dream pop and post punk Scarano Ross November 21 2019 Songs That Defined the Decade The Weeknd s House of Balloons Glass Table Girls Billboard Retrieved February 15 2022 Charlton Lauretta How the Weeknd Went From Underground Anonymity to Superstar in 5 Years According to His Collaborators Vulture Retrieved December 9 2021 It sounded like he was merging goth dark wave and R amp B with a punk rock sensibility It sounded like something completely new Berry Peter A The Weeknd Shines Brightly on Starboy XXL XXL Mag Retrieved February 15 2022 Feeney Nolan November 29 2016 The Weeknd s Starboy EW Review EW com Retrieved February 15 2022 McDuffie Candace March 24 2020 The Weeknd After Hours Consequence Archived from the original on March 24 2020 Herrera Isabella March 24 2020 The Weeknd After Hours Pitchfork Retrieved February 15 2022 DeVille Chris January 7 2022 Review The Weeknd s Dawn FM Is An Art Damaged Dancefloor Opus Inspired By Pandemic Purgatory Stereogum Retrieved February 15 2022 Mitchell Matt January 7 2022 Dawn FM Is The Weeknd s Grandest Synth Pop Gesture and a Thoughtful Rumination on Mortality Paste Retrieved February 15 2022 The Weeknd Sued over The Hills TMZ December 9 2015 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Renshaw David December 10 2015 The Weeknd sued over alleged similarities between The Hills and sci fi movie score NME Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Weeknd and Daft Punk Sued for Stealing Starboy TMZ September 18 2018 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Weeknd Denies Stealing Starboy Beat From Somali American Singer May 18 2019 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Brittain Blake September 8 2020 The Weeknd s Copyright Win Fails to Justify Attorneys Fees Bloomberg Industry Group Archived from the original on April 1 2021 O Connor Roisin April 4 2019 The Weeknd sued by British songwriters over A Lonely Night plagiarism accusations The Independent Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Malt Andy November 11 2019 The Weeknd has move to dismiss song theft lawsuit dismissed denied Complete Music Update Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Blistein Jon February 24 2020 Yeasayer Sue the Weeknd Kendrick Lamar Over Black Panther Song Rolling Stone Strauss Matthew July 10 2020 Yeasayer Drop Lawsuit Against the Weeknd Pitchfork Bloom Madison September 22 2021 The Weeknd and Nicolas Jaar Sued for Copyright Infringement Over Call Out My Name Pitchfork Robinson Kristin September 22 2021 The Weeknd Accused of Plagiarizing 2018 Song Call Out My Name Billboard Whitehead Joanna January 14 2019 The Weeknd s lyrics were homophobic who cares if it s sensitive to point that out The Independent Archived from the original on June 20 2022 Dodgson Lindsay January 14 2019 People are calling out The Weeknd for a homophobic new song that suggests lesbianism is a phase and he can f a girl straight Business Insider sncwchild November 27 2020 debunking two accusations against abel makkonen the weeknd tesfaye an informative thread Tweet via Twitter Aswad Jem July 22 2020 Watch The Weeknd s Wild Semi Autobiographical Anime Video for Snowchild Variety Retrieved November 4 2021 Watch The Weeknd face up to his past in animated Snowchild video NME July 22 2020 Retrieved November 4 2021 Movie References in The Weeknd s After Hours You Never Noticed www moviefone com Retrieved June 30 2021 Willman Chris September 10 2019 How the Weeknd Came to Play Himself in the Safdie Brothers Berserk Uncut Gems Variety Retrieved July 1 2021 Gwee Karen September 10 2019 The Weeknd recorded music with Oneohtrix Point Never intended for Uncut Gems NME Archived from the original on September 29 2019 SNL s On the Couch Song Is Brutal and Hilariously Relatable Fatherly March 9 2020 Retrieved June 30 2021 Pedersen Erik April 1 2020 American Dad Gets TBS Return Date Watch The Promo Deadline Hollywood Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Weeknd makes cameo appearance on Robot Chicken NME July 28 2020 Retrieved June 30 2021 The Weeknd to Co Create and Star in New HBO Series The Idol Pitchfork June 29 2021 Retrieved June 30 2021 Dailey Hannah March 7 2022 The Weeknd Announces Dream Cameo on The Simpsons Proud of This One Billboard Retrieved March 16 2022 Battan Carrie September 26 2013 The Weeknd Giving Away Kiss Land Condoms Pitchfork Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Hudson Alex September 26 2013 The Weeknd Gets His Own Kiss Land Condoms Exclaim Keating Lauren November 4 2015 The Weeknd Launches A Vape That Plays His Hit Single The Hills As You Smoke Tech Times Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Weeknd Gets Limited Version of Pax 2 Vaporizer Por Homme Pausr Media LLC November 13 2015 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Hasse Lemola November 14 2015 HYPEBEAST Exclusive WANGXO Apparel Collection Hypebeast Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Mench Chris September 29 2016 The Weeknd Partners With Puma as New Creative Collaborator and Ambassador Complex Networks Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Tucker Alexa May 4 2017 Where Are The Weeknd s Pop Up Shops If You Live in One Of These Eight Cities You re in Luck Bustle Archived from the original on January 7 2021 A Closer Look at The Weeknd x PUMA XO Collection Launch in NYC Hypebeast November 22 2017 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Christian Scott February 2 2017 The Weeknd and H amp M Team Up for the New Spring Icons Collection Esquire Yoo Noah January 8 2018 The Weeknd Cuts Ties With H amp M Over Deeply Offensive Photo Pitchfork Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Saponara Michael March 23 2018 Marvel Unveils The Weeknd Presents Starboy Comic Book Release Date Billboard Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Weeknd x BAPE Summer Capsule Collection Dropping August 4 Highsnobiety July 30 2018 BAPE x XO A Bathing Ape Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Stavropoulos Laura January 8 2020 The Weeknd Reveals Latest XO And BAPE Capsule Collection uDiscover Music Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Davidson Neil April 10 2019 The Weeknd signs on as part owner global ambassador of esports firm CBC News Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Weeknd Joins With TD Bank to Launch Black Hxouse Entrepreneurship Initiative Variety August 31 2020 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Trudeau announces cash for loans support to Black Canadian entrepreneurs CP24 September 9 2020 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Weeknd Teases Upcoming NFT Song The Weeknd will sell an unreleased song and visual art via NFT auction Tom Brady Announced Partnership With The Weeknd in the Best Way Possible FOX Sports Radio Retrieved March 22 2022 Carissimo Justin August 7 2016 The Weeknd donates 50 000 to language class at the University of Toronto The Independent Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Seacrest Ryan December 15 2015 major props to The Weeknd for dropping in on the kids at Ryan Seacrest Foundation Children s Healthcare of Atlanta in my hometown ATL Don t let my mom get u into any trouble tonight Facebook Archived from the original on January 7 2021 May Tracy Roa Ray December 18 2015 Concert review The Weeknd brings sin good times to Amalie Arena in Tampa Creative Loafing Tampa Bay Retrieved March 3 2022 he teamed up with Ryan Seacrest to cheer up patients at the Atlanta Children s Hospital Min Lilian August 7 2016 The Weeknd donated 50 000 to a cause dear to his heart HelloGiggles The Weeknd Donates 50 000 to St Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Toronto May 2 2016 Archived from the original on February 18 2021 theweeknd February 23 2015 special thanks to the trump towers in toronto endless inspiration in that condo Tweet via Twitter Goldstein Jessica May 27 2016 Trump Inspires The Weeknd To Cancel Jimmy Kimmel Performance ThinkProgress Center for American Progress Archived from the original on August 8 2016 The Weeknd Belly Cancel Kimmel Performance Because of Donald Trump Appearance Billboard Associated Press May 25 2016 a b Daly Rhian August 14 2016 The Weeknd has donated 250 000 to Black Lives Matter Time Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Malkin Marc The Weeknd Donates 100 000 to Health Center in Uganda E Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Weeknd Brings Back XO Face Mask For COVID 19 Relief HYPEBAE April 23 2020 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Aswad Jem June 29 2020 The Weeknd Donates 1 Million to MusiCares and His Hometown s Coronavirus Relief Variety Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Melas Chloe August 11 2016 The Weeknd donates 250 000 to Black Lives Matter CNN The Weeknd gives 250 000 to Black Lives Matter The Guardian August 11 2016 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 The Weeknd Donated 500K to Racial Justice Initiatives Please Give What You Can Even If It s a Small Amount Billboard June 2 2020 Archived from the original on January 7 2021 Aswad Jem June 2 2020 a, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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