The Weeknd
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (Amharic: አቤል መኮንን ተስፋዬ; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer and songwriter.[2][3] He is known for his unconventional music production, artistic reinventions, and signature use of the falsetto register.
"Weeknd" redirects here. For other uses, see Weekend (disambiguation).
The Weeknd
February 16, 1990
- The Noise
- Kin Kane[1]
- Singer
- songwriter
- record producer
- actor
- businessman
2009–present
- Vocals
- keyboards
Tesfaye began releasing music anonymously in 2009. He co-founded the record label XO and released the mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence in 2011, which gained recognition for its style of contemporary and alternative R&B and the mystery surrounding his identity. In 2012, Tesfaye signed with Republic Records and re-issued the mixtapes for his compilation album Trilogy. He explored the dark wave genre for 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. His 2014 single "Earned It" from Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
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 in addition to a nomination for Album of the Year. Experimenting with multiple genres led to his third album, Starboy (2016), which also saw commercial success. It included the US number-one eponymous lead single (featuring Daft Punk) and "Die for You", earning it the Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album. Tesfaye returned to alternative R&B with his debut extended play, My Dear Melancholy (2018), which contained the US top-ten single "Call Out My Name". He explored new wave and dream pop with his fourth studio album, After Hours (2020), which featured the chart record-setting single "Blinding Lights" along with two US number-one singles, "Heartless" and "Save Your Tears". Tesfaye began exploring dance-pop, leading to his fifth album, Dawn FM (2022), which included the US top-ten single "Take My Breath". In 2023, he co-created and starred in the drama series The Idol, which was critically panned, although its accompanying soundtrack found modest commercial success.
One of the world's best-selling music artists with over 75 million records sold, Tesfaye holds several streaming and Billboard chart records. He is the first Canadian artist to earn four diamond-certified singles from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and is the first artist to simultaneously hold the top three spots on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "Blinding Lights" became the most-streamed song in Spotify history, the best-performing song in the Billboard Hot 100's history and the longest-charting song by a solo artist on the Billboard Hot 100. Tesfaye was listed by Time as one of the world's most influential people in 2020 and was dubbed the "world's most popular artist" by Guinness World Records in 2023. An advocate for racial equality and food security, he was appointed a World Food Programme Goodwill Ambassador in 2021. His accolades include four Grammy Awards, 20 Billboard Music Awards, 22 Juno Awards, six American Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, a Latin Grammy Award and nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Life and career
Early life
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye[a] was born on February 16, 1990, in Toronto, Ontario.[4][5] The only child of Ethiopian Amhara immigrants Makkonen Tesfaye and Samrawit Hailu,[b] who separated shortly after his birth,[7][8] he was raised in the suburb of Scarborough by his mother and grandmother.[5][9]
Tesfaye's patronymic is spelled "Makkonen" instead of the traditional Ethiopian name "Makonnen". The similarity with the Finnish surname Makkonen is pure coincidence. The spelling of Tesfaye's patronymic might be the result of a typographic error or a new form of the traditional name.[10]
Tesfaye has an estranged relationship with his father, telling Rolling Stone in 2015 that, "I saw him vaguely when I was six, and then again when I was eleven or twelve, 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".[8]
Tesfaye was raised as an Ethiopian Orthodox.[8][11] He is proficient in Amharic, his native language acquired from his grandmother.[12] He attained fluency in French by attending a French immersion school.[13] He was further educated at West Hill Collegiate Institute and Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute.[14]
When he was seventeen, Tesfaye dropped out of school and relocated to an apartment in the neighbourhood of Parkdale with two friends, one of whom is La Mar Taylor—his best friend and now creative director.[15] He has described this period as being like the 1995 film Kids "without the AIDS", as they lived a hedonistic lifestyle.[5][16] He has also experienced homelessness and was incarcerated on several occasions during this time, which encouraged him to "smarten up, to focus".[17][18] During this time, Tesfaye frequently engaged in drug use, including substances such as ketamine, cocaine, MDMA, magic mushrooms, and cough syrup,[19] stating that drugs were a "crutch" for him when he wrote music.[20]
2009–2011: Career beginnings
In August 2009, Tesfaye began anonymously releasing music on YouTube.[21][22] 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 tracks–"What You Need", "Loft Music" and "The Party & The After Party"—along with others that featured Tesfaye's vocals, but were eventually abandoned. Rose allowed Tesfaye to retain the produced tracks under the condition that he would receive credit for his contributions.[23] In December 2010, Tesfaye uploaded "What You Need", "Loft Music" and "The Morning" to YouTube under the username "xoxxxoooxo".[24][25] His identity remained undisclosed initially. These songs gained attention online and were later acknowledged in a blog post by the rapper Drake.[23][26] The songs subsequently received coverage from various media outlets, including Pitchfork and The New York Times.[27]
Before adopting the stage name 'the Weeknd', Tesfaye released music using the aliases 'the Noise' and 'Kin Kane', the former of which was leaked in May 2011.[8][28] He stated that his current stage name was chosen in tribute to the time he left school, took his mattress, and "left one weekend and never came home". However, Rose claims the name was his idea.[11][29] The omission of the final 'e' was intentional to avoid trademark issues with the Canadian pop rock band the Weekend.[30] At the onset of his career, Tesfaye worked at American Apparel. Owing to his anonymous status, his colleagues unknowingly enjoyed his music without realizing it was him.[c]
In 2011, Tesfaye met music executives Wassim "Sal" Slaiby and Amir "Cash" Esmailian, with whom, along with Taylor, he founded the XO record label.[34] On March 21, Tesfaye released his debut mixtape, House of Balloons,[d] which featured production from Illangelo and Doc McKinney. The mixtape also included tracks produced by Rose, although he did not receive production credits.[23] House of Balloons was named as one of the ten shortlisted nominees for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize.[38] On August 18, Tesfaye released his second mixtape, Thursday, which garnered usually positive reviews.[39] His third mixtape, Echoes of Silence, was released on December 21. It was a longlisted nominee for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize.[40][41]
In July 2011, Tesfaye held his first live performance at the Mod Club Theatre in Toronto.[42] After the performance, Tesfaye discussed with Drake about collaborations, which led to the former earning an appearance at the latter's OVO Festival.[43] He also participated in concerts hosted by the Black Student Association at the University of Toronto.[33] Tesfaye contributed to four songs on Drake's second studio album, Take Care, released on November 15, as a songwriter, producer and a featured artist on the album's seventh single, "Crew Love".[44]
Controversies
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.[284] 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.[285] In September 2018, Tesfaye and Daft Punk were sued for allegedly stealing the rhythm for "Starboy" from Ethiopian poet and singer-songwriter Yasminah.[286] Tesfaye denied the allegations.[287]
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.[288] In September 2019, the plaintiffs filed an amended claim based on secondary infringement, which is still in litigation.[289][290]
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".[291] Later that year, Yeasayer voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit.[292] 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".[293][294]
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".[295][296] Tesfaye subtly 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".[297][298]
The Idol allegations
On March 1, 2023, Rolling Stone released a lengthy exposé on the working conditions and set life of the HBO drama series The Idol, a series in which Tesfaye stars, co-created and co-wrote alongside Sam Levinson. The series received significant controversy for its graphic depiction of sexual content which critics labeled "torture porn". The series was originally directed by Amy Seimetz who suddenly "exited with roughly 80 percent of the six-episode series finished". The series saw a major creative overhaul, as it was reported that Tesfaye felt the show had too much of a "female perspective". Over 14 crew members alleged a toxic work environment with one adding "What I signed up for was a dark satire of fame and the fame model in the 21st century..." however, "It went from satire to the thing it was satirizing." Sources alleged that Seimetz's approach to the story was scrapped and the show became "like any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show — and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better".[299]
In response to the allegations, Tesfaye mocked the reporting on his Twitter account, posting a clip of the characters in the show discussing the magazine saying, "Rolling Stone? Aren't they a little irrelevant?". Tesfaye posted the comment in the caption: "@Rolling Stone did we upset you?".[300][301] Tesfaye's response received widespread criticism.[302] In an interview with Vanity Fair, he continued to dismiss the reporting, saying that logistical difficulties with Seimetz's schedule and production timelines, as well as a desire not to rush his first show, propelled the overhaul.[303]
Other ventures
Acting
Tesfaye is a cinephile, and has made numerous movie references in his music videos and teasers.[304][305] On August 30, 2019, during the Telluride Film Festival, he made his acting debut in the film Uncut Gems.[306]
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.[307] On May 4, he co-wrote and starred in an episode of American Dad!.[308] In July, he voiced three characters during the 200th episode of Robot Chicken.[309]
On June 29, 2021, Tesfaye announced that he would be co-creating, co-writing, executive producing and starring in the HBO television drama series The Idol, alongside his producing partner Reza Fahim and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson.[310] On March 20, 2022, Tesfaye voiced two characters during an episode of The Simpsons.[311]
In 2023, it was announced that Tesfaye is co-writing a film with Trey Edward Shults, who is attached to direct; Tesfaye is also set to star in the film, alongside Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan.[312][313]
Business
In 2013, Tesfaye collaborated with condom company ONE to give away limited-edition condoms at his shows during the Kiss Land Fall Tour.[314][315] In November 2015, he partnered with electronic vaporizer company Pax Labs to release a limited edition vaporizer.[316][317] He also collaborated with fashion designer Alexander Wang for an apparel collection.[318] In 2016, Tesfaye became a creative collaborator and global brand ambassador for the clothing brand Puma.[319] With the partnership, he released numerous capsule collections and hosted several pop-up retail stores.[320][321]
In 2017, Tesfaye partnered with retail company H&M for their men's collection.[322] He cut ties with the company in 2018, following a racist incident within the company.[323] In July 2018, Tesfaye collaborated with Marvel Comics to release a comic book inspired by his third studio album Starboy.[324] In August, he released an apparel collection in collaboration with A Bathing Ape.[325][326] A second collection was released in January 2020.[327]
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.[328]
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.[329] On September 9, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a CA$221,000,000 joint venture with HXOUSE for Black Canadian entrepreneurs.[330]
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.[331][332] In October, he joined football player Tom Brady's NFT platform Autograph as a member of their board of directors.[333]
Personal life
Tesfaye prefers to keep his personal life out of the public eye.[360][361] 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.[362] He prefers to be interviewed only in rare situations.[363] 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."[364]
From April 2015 to August 2019, Tesfaye was in an on-again, off-again relationship with American model Bella Hadid.[365][366] She starred in the music video for his single "In the Night" in December 2015.[367] He dated American singer-actress Selena Gomez from January to October 2017.[368][369] Both of the relationships received widespread media attention, and were the topic of tabloid speculation.[370][371][372] Tesfaye has been in a relationship with Saudi-born disc jockey Simi Khadra since February 2022; publications have noted that unlike his previous romances, he has kept his relationship with Khadra private from the press.[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.[8][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".[8] 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 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."[380]
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.[381][382] He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to complete fifty hours of community service.[383]
As of August 2021, Tesfaye was residing in Bel Air, Los Angeles.[384][385] 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.[386] Tesfaye previously lived in penthouses in Westwood, Los Angeles[387][388] and New York City.[389][390]
In April 2023, Tesfaye revealed that he has ADHD.[391]
Studio albums
Headlining
Supporting
Touring members[g]