The Weeknd

Who Is The Weeknd?

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye — known to the world as The Weeknd — is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He was born on February 16, 1990, in Scarborough, Toronto, Canada.

His voice is haunting. His music is dark. His influence is undeniable.

He first gained recognition with his 2011 mixtape House of Balloons, which showcased his unique blend of atmospheric R&B and dark, introspective lyrics.

Since then, he has sold over 75 million records worldwide. He has launched seven number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including “Blinding Lights,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” “Starboy,” and “The Hills.”

Furthermore, in March 2023, The Weeknd made history as the first musician to reach 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify, and was named the most popular artist in the world by Guinness World Records.

He is not just a musician. He is a cultural phenomenon.

Early Life: A Scarborough Story of Isolation and Ambition

Ethiopian Roots in a Canadian Suburb

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye was born on February 16, 1990, in Scarborough, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. He is the only child of Makkonen and Samra Tesfaye, who were Ethiopian migrants to Canada in the 1980s.

His parents separated when he was a baby. His mother and maternal grandmother raised the artist, and his mother worked numerous jobs to support them. She often worked as a nurse and caterer while attending night school.

His father later abandoned the family, prompting his maternal grandmother to take care of him. This allowed him to become fluent in Amharic, with the Semitic language acting as his first language.

He spoke English in school and learned it further by watching television. He also attended a French-language school for a time.

Loneliness, Church, and Ethiopian Culture

Growing up, Abel spent a great deal of time alone. He and his grandmother would listen to Ethiopian music, which further influenced his mysterious and evocative music style. She also took him to services at an Ethiopian Orthodox church.

These early experiences of isolation shaped him deeply. They gave his music its core emotional honesty — a feeling of longing, of searching, of being somehow apart from the world.

Dropping Out and Taking a Leap

The Weeknd attended West Hill Collegiate Institute and Birchmount Collegiate Institute. However, school did not hold his attention.

When he was in grade 11, he quit school and left home, devoting himself to unbridled partying. He moved to the Parkdale neighbourhood of Toronto. This period was marked by homelessness, experimentation with drugs, and a fierce desire to create something original.

The stage name “The Weeknd” comes from the weekend he reportedly left home as a teenager to pursue music. The missing “e” was intentionally removed to avoid trademark conflicts and create a unique artist name.

Career: The Rise of a Global Superstar

The Anonymous Uploads That Started It All (2010)

Tesfaye gained initial recognition in 2010 through anonymous mixtapes uploaded online. He uploaded songs to YouTube without his real name. There were no press releases. There were no label deals. There was only the music — raw, dark, and unlike anything else on the internet.

The internet responded immediately. Music blogs and fans spread his work rapidly. The mystery surrounding his identity only deepened the intrigue.

The Mixtape Trilogy (2011) and Trilogy (2012)

He released three nine-track mixtapes throughout 2011: House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence, which were critically acclaimed. The following year, he released a compilation album, Trilogy — thirty tracks consisting of remastered versions of the mixtape material and three additional songs. It was released under Republic Records and his own label XO.

These mixtapes established his sound. They were cinematic, nocturnal, and confessional. Moreover, they proved that dark, atmospheric R&B could captivate millions of listeners.

Kiss Land (2013): The Debut Studio Album

In 2013, he released his debut studio album Kiss Land, which was supported by the singles “Kiss Land” and “Live For.”

The album solidified his reputation as a serious artist. It also confirmed that his sound was uniquely his own.

Beauty Behind the Madness (2015): Mainstream Arrival

2015 was the year The Weeknd truly arrived. Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), featuring hits “Can’t Feel My Face” and “The Hills,” propelled him to mainstream stardom, with the former earning a Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album.

The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. It proved that his dark sound could dominate pop radio. Furthermore, it introduced him to millions of listeners who had never heard a mixtape in their lives.

Starboy (2016): Reinvention and More Records

The Weeknd won a Grammy in 2018 for Starboy (2016) in the Best Urban Contemporary Album category.

Starboy featured a collaboration with Daft Punk. It showcased a sleeker, more electronic sound. The title track became one of his most recognizable songs. Nevertheless, his artistic evolution was just beginning.

My Dear Melancholy EP (2018): Heartbreak in Pure Form

Fans of The Weeknd’s older work were treated to a brief return to form on the 2018 EP My Dear Melancholy, which explored his breakups with singer Selena Gomez and model Bella Hadid.

The EP was raw. It was vulnerable. It was one of his most personal works. Therefore, it resonated deeply with fans who had followed his journey from the very beginning.

After Hours (2020): “Blinding Lights” Changes Everything

2020 marked the beginning of The Weeknd’s second trilogy. “Blinding Lights” became the longest-charting song in Billboard Hot 100 history and one of the most-streamed songs of all time.

The Super Bowl LV halftime performance in February 2021 brought his music to one of the largest audiences in television history. It was a moment that cemented his place among the all-time greats.

He also publicly criticized the Grammy Awards that year. He called the Grammys “corrupt” after not receiving any nominations for his successful album After Hours. Consequently, he decided to boycott the awards show and would not submit future music for consideration.

Dawn FM (2022): A Nostalgic Radio Journey

With 2022’s Dawn FM, Tesfaye chose a nostalgic radio show as a framing device to deliver moody meditations on fame, life, and death. The album was a critical and commercial success, setting a new Billboard Global 200 chart record and pushing The Weeknd to number one for top Spotify listeners.

The album confirmed that The Weeknd was not simply chasing hits. He was building worlds.

Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025): The Final Chapter

Hurry Up Tomorrow earned a staggering 490,500 equivalent album units in its opening week, making it the biggest debut of 2025. That marks the largest week for any album since Taylor Swift‘s The Tortured Poets Department debuted at number one in May 2024.

The 22-song album features several major special guests, including pioneering producer-composer Giorgio Moroder, Anitta, Justice, Travis Scott, Florence + the Machine, Future, Lana Del Rey, and Playboi Carti.

The album is the final installment of The Weeknd’s trilogy that started with After Hours (2020) and Dawn FM (2022).

Acting Career: From Cameos to Starring Roles

Uncut Gems (2019)

The Weeknd made his acting debut with a memorable cameo appearance in the Adam Sandler-led thriller Uncut Gems. It was a small role. But it signaled a genuine interest in the craft of acting.

The Idol — HBO (2023)

The Weeknd co-created the HBO drama The Idol along with his producing partner Reza Fahim and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson. In the show, he played a manipulative music mogul who takes control of Lily-Rose Depp, playing a struggling pop star named Jocelyn.

Hurry Up Tomorrow — Feature Film (May 2025)

Hurry Up Tomorrow is a 2025 American psychological thriller film starring Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye as a fictionalized version of himself. Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan also star. The film was directed by Trey Edward Shults and written by Shults, Tesfaye, and Reza Fahim. In the film, Tesfaye, struggling with depression and insomnia, gets pulled into an existential odyssey by a mysterious fan.

His next project similarly drew on his musical roots. In May 2025, he produced and starred in the psychological thriller Hurry Up Tomorrow. Tesfaye played a fictionalized version of himself on the verge of a breakdown after losing his voice. The story is inspired by his real-life experience losing his voice onstage in 2022.

Tours: A Live Legacy Written in Sold-Out Stadiums

After Hours Til Dawn Tour (2022–2025)

Initially announced in February 2020, the tour was delayed by COVID-19. He hit North America in 2022, Europe and South America in 2023, Australia in 2024, and circled back to the United States and Canada in 2025. The global outing supports After Hours, Dawn FM, and Hurry Up Tomorrow, all of which peaked at number one on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart soon after release.

This year’s North American stadium leg featured over 40 sold-out shows and set the highest attendance records by a Black male artist at venues in New York, Denver, Santa Clara, Seattle, Edmonton, Montreal, Orlando, Arlington, and Houston.

The tour is on track to become the highest-grossing North American tour of the year, on pace to gross over $400 million.

Discography: A Legacy in Six Albums

Year	Project	Type	Chart Peak	Notable Tracks
2011	House of Balloons	Mixtape	—	“What You Need,” “The Morning”
2011	Thursday	Mixtape	—	“Lonely Star”
2011	Echoes of Silence	Mixtape	—	“Montreal”
2012	Trilogy	Compilation	—	Remastered mixtape catalog
2013	Kiss Land	Studio Album	US #2	“Kiss Land,” “Live For”
2015	Beauty Behind the Madness	Studio Album	US #1	“Can’t Feel My Face,” “The Hills”
2016	Starboy	Studio Album	US #1	“Starboy,” “I Feel It Coming”
2018	My Dear Melancholy	EP	US #1	“Call Out My Name,” “Try Me”
2020	After Hours	Studio Album	US #1	“Blinding Lights,” “Save Your Tears”
2022	Dawn FM	Studio Album	US #1	“Take My Breath,” “Gasoline”
2025	Hurry Up Tomorrow	Studio Album	US #1	“Dancing in the Flames,” “Timeless”

Awards and Records: A Hall of Fame Career

The Weeknd has won four Grammys, even as he has boycotted the show since 2021. He has also earned 19 Billboard Music Awards, 9 Juno Awards, and 2 MTV Video Music Awards.

He became the first artist in history to have 24 songs with over 1 billion streams each on Spotify.

In his home country, The Weeknd set a record for performing the most shows by a Canadian male artist at Toronto’s Rogers Centre in August.

He set the highest attendance records by a Black male artist at multiple major venues across the United States.

In 2023, Guinness World Records officially named him the world’s most popular artist — a title he earned through data, not debate.

Philanthropy: Using Fame for Good

He has donated millions of dollars to humanitarian organizations supporting food security, disaster relief, global health initiatives, and communities affected by conflict. Through partnerships with the United Nations World Food Programme and other charitable organizations, he has consistently demonstrated a commitment to using his platform for meaningful social impact.

After the concert cancellation in Los Angeles, The Weeknd donated $1 million to the LAFD Foundation, GoFundMe’s Wildfire Relief Fund, and the LA Regional Food Bank.

He also donates regularly to Ethiopian relief efforts, showing great pride in his heritage.

Personal Life: Private but Well-Documented

Relationships

Before meeting Khadra, The Weeknd was in an on-again, off-again relationship with model Bella Hadid. The pair first met when he asked her to be on the cover of his album Beauty Behind the Madness.

He also dated pop star Selena Gomez. The 2018 EP My Dear Melancholy explored his breakups with singer Selena Gomez and model Bella Hadid.

The Weeknd is currently in a relationship with DJ and beauty entrepreneur Simi Khadra. The couple started dating in 2022 and were first spotted kissing at the singer’s birthday party that year. They have kept their relationship relatively private but made a rare public appearance together at Coachella in 2023.

The End of “The Weeknd”?

The Weeknd is officially gearing up for what looks like the end of one chapter and the start of another, teasing his final album under his birth name Abel Tesfaye while lining up a massive 2026 global tour.

However, he has also walked back the retirement of the persona. The singer has gone back and forth about whether his Hurry Up Tomorrow movie will mark the end of his long-running musical alter ego, saying: “It could also just be a rebirth.”

Whatever comes next, the world is watching.