Weeknd

Weeknd
4.7
Discuss
Name:
Weeknd
Real name:
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye
Who is:
,
Birth date:
(35 y.o.)
Place of birth:
Toronto, Canada
Height:
5'7 ft ()
Weight:
165 lb (75 kg)
Relationship:
single
Birth Sign:
(characteristic)
Chinese zodiac:

Weeknd - Biography

The Weeknd is a Canadian musician, rapper, producer, and songwriter who initially rose to fame as an anonymous YouTube artist. He's known for hit singles like "Starboy" and "I Feel It Coming." A two-time Grammy winner and Oscar nominee. Since 2017, he's topped Forbes' list of the 30 highest-paid musicians under 30, earning over $90 million annually.
The Weeknd
The Weeknd

Childhood and youth

The musician's real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye. He was born and raised in Toronto. A third of the city's population at that time consisted of immigrants, including his parents - Makkonen and Samra Tesfaye. In the late 1980s, they moved to Toronto from civil war-torn Ethiopia.
The Weeknd childhood photo
The Weeknd childhood photo
The Tesfaye family settled in Scarborough, one of the poorest areas in Toronto. Soon after Abel was born, his father left the family. The boy was raised by his grandmother, who shared stories about their Ethiopian homeland and Amharic traditions, while his mother worked long hours. You can still see an amulet on the musician's chest that connects him to his roots.

Growing up in the inner city, the future musician started smoking weed at 11 and got into stealing. By 17, he was completely out of control and hooked on harder drugs.
The Weeknd in his youth
The Weeknd in his youth
In 2007, Abel dropped out of school and rented a small apartment with a friend. From dusk till dawn, the friends took drugs and listened to music.

Career

From early childhood, the future singer was inspired by Prince and R. Kelly, with Michael Jackson as his idol. As a teenager, Abel dreamed of becoming a famous performer but had no idea how to make it happen. He tried creating bands and writing music and lyrics, but all his attempts seemed to fade against the massive success of Justin Bieber and other pop stars dominating the charts.
The Weeknd in the beginning of his career
The Weeknd in the beginning of his career
Living independently, Abel got a job as a sales consultant at a fashion store and performed in nightclubs in the evenings. At one of these parties, he met musician and producer Jeremy Rose, who became interested in the aspiring artist's work and offered to collaborate.

Together with Jeremy, Abel recorded three tracks. Rose's instrumentals perfectly complemented Abel's clean, melodic vocals. In 2010, the project was named "The Weeknd." Abel chose this pseudonym to commemorate the period when he started living alone and left school. As the musician explained, he "left home at the weekend and didn't come back." The singer deliberately omitted a letter in his pseudonym in order to avoid litigation with the Canadian band The Weekend.

The collaboration with Rose looked promising at first, but eventually they hit a conflict of interest. In December 2010, Abel cut ties with the producer. Then he posted the tracks What You Need, Loft Music, and The Morning on Youtube. One of his songs caught the attention of the already-established Drake.
The Weeknd – High For This (Toronto 2011)
In winter 2011, The Weeknd released his debut album House of Balloons on YouTube, featuring his best songs. With support from fans and Drake, who gave the musician free studio time, Abel prepared a concert program and went on his first tour in July.
The Weeknd - House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls (Vevo Presents)
When he returned he recorded two more mixtapes Thursday and Echoes of Silence. Together with the first record they were included in the compilation Trilogy (2012). The album captured the musician's identity — pure angelic vocals paired with brutally cynical lyrics. The record was about depression, drugs and sex.
Abel Tesfaye if the real name of The Weeknd
Abel Tesfaye if the real name of The Weeknd
After a major concert tour across the United States and several performances at Europe's biggest festivals, Abel began working on a full-length studio album in 2012.
House of Balloons cover
House of Balloons cover
The Kiss Land album was officially released on September 10, 2013, and earned its rightful place among the year's top five records. The song "Devil May Cry" became part of the soundtrack for the blockbuster The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, boosting The Weeknd's popularity.
Weeknd and Drake
Weeknd and Drake
After the movie hit theaters in 2013, many popular performers took notice of Abel's music and started reaching out for collaborations. From late 2013 to early 2014, The Weeknd joined Justin Timberlake on his world tour, worked with Sia and Beyoncé, and recorded a collaboration with Ariana Grande.
Ariana Grande & The Weeknd – Love Me Harder
In December 2014, the song "Earned It" was released to the public. It became part of the soundtrack for the hit melodrama Fifty Shades of Grey and won an Oscar for Best Original Song. The song was part of the album Beauty Behind the Madness, which dropped in summer 2015.
The Weeknd - Earned It (50 Shades of Grey OST)
The record shot to the top of the charts in the USA, Canada, Australia, and the UK. In December it was called the most-streamed album of 2015 and ranked fifth in the Rolling Stone magazine rating.

The legendary album Starboy dropped in fall 2016. The musician created a short film directed by Grant Singer to support the record. Fans had explosive reactions not only to the new music but also to the singer's dramatic image change — Abel cut off his signature dreadlocks.
Madonna and Weeknd (2016)
Madonna and Weeknd (2016)
Around this time, the artist kept collaborating with other musicians — his collaborations with Kanye West, Beyoncé, and the French band Daft Punk created major buzz in the music industry, and the Weeknd's creative duets with American rapper Future and singer Lana Del Rey were also successful.
The Weeknd on a stage (2017)
The Weeknd on a stage (2017)
In 2017, it was announced that the singer would join Rihanna's world tour, but ultimately the Weeknd changed his mind and focused on recording his next album. He later admitted he'd lost a lot of money but still felt he'd made the right choice.

Private life

The singer's private life is a hot topic on social media, with fans just as fascinated by his love life as his meteoric career. It's no surprise considering he's been linked to two of the world's most desirable women — an American top model Bella Hadid and a popular singer and actress Selena Gomez.

Abel met Bella in 2015 at Coachella, the trendy festival that draws celebrities from around the world every year. The Weeknd was deeply impressed by her pure beauty and offered the girl to take part in his video for the track In The Night. The collaboration worked its magic, and the two started dating.
Weeknd and Bella Hadid
Weeknd and Bella Hadid
In 2016 they took part in the Victoria's Secret Show. Fans admired the couple and kept an eye on the development of the relationship with great interest. However, their romantic bliss was short-lived, and Bella and Abel split after a year and a half.
The Weeknd at Victoria's Secret show
The Weeknd at Victoria's Secret show
In January 2017, the artist was spotted with Selena Gomez. The pair had dinner at a Los Angeles restaurant, and it was clearly more than business. The new couple stopped hiding their relationship and took a romantic trip to Florence. They appeared together at several public events, but after just a few months, they unexpectedly announced their breakup. Officially, conflicting work schedules were blamed for ending their relationship.
Weeknd and Selena Gomez
Weeknd and Selena Gomez
In 2018, Gomez briefly reunited with Justin Bieber, while the Weeknd rekindled things with Bella Hadid. The couple was together for over a year and even discussed marriage, but in August 2019, they split again.

Still, they've remained on friendly terms, staying in touch through calls and social media. Based on Instagram photos, Abel attended Bella's 23rd birthday celebration. After releasing his album After Hours, fans speculated that the track "Heartless" was about Hadid, suggesting the singer was trying to rekindle old feelings.

The Weeknd now

In March 2020, The Weeknd dropped his fourth album After Hours, which immediately shot to the top of global charts just like his previous releases. Most tracks dive into his past — exploring what might have been if he'd become a different person and fixed the mistakes of his youth.
The Weeknd - Heartless
The album's visual narrative ties directly into the crime thriller Uncut Gems, where Abel played "himself from 2011." The film also features soundtracks written by The Weeknd, with Adam Sandler starring as the lead character.
The album launch came with a limited merch drop — hoodies, T-shirts, and hats featuring the After Hours logo. They were created by leading sportswear designers and world-famous fashion brands.
Today, The Weeknd has nearly achieved his ambitious goal of becoming music's new king — his earnings reach tens of millions of dollars. In 2017 the singer topped the Forbes "thirty" in the rating of sports and show business stars under 30 years old.
The singer regularly donates to organizations that promote and preserve Ge'ez, the traditional language of Ethiopia's native population. Abel also champions the fight against Black community discrimination and even cut ties with a major global clothing brand over a racist photo they posted on their website.

Weeknd: latest news and articles