The Weeknd

1990–2008: Early life Abel Tesfaye (born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye) was born on February 16, 1990, in a city in Ontario, variously reported to be Toronto, or Scarborough. The only child of Ethiopian immigrants Makkonen Tesfaye and Samrawit Hailu, who separated shortly after his birth, he was raised in the suburb of Scarborough by his mother and grandmother. 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. In 2024 he legally removed his middle name. Tesfaye grew up speaking Amharic, and is also fluent in French, as he attended a French immersion school. He was further educated at West Hill Collegiate Institute and Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute. At seventeen, Tesfaye dropped out of school and relocated to an apartment in the neighbourhood of Parkdale with two friends, one of whom was La Mar Taylor—his best friend and now creative director. Living a hedonistic lifestyle with his friends, Tesfaye adopted his stage name because he left home on a weekend. He has also experienced homelessness and was incarcerated on several occasions during this time, which encouraged him to "smarten up, to focus". During this time, Tesfaye frequently engaged in drug use, including substances such as ketamine, cocaine, MDMA, magic mushrooms, and cough syrup, stating that drugs were a "crutch" for him when he wrote music. Before releasing music under his current stage name, he went under the alias "Kin Kane", as part of a hip-hop duo called "Bulleez n Nerdz", 2009–2014: Trilogy and Kiss Land in 2012 In August 2009, Tesfaye began anonymously releasing music on YouTube. The following year, he met the producer Jeremy Rose at a party. Rose asked Tesfaye if he wanted to work together as a dark R&B project after hearing him freestyle over an instrumental. After creating multiple songs and parting ways due to creative differences, Tesfaye was allowed to use the songs they made together under the condition that Rose received production credits. In December 2010, Tesfaye uploaded "What You Need", "Loft Music" and "The Morning" to YouTube under the username "xoxxxoooxo". His identity remained undisclosed initially. These songs gained attention online and were later acknowledged in a blog post by the rapper Drake. The songs subsequently received coverage from various media outlets, including Pitchfork and The New York Times. In 2011, Tesfaye met music executives Wassim "Sal" Slaiby and Amir "Cash" Esmailian, with whom, along with Taylor, he founded the XO record label. On March 21, Tesfaye released his debut mixtape, House of Balloons, which featured production from Illangelo and Doc McKinney. The mixtape also included tracks produced by Rose, although he did not receive production credits. Tesfaye started working with Drake in May, eventually earning a spot at the latter's OVO Fest on July 31. That month, Tesfaye held his first live performance at the Mod Club Theatre in Toronto, which received media attention for Drake being in attendance. In summer 2011, he also received media attention in the United States when his song "High For This" was featured in an ad campaign for the final season of HBO's "Entourage." 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". He released his third mixtape, Echoes of Silence, on December 21. It was a long-listed nominee for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize. and two sold-out shows at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. He also performed at various European festivals, such as Primavera Sound in Spain and Portugal and the Wireless Festival in the United Kingdom. In September, Tesfaye signed with Republic Records; XO was assumed as a subsidiary label. That same month, he embarked on his first concert tour, the Fall Tour, which included his own headlining shows and some opening shows for the English band Florence and the Machine. The tour was performed in North America in September to November. On November 13, Tesfaye released Trilogy, a compilation album comprising re-mixed and remastered versions of his 2011 mixtapes, and three additional tracks. The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 86,000 copies, and has received platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and double-platinum from Music Canada. It also earned Tesfaye a nomination for the Sound of 2013 poll award by BBC. in October 2013 On May 17, 2013, Tesfaye released the title track to his debut studio album, Kiss Land and announced the album's release date of September 10. Upon its release, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 96,000 copies and received generally positive reviews from music critics. Tesfaye further promoted the album with a fall tour that occurred in North America and England in September to November. In October 2013, Tesfaye was announced as the opening act for Drake's European leg of Would You Like a Tour?, lasting between February and March 2014. Between November 6 and 13, he served as an opening act for Justin Timberlake during The 20/20 Experience World Tour. He also contributed two songs to the soundtrack for the 2013 film The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, "Devil May Cry" and the soundtrack's second single, "Elastic Heart" with Sia and Diplo. In February 2014, Tesfaye released a remix of "Drunk in Love" from Beyoncé's eponymous studio album, and Ty Dolla Sign's "Or Nah". He announced the King of the Fall Tour in June, a 4-city tour of North America between September and October and was supported by Schoolboy Q and Jhené Aiko. In promotion of the tour, he released the songs "King of the Fall" and "Often" in July of that year. On August 25, Tesfaye collaborated with Ariana Grande on the song "Love Me Harder" from Grande's second studio album My Everything. It was later released on September 30 as the fourth single from the album, and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. 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 and only Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. 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. 2015–2016: Beauty Behind the Madness , 2015|alt=The Weeknd, sporting a Basquiat-like hairstyle, holds a microphone while his other hand points up as he performs. On May 27, 2015, Tesfaye released the second single from Beauty Behind the Madness, "The Hills". The single debuted at number twenty on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number one, becoming Tesfaye's second number-one single, following "Can't Feel My Face", which had reached the number one position before it, and by four years, was certified diamond by the RIAA, marking Tesfaye's first diamond-certified record. In June 2015, after winning the Centric Award at the BET Awards, Tesfaye performed "Earned It" with Alicia Keys. 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. 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 first number-one song in the United States. The song was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. Tesfaye 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. He was also unveiled as one of the musical faces of the streaming service Apple Music, alongside Drake. During the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, Apple debuted a two-part promotional commercial featuring Tesfaye, which had a guest appearance from John Travolta. In July, Tesfaye headlined the inaugural FVDED in the Park festival in Surrey, British Columbia. On June 29, Tesfaye was featured on Meek Mill's second studio album Dreams Worth More Than Money (2015), on the track "Pullin' Up". 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. It reached the top 10 in over ten countries and reached number one in Canada, Australia, Norway, and the United Kingdom. The album was promoted by Tesfaye headlining various summer music festivals, including Lollapalooza, the Hard Summer Music Festival, and the Bumbershoot Festival. He announced The Madness Fall Tour, his first large-scale tour across the United States, which began in November, and concluded in December. The album was certified double platinum in the U.S., and sold 1.5 million copies worldwide. It was the most-streamed album in 2015, with over 60 million streams, and was ranked on multiple lists of albums of the year. The three singles that preceded the album were certified platinum in the United States. The album won Best Urban Contemporary Album and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. On September 4, 2015, Tesfaye was featured on Travis Scott's debut album Rodeo, on the track "Pray 4 Love". On October 10, Tesfaye appeared on Saturday Night Live alongside actress Amy Schumer, performing as the show's musical guest. This was his first performance on the show as a solo artist, after appearing with Ariana Grande to perform "Love Me Harder". On December 18, Tesfaye was featured on Belly's single "Might Not" from his eighth mixtape Up For Days. On February 14, 2016, Tesfaye was featured on Kanye West's seventh studio album The Life of Pablo on the track "FML". It marked their second collaboration, with West previously writing and producing on Tesfaye's track "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. On April 23, he was featured on Beyoncé's sixth studio album Lemonade on the track "6 Inch". 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). 2016–2019: Starboy and My Dear Melancholy, during the Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour in 2017|300x300px|alt=The Weeknd looks slightly up in a pink-lit environment during a concert In September 2016, Tesfaye announced that his third studio album, Starboy, would be released on November 25, and included collaborations with now-disbanded French electronic music duo Daft Punk. He released the album's title track, which featured the duo on September 21. The song debuted at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number one, making it Tesfaye's third number-one single. As of March 2023, the song is certified Diamond by the RIAA. Their second collaboration, "I Feel It Coming" was released on November 24. The single peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. 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". 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". 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. As of January 2019, the album is certified triple platinum by the RIAA. The album won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, making it Tesfaye's second win in the category. On February 17, 2017, Tesfaye began his fifth concert tour, called Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour. The tour was in support of his third studio album Starboy, and concluded on December 14. He visited the continents Europe, On February 24, he appeared on Future's sixth studio album Hndrxx, on the song "Comin Out Strong". On April 19, Tesfaye appeared on the title track and second single from Lana Del Rey's fifth studio album. On July 30, 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". 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. On March 30, Tesfaye released his debut extended play My Dear Melancholy, after news of the project were teased and leaked. 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. On April 6, Tesfaye released the EP's lead single "Call Out My Name", which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. On April 13, he headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for the first time. He appeared in multiple festivals throughout 2018 to support the EP, most notably the Mawazine Festival in Morocco, Lollapalooza in both Chicago and Berlin, and a post-race concert at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. On June 6, 2018, Tesfaye announced his new Apple Music 1 radio show Memento Mori. The first episode was released two days later. He would later feature on two tracks from Travis Scott's third studio album, Astroworld, which were "Skeletons" and "Wake Up" on August 3. On November 21, he released his first greatest hits album The Weeknd in Japan. In support of the album and his EP My Dear Melancholy, he began his sixth concert tour, the Weeknd Asia Tour, a six-show tour of Asia during November and December. On January 11, 2019, Tesfaye was featured on Gesaffelstein's song "Lost in the Fire", the second single from his second studio album Hyperion. On April 18, he released "Power Is Power" with SZA and Travis Scott, the lead single from the Game of Thrones-inspired soundtrack. On August 30, during the Telluride Film Festival, he made his acting debut in the film Uncut Gems as himself. 2019–2021: After Hours and Super Bowl LV halftime show On November 24, 2019, Tesfaye teased his single "Blinding Lights" through a Mercedes-Benz commercial. 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. "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. "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. It also became the longest charting song by a solo artist on the Hot 100 at 90 weeks, ending the week of September 11, 2021. On November 23, 2021, "Blinding Lights" was ranked as the best-performing song in the Billboard Hot 100's history, surpassing "The Twist" by Chubby Checker. On January 1, 2023, it became the most streamed song on Spotify with 3.3 billion streams. 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. On March 7, he made his third appearance as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, alongside actor Daniel Craig. On the show, he starred in the skit "On The Couch" with actors Kenan Thompson and Chris Redd, performed "Blinding Lights", and debuted the track "Scared to Live". Tesfaye released the album's third single "In Your Eyes" on March 24. The track peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100. Upon release, After Hours debuted atop the Billboard 200, earning 444,000 units, marking Tesfaye's fourth consecutive number-one album. It became the most streamed R&B album of all time, surpassing Tesfaye's own Starboy. 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. The deluxe version of After Hours was released on March 29, 2020, and contained the tracks "Nothing Compares", "Missed You" and "Final Lullaby". On May 4, Tesfaye made a guest appearance on the American Dad! episode "A Starboy Is Born", also co-written by Tesfaye and featuring a song titled "I'm a Virgin". On July 27, he voiced three characters during the 200th episode of Robot Chicken. 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. 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. 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. On December 10, he performed at iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball. 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). at the Raymond James Stadium in 2021|alt=An aerial view of the Raymond James Stadium at daylight in 2021Tesfaye headlined the Super Bowl LV halftime show on February 7, 2021, becoming the first Canadian solo artist to headline the show. He reportedly spent US$7 million of his own money on the Super Bowl performance. Reviews of the performance were generally positive. 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. 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. Over 2021, Tesfaye reissued his three mixtapes in its authentic form with the original mixes and samples to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their release, with House of Balloons coming first in March. Thursday's reissue followed in August, and in December, Echoes of Silence was reissued. On April 23, Tesfaye released a remix of "Save Your Tears" with Ariana Grande, marking their third collaboration. The remix launched the song to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated May 8, 2021, becoming both artists' sixth number one hit. He later began to tease new music in the same month. 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". 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. 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". On May 28, he performed the remix of "Save Your Tears" at the iHeartRadio Music Awards with Ariana Grande. On July 22, he appeared on Belly's single "Better Believe" with Young Thug from his third studio album See You Next Wednesday. 2021–2023: Dawn FM in Paris.|alt=An extreme wide shot of the Weeknd performing with a durag in white-colored fashion as he sits down and performs on the staircase of the concert's setup. On August 2, 2021, Tesfaye released a snippet of new music on social media. He appeared on the cover of the September 2021 issue of GQ, marking the magazine's first global publication. Then, in a collaboration with NBC Sports and the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tesfaye announced the single "Take My Breath", which was released on August 6. 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. On October 4, during an episode of Memento Mori, Tesfaye revealed that his fifth studio album was complete and that he was waiting on a "couple characters that are key to the narrative." On October 18, Tesfaye announced that his upcoming tour, originally titled the After Hours Tour, would be held entirely in stadiums due to arena constraints and was scheduled to commence in July 2022. The tour was renamed as the After Hours til Dawn Tour, and would incorporate elements from his fourth and fifth studio albums. On October 22, 2021, Tesfaye appeared on Swedish House Mafia's single "Moth to a Flame" from their debut studio album Paradise Again. On November 5, he appeared on Post Malone's single "One Right Now" from his fourth studio album Twelve Carat Toothache. On November 11, he was featured on Rosalía's single "La Fama" from her third studio album Motomami. On December 16, Tesfaye was featured on FKA Twigs' single "Tears in the Club" from her debut mixtape Caprisongs. The next day, on December 17, he was featured on Aaliyah's single "Poison" from her posthumous album Unstoppable. Tesfaye released his fifth studio album Dawn FM on January 7, 2022. 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. 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. In addition to "Take My Breath", Dawn FM was supported by the singles "Sacrifice" and "Out of Time". On February 26, Tesfaye premiered The Dawn FM Experience, a television music special in partnership with Amazon Prime Video. .|alt=A night photograph of the entrance to the Weeknd's haunted house during Universal's Halloween Horror Nights, sported in red. On March 20, 2022, Tesfaye played in an episode of the cartoon The Simpsons. On April 18, he headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for the second time, performing alongside Swedish House Mafia. On July 8, his record of most number-one songs on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart was surpassed by fellow singer and would-be rival Chris Brown; Weeknd had 71 while Brown broke his record by 8 more. On July 26, Tesfaye announced that he would host a haunted house at Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood, as part of Universal's Halloween Horror Nights hosted every Halloween. Tesfaye appeared on the song "Creepin'" from Metro Boomin's album, Heroes & Villains, on December 2. His song "Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)", made for the film Avatar: The Way of Waters official soundtrack, was released on December 16. On February 24, 2023, following months-long renewed interest in and virality of Tesfaye's 2016 song "Die for You", which began charting in 2022 and reached a new peak of 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 6 years after its release, a remix of the song featuring Ariana Grande was released. The remix marked their fourth collaboration. In the Billboard Hot 100 issue dated March 11, the remix reached the top of the chart, becoming both artists' seventh number one hit. On February 27, in the wake of the remix's success, Tesfaye became the first artist to surpass 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify. On March 3, Tesfaye released his first live album, titled Live at SoFi Stadium. It featured recordings from his HBO concert film of the same name, showcasing the last concert of the North American leg of his After Hours til Dawn Tour at SoFi Stadium. He subsequently featured on four songs—"Artificial Intelligence", "Defame Moi", "More Coke!!", and "Emotionless"—from Mike Dean's album 4:23, released on April 29. On May 8, Tesfaye stated that he was intending to retire the moniker of "the Weeknd" in favor of performing under his birth name, or adopting a new pseudonym altogether. He explained that his upcoming album would most likely serve as his "final hurrah" under the name. 2023–present: The Idol and Hurry Up Tomorrow |alt=The Weeknd, in a tuxedo, slightly looks away from the camera. Tesfaye co-created the HBO drama series The Idol with Sam Levinson, and stars in the show alongside Lily-Rose Depp. The series premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival out of competition, where it received significant controversy for its graphic depiction of onscreen nudity and sexual content. The series debuted to widespread negative reviews from critics. The Hollywood Reporter stated that the series confirms the allegations that "Instead of subtly skewering the misogynistic and predatory nature of the business, The Idol became a forbidden love story — the stuff of a toxic man's fantasy", and called it "regressive rather than transgressive". He received negative reviews for his acting, with critic Robert Daniels of The Playlist writing, "Tesfaye is also a terrible actor. He lacks the comfortability, the gravitas, charisma, and charm to increase the viability of Jocelyn being attracted to him. In most scenes, Tesfaye either hides under the cover of dim lighting, obtrusive coverage, or re-recorded dialogue dubbed into several scenes." On August 28, 2023, HBO announced it had cancelled The Idol after one season. On June 8, 2023, Tesfaye announced a series of EPs featuring music from The Idol. Originally intended as a soundtrack album, each EP was released following the premiere of each episode of the show, which featured collaborations with Future, Playboi Carti, Madonna, Lil Baby, Lily-Rose Depp, and Jennie from the South Korean girl group Blackpink. Later in June he received an invitation from the Academy to become a member. On July 21, Tesfaye appeared on Travis Scott's lead single "K-pop" from his fourth studio album Utopia, and later appeared on another track on Scott's album, "Circus Maximus". Tesfaye appeared on Diddy's single "Another One of Me" on September 15, which he called his "final feature", despite releasing multiple collaborations with Metro Boomin and Future in 2024. Tesfaye first teased news of a follow-up album to Dawn FM in 2022, telling his fans: "[I] wonder... did you know you're experiencing a new trilogy?" via Twitter. On January 8, 2024, he further teased an upcoming album, posting pictures of his last two albums and a question mark on his social media. On March 22, he appeared on the track "Young Metro" from Future and Metro Boomin's collaborative album, ''We Don't Trust You'', as well as three tracks on Future and Metro Boomin's ''We Still Don't Trust You album two weeks later. He announced the title of his upcoming sixth album, Hurry Up Tomorrow, three days prior to the concert, and on September 13, released "Dancing in the Flames", which was then intended as the debut single from the album. Three days later, he released an acoustic version of the song. On September 27, Tesfaye released "Timeless", featuring previous collaborator Playboi Carti, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. On October 30, Tesfaye released "São Paulo", featuring Brazilian singer Anitta. The album was released on January 31, 2025. Upon release, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 490,500 units, including 359,000 pure album sales, the latter figure being the highest for any male artist since 2020. With this feat, Hurry Up Tomorrow marks his fifth Billboard'' 200 chart-topping album and his highest opening week sales by overall units in the country. The album also marked the second largest week opener of 2025 (after Morgan Wallen's ''I'm the Problem''), and the largest for any album since Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department (2024). On March 14, 2025, Tesfaye appeared on "Rather Lie" from Playboi Carti's third studio album, Music. Tesfaye starred alongside Jenna Ortega in a companion film Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025) directed by Trey Edward Shults, released on May 16 and widely criticized by critics, bombing at the box office bomb with grossing $7.6 million from its $15 million budget. Brandon Yu of The New York Times described the psychological thriller as being "all style and no substance". Charles Bramesco of IndieWire criticized Tesfaye's acting and writing, describing it as "modes of imitative, hollow performance, like a bad actor's varying notions of good acting". Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly criticized the overall film as being a "nearly plot-free movie, [that] is self-indulgent, overly serious, and, worst of all, just plain dull." IndieWire labeled it one of the "worst vanity projects ever made". On December 30, 2025, Tesfaye became the first artist on Spotify to have thirty songs with more than one billion streams each. == Artistry ==

Influences Tesfaye cites Michael Jackson, Prince, and R. Kelly as his main musical inspirations. He has attributed Jackson's music as key in spurring him to be a singer, referencing the lyrics to "Dirty Diana" as an example. 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. "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." Tesfaye has named Deftones as one of his influences during the making of House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence. He has also cited Lana Del Rey, David Bowie, the Smiths, Bad Brains, Talking Heads, DeBarge, 50 Cent, Wu-Tang Clan, and Eminem as influences and inspirations. 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..." Production and songwriting Tesfaye's songs are "built around a fogged, crepuscular production", and feature slow tempos, His music incorporates samples that are unconventional in R&B production, including punk, shoegaze, dream pop and alternative rock. 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. 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. In concert, Tesfaye reappropriates his digitized productions with a suite-like arena rock aesthetic. Tesfaye has stated that by singing vulgar, ignorant lyrics in an elegant, sexy way, he is "paying homage to R Kelly, and even Prince to a certain extent." Voice and music style Tesfaye often sings in a falsetto register. 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. Tesfaye often makes use of his head voice to build resonance to belt out strong high notes within the fifth octave. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked the Weeknd at number 110 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time. Tesfaye's discography spans pop, R&B, hip-hop, and dance genres. His earlier work is generally categorized as alternative R&B, due to its contributions in broadening the genre's musical palette to incorporate electronic and indie styles, while his later work gravitates towards electropop. 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." 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. His debut studio album Kiss Land is categorized as R&B and dark wave. His next three albums, Beauty Behind the Madness, Starboy and After Hours, are considered R&B and pop; with Starboy utilizing heavy trap influences, and After Hours drawing on new wave and dream pop influences. Tesfaye's fifth studio album Dawn FM explores dance-pop and synth-pop genres. == 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. 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. In September 2018, Tesfaye and Daft Punk were sued for allegedly stealing the rhythm for "Starboy" from Ethiopian poet and singer-songwriter Yasminah. Tesfaye denied the allegations. 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. In September 2019, the plaintiffs filed an amended claim based on secondary infringement, which is still in litigation. 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". Later that year, Yeasayer voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit. 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". 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". 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". Feuds Previously friends in the music industry, Tesfaye and Drake's dispute began in 2019, when the former disapproved of Drake's friendship with his ex-girlfriend, Bella Hadid. The feud intensified when Tesfaye echoed an alleged publication of Drake's hiding of his son from the media, specifically on the Gesaffelstein track, "Lost in the Fire". They squashed their dispute in 2022, a year after Drake defended Tesfaye's decision not to submit his music for Grammy award considerations. However, on March 22, 2024, the feud reignited when Tesfaye appeared on Future and Metro Boomin's collaborative album, ''We Still Don't Trust You'', on the track "All to Myself", which he thanked God that he "never signed [his] life away", referring to Drake's imprint, OVO Sound. Drake later involved Tesfaye in his ongoing feuds with Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar through his responding diss tracks, in the context of the highly publicized feud between him and the latter. Tesfaye was also involved in minor disputes with singer Usher and rapper Lil B. 2021 Grammys snub Following the release of the nominations at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in November 2020, Tesfaye accused the Grammys of corruption after he failed to receive any nominations. Based on the success of his album, After Hours, Tesfaye had been expected by many critics and publications to receive a large number of nominations, including Album of the Year as well as several nods for "Blinding Lights". Expressing his disappointment, Tesfaye tweeted "The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency...". He further explained that he was expecting nominations due to discussions between his team and the Grammys to perform at the ceremony but it was later reported by Rolling Stone that these discussions broke down due to Tesfaye also performing at the Super Bowl LV halftime show. In response, the Grammys released a statement saying that they "empathized" with Tesfaye's disappointment but that some "deserving" artists miss out every year. Recording Academy president Harvey Mason Jr. later expanded on this by explaining that "we understand that the Weeknd is disappointed at not being nominated. I was surprised and can empathise with what he's feeling. Unfortunately, every year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists. To be clear, voting in all categories ended well before the Weeknd's performance at the Super Bowl was announced, so in no way could it have affected the nomination process". Several days later, Tesfaye stated that "I personally don't care anymore. I have three Grammys, which mean nothing to me now, obviously. I suck at giving speeches anyways. Forget awards shows. It's not like, 'Oh, I want the Grammy!' It's just that this happened, and I'm down to get in front of the fire, as long as it never happens again". Halsey, a Weeknd collaborator, also spoke out in solidarity with Tesfaye after her 2020 album, Manic, received no nominations. Botox on "Save Your Tears" music video In 2021, Tesfaye was widely criticized by the media due to his use of a botox prosthetic on his "Save Your Tears" video. However, it has been revealed that his After Hours character wore a face bandage for the rest of the era due to undergoing a plastic surgery, which was first worn during the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards after only wearing a bandage on his blood-stained nose. This would later become an Internet meme among fans, comparing it to Kanye West and Handsome Squidward. 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". 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?". Tesfaye's response received widespread criticism, with some pointing out that in his 2011 song "Rolling Stone" he boasted about being recognized by the magazine. 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. == Other ventures ==

Endorsements and investments In 2013, Tesfaye collaborated with condom company ONE to give away limited-edition condoms at his shows during the Kiss Land Fall Tour. In November 2015, he partnered with electronic vaporizer company Pax Labs to release a limited edition vaporizer. He also collaborated with fashion designer Alexander Wang for an apparel collection. In 2016, Tesfaye became a creative collaborator and global brand ambassador for the clothing brand Puma. With the partnership, he released numerous capsule collections and hosted several pop-up retail stores. In 2017, Tesfaye partnered with retail company H&M for their men's collection. He cut ties with the company in 2018, following a racist incident within the company. In July 2018, Tesfaye collaborated with Marvel Comics to release a comic book inspired by his third studio album Starboy. In August, he released an apparel collection in collaboration with A Bathing Ape. A second collection was released in January 2020. 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. 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. On September 9, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a CA$221,000,000 joint venture with HXOUSE for Black Canadian entrepreneurs. 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. In October, he joined football player Tom Brady's NFT platform Autograph as a member of their board of directors. In 2022, Tesfaye invested in plant-based beverage brand Koia. Since 2023, Tesfaye, in partnership with Blue Bottle Coffee launched Samra Origins, a specialty coffee brand inspired by his Ethiopian heritage and which he named after his mother. A new coffee blend collection (the "Togetherness Blend") in collaboration with Nespresso was released in 2025. The same year, he partnered with Roblox to launch a limited avatar collection, as well as French football club Paris Saint-Germain FC to launch a limited capsule collection and kits under the XO branding, and Canadian baseball team Toronto Blue Jays for a limited merch collaboration during the 2025 World Series. In December 2025, Tesfaye secured a $1 billion deal with Lyric Capital, placing his music catalogue in a joint venture and allowing him “freedom to utilize the publishing and masters’ rights over the catalog." On January 22, 2026, HXOUSE announced a partnership with Point Park University to launch their "Creative Direction Credential Program", providing education for young artists in Pittsburgh, which began in March. XO |alt=The text "XO" is roughly written and the heart tops between the letters. In 2011, Tesfaye co-founded with managers Wassim Slaiby and Amir Esmailian, as well as creative friend La Mar Taylor, the XO record label. Its motto is "XO 'Til We Overdose" and has been frequently associated with OVO Sound, Drake's record label, of which the partnership has been sometimes labelled as "OVOXO". "XO", sometimes used as an emoticon for hugs and kisses, may refer to Tesfaye's recreational use of ecstasy and oxycodone. Tesfaye would later use the word as a suffix for his given name on social media (AbelXO). Nav, while 88Glam and Black Atlass were previously signed to the label. As of 2025, the label has eight number-one albums on the Billboard 200: six albums by the Weeknd and two albums by Nav. Memento Mori In June 2018, Tesfaye created the radio show Memento Mori under Apple Music 1 (then known as Beats 1). The show, which featured numerous guest artists, featured songs that inspired Tesfaye's album during recording processes. The guests would also make curated playlists and host their own episodes. The first episode, aired on June 8, featured songs that were inspired by "some very memorable nights." Tesfaye was at the time living in Paris when airing the first episode. For the former campaign, the ninth episode that aired on August 13, 2020, was made to celebrate Tesfaye's debut album Kiss Land (2013). These includes unreleased tracks that did not make part of the final release and a Lana Del Rey collaboration, as well as a track that would later be released as "Another One of Me" with Diddy. == 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. In May 2016, during Orthodox Easter, Tesfaye donated CA$50,000 to the St. Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Cathedral in Toronto, Canada, a church he attended growing up. In August 2016, he funded a new Ethiopian studies program at the University of Toronto. That same month, Tesfaye donated US$250,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation following numerous reports of police brutality in the United States. 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. 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. In addition, Tesfaye donated US$500,000 to MusiCares and CA$500,000 to the Scarborough Health Network. 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. He then urged other music executives, major record labels, and streaming services to donate to the cause as well. 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. 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. In May 2021, he was among the celebrities expressing more solidarity for civilians who died during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis. On September 23, Tesfaye was honored with the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award at the inaugural Music in Action Awards, presented by the Black Music Action Coalition. On January 9, 2024, Tesfaye partnered with the non-profit organization School on Wheels Inc. to support more than 1,000 students experiencing homelessness. To coincide with his concert in Brazil, Tesfaye released merchandise and will donate 10% of the net profits to the Brazilian Soul Fund of BrazilFoundation. 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. 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. Tesfaye was appointed as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the World Food Programme on October 7. On March 3, 2022, he partnered with the WFP to launch the XO Humanitarian Fund. Through the fund, Tesfaye was to 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. $2,500,000 from the XO Humanitarian Fund was directed toward WFP's humanitarian response efforts in the Gaza Strip, providing four million emergency meals for those affected by the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. On April 29, 2024, Tesfaye announced another $2 million donation to the WFP to provide loaves of bread in Gaza. In November 2025, he announced a donation of $350,000 in support of the WFP's response to Hurricane Melissa. == Personal life ==

Tesfaye prefers to keep his personal life out of the public eye. For the majority of his career until 2025, he refrained from participating in interviews and instead chose to communicate via Twitter, which he attributed to shyness and insecurities. He prefers to be interviewed only in rare situations. Tesfaye was raised as an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. 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." Tesfaye is a cinephile, and has made numerous movie references in his music videos and teasers. In April 2023, Tesfaye revealed that he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). From April 2015 to August 2019, Tesfaye was in an on-again, off-again relationship with American model Bella Hadid. She starred in the music video for his single "In the Night" in December 2015. He dated American singer and actress Selena Gomez from January to October 2017. Both of the relationships received widespread media attention, and were the topic of tabloid speculation. Tesfaye has been in a relationship with Saudi-born disc jockey Simi Khadra since February 2022. Publications noticed that unlike his previous romances with Hadid and Gomez, Tesfaye keeps his relationship with Khadra private from the press. 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. 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". also altering the handles on his social media to reflect his stage name in preparation for the release of the album. On social media, Tesfaye typically suffixed his first name with "xo", alluding to his record label, which is also often used as an emoticon for hugs and kisses. 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." As of August 2021, Tesfaye was residing in Bel Air, Los Angeles. 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. In October 2025, he purchased an estimated $54.9 million waterfront mansion in Coral Gables, Florida. Tesfaye previously lived in penthouse apartments in Westwood, Los Angeles, and New York City. == Accolades ==

Tesfaye has won four Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy Award, twenty Billboard Music Awards, six American Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and twenty-two Juno Awards. He has also received nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. 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". Toronto mayor John Tory announced that the city would observe February 7, 2021, as the Weeknd Day to commemorate Tesfaye's Super Bowl halftime performance. == Discography ==

Studio albums • Kiss Land (2013) • Beauty Behind the Madness (2015) • Starboy (2016) • After Hours (2020) • Dawn FM (2022) • Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025) == Filmography ==

• Uncut Gems (2019) • The Show (2021) • Live at SoFi Stadium (2023) • The Idol (2023) • Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025) • Rolling Loud (2026) == Tours ==

Headlining • 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 (2022–2026) Supporting • Florence and the Machine – Ceremonials Tour (2012) • Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience World Tour (2013) • Drake – Would You Like a Tour? (2014) Current touring musicians • Ricky Lewis – drums (2011–present) • Patrick Greenaway – lead guitar, backing vocals (2012–present), keyboards (2022–present), synthesizer (2020–present) • Mike Dean – synthesizer, guitar, keyboards, saxophone (2022, 2023–present) Former touring musicians • Adrian "Adrian X" Eccleston – lead guitar (2011) • Hill Kourkoutis – bass, keyboards (2011) • Nathaniel James – bass, keyboards (2012) • Daniel Jones – keyboards (2012–2013; died 2023) • Jonathan "Jonny Goood" Drummond – bass, keyboards (2012–2013) • Kelly Wolfgramm – backing vocals (2012–2013) • Muhsinah – backing vocals (2012–2013) • Ledaris "LJ" Jones – bass, keyboards, synthesizer (2013–2022) == See also ==