Felix Jaehn
The Weeknd (real name — Abel Makkonen Tesfaye; born February 16, 1990, Toronto, Canada) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer and actor of Ethiopian descent. He began his career in 2010 by anonymously uploading music online, first gaining recognition on the alternative R&B scene before breaking into global pop music by the middle of the decade. His biggest hits include «The Hills», «Can’t Feel My Face», «Starboy», «I Feel It Coming», «Call Out My Name», «Blinding Lights», «Save Your Tears», «Die for You», «Popular», «One of the Girls» and «Timeless».
The Weeknd’s early work had a noticeable impact on the development of alternative R&B in the 2010s. Slow electronic rhythms, a high vocal register, heavy bass lines and dark lyrics about addiction, sex and emotional detachment stood apart from the commercial R&B of the period. Later, The Weeknd retained these themes while placing them within a larger pop framework that incorporated synth-pop, new wave, disco and contemporary electronic pop. «Blinding Lights» became the most-streamed song in Spotify history, a status the service still confirmed in 2026.
Childhood in Scarborough
Abel Tesfaye grew up in Scarborough, an eastern district of Toronto. His parents had emigrated to Canada from Ethiopia and separated shortly after their son was born. His father was largely absent from his life. His mother worked long hours, so Abel’s maternal grandmother played an important role in raising him.
Amharic was Abel Tesfaye’s first language. Ethiopian music was frequently played at home, especially Aster Aweke, Mulatu Astatke, Mahmoud Ahmed and other artists. The Weeknd later connected elements of his own vocal style to the music he heard in his family: melodic turns unusual for American R&B and his characteristic vibrato were, in his view, part of his East African musical background.
Another major influence was Michael Jackson. His impact is particularly noticeable in The Weeknd’s upper register and falsetto, although Abel Tesfaye gradually developed his own vocal phrasing.
Leaving school and the first songs
In 2007, at the age of seventeen, Abel Tesfaye dropped out of school. Together with his friend La Mar Taylor, he left home and spent some time living in the Parkdale neighborhood. This period was associated with drugs, casual jobs and an unstable lifestyle. Tesfaye later said that drug use in his early years was not only part of the lifestyle around him, but also a way of staying in the studio and working for several days at a time.
Many details from that period later found their way into his songs, but treating The Weeknd’s early lyrics as literal autobiography would be misleading. Abel Tesfaye mixed personal experience with fictional situations, creating a separate character — a charismatic, selfish and often self-destructive figure of nightlife.
The name The Weeknd is connected to the period when Abel left home. One letter e was removed from the word Weekend so that the name would not coincide with an existing Canadian band called The Weekend.
Early recordings and anonymity
In 2010, Abel Tesfaye began recording with Toronto producers. One of his earliest collaborators was Jeremy Rose. In the autumn, the songs «What You Need», «Loft Music» and «The Morning» appeared on YouTube with almost no information about the performer.
The Weeknd did not show his face publicly and gave no interviews. For a time, listeners did not even know whether the name referred to one person or a group. Anonymity quickly became part of the project’s early identity.
The recordings caught the attention of Drake, who by then was already one of Toronto’s leading new artists. He began sharing The Weeknd’s music with his audience. Abel Tesfaye later contributed to Drake’s album Take Care and appeared on the track «Crew Love».
House of Balloons
On March 21, 2011, The Weeknd released his first mixtape, House of Balloons, as a free download. It defined the sound of his early period.
R&B remained the foundation, but the production moved far beyond its conventional boundaries. The music incorporated elements of dream pop, trip-hop, post-punk and experimental electronic music; samples of Siouxsie and the Banshees and Beach House appeared alongside hip-hop rhythms. Pitchfork named the release Best New Music, drawing particular attention to the unusual genre blend within R&B at the time.
Key tracks included «High for This», «What You Need», «House of Balloons / Glass Table Girls», «The Morning», «Wicked Games» and «The Knowing».
House of Balloons also established the main themes of The Weeknd’s early work: drugs, nightlife, casual sex, jealousy, emotional coldness and the emptiness that follows pleasure. The contrast came from the voice — soft and melodic against much harsher lyrical content.
Thursday and Echoes of Silence
Two more free releases followed later in 2011. Thursday appeared in August, while Echoes of Silence was released in December.
Thursday continued the direction of the first mixtape but became heavier in mood. Drake appeared on «The Zone». On Echoes of Silence, The Weeknd handled pop material more freely; the release opened with «D.D.», his version of «Dirty Diana» by Michael Jackson.
The three mixtapes were released within nine months and later came to be regarded as a unified early cycle in The Weeknd’s career.
Trilogy and signing to a major label
In 2012, The Weeknd signed with Republic Records. In November, House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence were remastered and released together as Trilogy.
Each part received one additional song: «Twenty Eight», «Valerie» and «Till Dawn (Here Comes the Sun)». Since the core material had already existed, Trilogy is more accurately described as a compilation of the three mixtapes rather than The Weeknd’s debut studio album.
During this period, The Weeknd also began performing regularly. At first, live performance was more difficult for him than studio work. After one of his early major appearances at Coachella, Abel Tesfaye decided to increase the number of concerts so he could become more comfortable performing in front of large audiences.
Kiss Land
The Weeknd’s first studio album, Kiss Land, was released in September 2013.
He did not immediately reshape his music for radio. Kiss Land continued the atmosphere of the early recordings with long compositions, dense electronic layers, restrained vocals and a persistent sense of anxiety. The earlier themes were joined by the experience of life as a touring artist — unfamiliar cities, hotels and the psychological effects of rapidly growing fame.
The album included «Professional», «The Town», «Belong to the World», «Live For» featuring Drake, «Wanderlust», «Pretty» and the title track «Kiss Land».
Commercially, the record was much more modest than his later albums. Afterward, The Weeknd began searching for a way to preserve his atmosphere within a more accessible pop structure.
Beauty Behind the Madness
The first signs of a new direction appeared in 2014. The Weeknd recorded «Love Me Harder» with Ariana Grande and «Earned It» for the film Fifty Shades of Grey.
On August 28, 2015, his second studio album, Beauty Behind the Madness, was released. One of his most important new collaborators was Swedish pop producer Max Martin.
The songs became shorter, the choruses more direct and the vocal melodies noticeably closer to mainstream pop. The subject matter, however, changed very little: The Weeknd continued to write about addiction, sex and destructive relationships.
«Can’t Feel My Face» and «The Hills» both reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also included «Often», «Acquainted», «In the Night», «Shameless», «As You Are», «Prisoner» featuring Lana Del Rey and «Dark Times» featuring Ed Sheeran.
Beauty Behind the Madness won a Grammy in the contemporary R&B album category, while «Earned It» earned The Weeknd another Recording Academy award. The official Grammy archive credits the artist with four wins from fourteen nominations.
Starboy
On November 25, 2016, The Weeknd released Starboy.
The electronic production became brighter, with elements of synth-pop, funk and new wave. Particularly important was the collaboration with Daft Punk. The French duo participated in two tracks — the title song «Starboy» and the album closer «I Feel It Coming».
«Starboy» topped the Billboard Hot 100. Other notable songs included «Party Monster», «Reminder», «Secrets», «Sidewalks» featuring Kendrick Lamar and «Die for You».
«Die for You» experienced a second wave of popularity several years after its original release, driven by streaming platforms and social media. In 2023, a remix featuring Ariana Grande was released.
Starboy earned The Weeknd another Grammy, in the Progressive R&B Album category.
My Dear Melancholy,
After the large-scale pop album Starboy, The Weeknd returned to a more intimate format. On March 30, 2018, without a lengthy promotional campaign, he released the six-track EP My Dear Melancholy,.
Its sound is closer to the artist’s early work: cold electronic production, restrained arrangements and lyrics about separation, resentment and emotional dependence.
The main hit was «Call Out My Name». Producers included Frank Dukes, DaHeala, Mike WiLL Made-It and Gesaffelstein.
After Hours
At the end of 2019, The Weeknd released «Heartless» and «Blinding Lights». Both singles appeared on his fourth studio album, After Hours, released on March 20, 2020.
Here, The Weeknd combined R&B with 1980s synth-pop and new wave. Max Martin and Oscar Holter were responsible for the record’s brightest pop side, Metro Boomin and Illangelo preserved links to hip-hop and the darker earlier sound, while Daniel Lopatin — Oneohtrix Point Never — added experimental electronic textures.
The album also included «In Your Eyes», «Faith», «Escape from LA», «After Hours» and «Save Your Tears».
The album was accompanied by a unified visual storyline. At award ceremonies, in music videos and during television performances, The Weeknd appeared in a red jacket, first with a bloodied face and later with his face wrapped in bandages. This image belonged specifically to the After Hours era and was not a permanent part of the artist’s appearance.
The Blinding Lights record
«Blinding Lights» was released in November 2019, but its success lasted far longer than a typical single cycle.
The song set several Billboard Hot 100 records and later topped the publication’s all-time ranking of songs on the chart.
In December 2022, «Blinding Lights» became Spotify’s most-streamed song, overtaking «Shape of You» by Ed Sheeran. In 2025, it became the first song in the platform’s history to surpass five billion streams. As of April 2026, Spotify still listed it as the most-streamed track in the history of the platform.
Super Bowl LV
On February 7, 2021, The Weeknd performed during the halftime show at Super Bowl LV in Tampa.
Unlike many halftime shows from previous years, he did not share headlining duties with another artist. The set included songs from different stages of his career — from «House of Balloons» to «Starboy», «The Hills», «Can’t Feel My Face», «I Feel It Coming», «Earned It», «Save Your Tears» and the closing «Blinding Lights».
The performance marked the end of the most active phase of the After Hours visual storyline.
Dawn FM
On January 7, 2022, The Weeknd released his fifth studio album, Dawn FM.
It is structured as a broadcast from a fictional radio station guiding a deceased listener through a kind of purgatory. Jim Carrey voices the host. Quincy Jones, Tyler, the Creator and Lil Wayne also appear on the album.
Musically, the record moved even further into retro-futuristic synth-pop and disco. Many of the songs are linked by transitions, so Dawn FM was designed primarily as a complete album experience.
The main songs of the period included «Take My Breath», «Sacrifice», «Out of Time», «Gasoline», «Is There Someone Else?» and «Less Than Zero».
After Hours Til Dawn Tour
The Weeknd had originally planned to tour after After Hours, but the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted those plans. The concept was completely rebuilt: instead of arenas, the artist moved to stadiums and combined material from several albums in one program.
The After Hours Til Dawn Tour began on July 14, 2022, in Philadelphia. North America was followed by Europe, Latin America, Australia, another North American leg and concerts in 2026.
The tour became the highest-grossing R&B tour in history. According to Billboard Boxscore, by August 2025 it had grossed $635.5 million and sold 5.1 million tickets. After ticket sales began for the 2026 dates, the artist’s team announced that the tour had surpassed $1 billion in revenue, with more than 7.5 million tickets sold.
The Idol
In 2023, Abel Tesfaye moved into television. Together with Sam Levinson and Reza Fahim, he created the HBO series The Idol, in which he played Tedros, a nightclub owner and cult leader.
The project generated controversy even before its premiere and received predominantly negative reviews from critics. HBO did not renew the series after its first season. The Weeknd later acknowledged that the difficult production process prevented the original concept from being fully realized.
The music associated with the series proved more successful than the show itself. The Weeknd released songs as the episodes aired. The most notable were «Popular» with Madonna and Playboi Carti, and «One of the Girls» with JENNIE and Lily-Rose Depp.
Hurry Up Tomorrow
On January 31, 2025, The Weeknd released his sixth studio album, Hurry Up Tomorrow. It completed the trilogy that began with After Hours and continued with Dawn FM. Billboard reported that the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 490,000 equivalent album units in the United States during its first week.
After Hours focused on the self-destruction of its central character, Dawn FM placed him in an intermediate space between life and death, while Hurry Up Tomorrow turns toward the image of The Weeknd itself as a stage persona created by Abel Tesfaye.
Production involved The Weeknd, Mike Dean, Oneohtrix Point Never, Max Martin, Oscar Holter and other collaborators. Guest artists included Playboi Carti, Anitta, Travis Scott, Future and Lana Del Rey.
Key tracks include «Timeless», «São Paulo», «Cry for Me», «Wake Me Up», «Open Hearts», «The Abyss» and the title track «Hurry Up Tomorrow». Abel Tesfaye was actively involved not only in songwriting but also in producing the material.
The Hurry Up Tomorrow film
The album was followed by a feature film of the same name. Hurry Up Tomorrow was released theatrically on May 16, 2025, with Abel Tesfaye in the lead role.
One of the story’s starting points came from a real incident in September 2022, when The Weeknd lost his voice during a concert in Los Angeles and was forced to stop the performance. The artist later connected the incident to severe psychological and physical exhaustion. The crisis of a stage persona became a central theme shared by both the film and the album.
The future of the name The Weeknd
While working on Hurry Up Tomorrow, Abel Tesfaye repeatedly said that he was considering ending the story of The Weeknd and releasing future music under his own name.
Because of this, the album was often described as «the final The Weeknd album», but that description is no longer accurate.
In August 2026, during a concert in Stockholm, the artist said that he had changed his mind about abandoning the stage name. Hurry Up Tomorrow therefore closes a specific album trilogy and a particular stage in the history of the character, but it is not a confirmed ending for The Weeknd as a project.
Musical style
The Weeknd’s earliest recordings are usually classified as alternative R&B, although their sound was broader than a single genre from the beginning. House of Balloons combined contemporary R&B with dream pop, post-punk, trip-hop and experimental electronic music. The arrangements left substantial open space, while The Weeknd’s high voice contrasted with heavy bass and blurred samples.
With Beauty Behind the Madness, the songs acquired a clearer pop structure, but the lyrics remained far removed from conventional romantic songwriting. Even in his most accessible hits, The Weeknd’s central character remains addicted, jealous, emotionally closed off or unable to maintain healthy relationships.
Starboy strengthened the electronic component. After Hours and Dawn FM brought 1980s synth-pop, new wave and disco to the foreground. On Hurry Up Tomorrow, these elements are combined with contemporary R&B, hip-hop and cinematic arrangements.
A defining feature of The Weeknd’s music is the contrast between melody and subject matter. A danceable, outwardly light song may be about addiction, fear, loneliness or self-destruction. «Blinding Lights» and «Save Your Tears» are among the best-known examples of this approach.
His voice is equally distinctive. Abel Tesfaye uses a high tenor and falsetto but does not build his parts around showy technique. Melody, vibrato and sustained phrasing are more important. The Weeknd himself has linked aspects of his style not only to American R&B and Michael Jackson, but also to the Ethiopian music he heard at home as a child.
Songwriter and producer
Abel Tesfaye has been directly involved in writing almost all of The Weeknd’s core discography. At different stages, he has worked alongside producers including Doc McKinney, Illangelo, DaHeala, Max Martin, Oscar Holter, Metro Boomin, Mike Dean, Oneohtrix Point Never and others.
Over time, The Weeknd’s role in studio production expanded noticeably. On later releases, he is increasingly credited as both writer and producer. This is especially evident in the credits for Hurry Up Tomorrow.
Charitable work
In October 2021, Abel Tesfaye became a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations World Food Programme. In March 2022, together with the organization, he created the XO Humanitarian Fund. His initial personal contribution was $500,000, while part of the proceeds from After Hours Til Dawn ticket sales was also directed to the fund.
By May 2024, The Weeknd, his partners and fans had raised $6.5 million through the fund. The money was directed toward food assistance in Ethiopia and the Gaza Strip. Fundraising later continued alongside the stadium tour.
Awards and records
The Weeknd has won four Grammy Awards from fourteen nominations. Works recognized by the Recording Academy include Beauty Behind the Madness, Starboy, «Earned It» and the Kanye West and Lil Baby collaboration «Hurricane».
His major commercial achievements include the Spotify record held by «Blinding Lights», the long-running presence of The Weeknd’s songs on the Billboard Hot 100 and the results of the After Hours Til Dawn Tour. A project that began with independent internet releases and the alternative R&B club scene grew over fifteen years into a global stadium touring act.
The Weeknd discography
- House of Balloons — mixtape, 2011
- Thursday — mixtape, 2011
- Echoes of Silence — mixtape, 2011
- Trilogy — compilation of three mixtapes, 2012
- Kiss Land — studio album, 2013
- Beauty Behind the Madness — studio album, 2015
- Starboy — studio album, 2016
- My Dear Melancholy, — EP, 2018
- After Hours — studio album, 2020
- Dawn FM — studio album, 2022
- Hurry Up Tomorrow — studio album, 2025
Over fifteen years, The Weeknd repeatedly changed both the sound and scale of his music while preserving themes already present on the early mixtapes. House of Balloons, the stadium-sized synth-pop of After Hours and the conceptual Hurry Up Tomorrow belong to different periods, but they are linked by distinctive melodic writing, Abel Tesfaye’s voice and a continuing fascination with the darker side of pleasure, fame and human relationships.
