The Weeknd, originally Abel Tesfaye, broke into the music scene with the 2011 mixtape House of Balloons. He went on to work with Drake, Wiz Khalifa and others, while building his own career as an artist. In 2015, the Weeknd enjoyed huge success with the Grammy-winning album Beauty Behind the Madness, which boasted the hit single “Can’t Feel My Face.” His follow-up album, Starboy (2016), also won a Grammy and featured collaborations with artists such as Daft Punk.

Early Years

Born Abel Tesfaye on February 16, 1990, in Toronto, Canada, the Weeknd has become one of the music industry's leading alternative R&B performers. He is the son of Ethiopian immigrants but has had little contact with his father, who left the family when the Weeknd was only a toddler. His early musical influences ranged from traditional Ethiopian music to the "King of Pop," Michael Jackson. In an interview with Vanity Fair, the Weeknd specifically cited the impact of Jackson’s 1979 hit "Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough," describing it as "the song that helped me find my voice. It’s the reason I sing.”

Mixtapes, Albums & Songs

'House of Balloons'

Never shy about displaying his vocal talents, the Weeknd started recording his efforts while in high school. After dropping out, he continued exploring his interest in music, and released a free download called House of Balloons in 2011. This, along with two more mixtapes, helped push his career forward. He worked with Drake on his 2011 album, Take Care, which featured several tracks from House of Balloons, and landed a deal with Universal’s Republic Records.

'Trilogy'

The Weeknd’s earlier mixtapes were re-released as 2012’s Trilogy, which became a platinum-selling record for the young artist. Despite his growing popularity, he managed to hide himself from the public at large. The Weeknd refused interviews for a long time and chose to use images of women for his 2013 album, Kiss Land, rather than pictures of himself. Some of the mystique he built around himself was intentional, but it also reflected the shyness and insecurities that troubled him early in his career.

In addition to his own work, the Weeknd collaborated with other artists. He appeared on Wiz Khalifa’s “Remember You” in 2012 and worked with Rick Ross on his 2014 album, Mastermind. That same year, the Weeknd helped producer Max Martin with Ariana Grande’s hit “Love Me Harder,” and also scored success with “Earned It,” the first single released from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack.

'Beauty Behind the Madness' and Grammy Wins

In 2015, the Weeknd continued his rise to the top with the No. 1 album Beauty Behind the Madness. His disco-pop infused single “Can’t Feel My Face,” which could be about a romantic experience or drug use, became for many the unofficial song of the summer, while his ballad “The Hills” also made quite an impression on music fans.

This well-received record helped the Weeknd rack up an impressive seven nominations for the 2016 Grammy Awards, winning for Best R&B Performance for "Earned It" and Best Urban Contemporary Album. He also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song, also for "Earned It."

'Starboy'

In late November 2016, the Weeknd released his third album, Starboy. Along with guest appearances by Lana Del Rey, Future and Kendrick Lamar, the studio effort prominently featured French electronic duo Daft Punk, who collaborated on the chart-topping title track and its follow-up single, "I Feel It Coming."

The following year, the Weeknd reciprocated some of the guest contributions by appearing on albums for Del Rey and Future. He then took home the Best Urban Contemporary Album Grammy for Starboy in early 2018.

'My Dear Melancholy'

In late March 2018, the Weeknd dropped My Dear Melancholy. Featuring the single "Call Out My Name," the EP marked a return to the darker, gloomier sound that permeated the artist's earlier music. Shortly after the EP's release, the Weeknd headlined the two-weekend Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, along with Beyoncé and Eminem.

'After Hours'

The Weeknd returned to the spotlight in 2019 by making his feature film debut in the Adam Sandler flick "Uncut Gems." Later that year he was back to making headlines with his music, dropping the singles "Heartless" — which became his fourth track to top the Billboard Hot 100 — and "Blinding Lights," ahead of the March 2020 release of the album After Hours.

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. His high-flying vocal style was influenced by Ethiopian singers such as Aster Aweke. He grew up listening to a variety of music genres, including soul, hip hop, funk, indie rock, and post-punk. 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."

Production and songwriting

Tesfaye's songs are "built around a fogged, crepuscular production", and feature slow tempos, rumbling bass, and forlorn echoes. 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.

Voice and music style

Tesfaye often sings in a falsetto register, exhibiting an enticing tone. 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 possesses a wide light-lyric tenor vocal range, which spans over three octaves. His vocal range reaches its extreme low at the bass F (F2), and its peak high at the tenor G♯ (G♯5), with a natural tessitura within the upper fourth octave. Tesfaye often makes use of his head voice to build resonance to belt out strong high notes within the fifth octave. Tesfaye's vocals have a recognizable Ethiopian characteristic. Hannah Giogis of Pitchfork notes that "his trademark vibrato, the characteristically pained whine that pervades much of Tesfaye's music, draws from a long Ethiopian musical legacy of tortured pining. Imbuing our voices with the shaky pain of loss—romantic or otherwise—is a hallmark of Ethiopian musical tradition. Tesfaye, with his staccato wails and aching nostalgia, is a young, North American addition to a dynasty of melodramatic Ethiopian singers." In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked the Weeknd at number 110 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

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".

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 then overwent a major creative overhaul. 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. 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

Acting

Tesfaye is a cinephile, and has made numerous movie references in his music videos and teasers. On August 30, 2019, during the Telluride Film Festival, he made his acting debut in the film Uncut Gems.

On March 7, 2020, during his third appearance as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, he starred in the skit "On The Couch" with actors Kenan Thompson and Chris Redd. On May 4, he co-wrote and starred in an episode of American Dad!. In July, he voiced three characters during the 200th episode of Robot Chicken.

On June 29, 2021, Tesfaye announced that he would be co-creating, co-writing, executive producing and starring in the HBO television drama series The Idol, alongside his producing partner Reza Fahim and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson. On March 20, 2022, Tesfaye voiced two characters during an episode of The Simpsons.

In 2023, it was announced that Tesfaye was going to star in a film with Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan attached, and Trey Edward Shults announced to direct.

Business

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.

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 Church in Toronto, Canada, a church he attended growing up. In August 2016, he funded a new Ethiopian studies program at the University of Toronto.

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.

Personal life

Tesfaye is known to be very private, and prefers to keep his personal life out of the public eye. In the beginning of his career, he refrained from participating in interviews and instead chose to communicate via Twitter, which he attributed to shyness and insecurities. To this day, he is still adamant about not participating in interviews, only agreeing to be interviewed in rare situations.

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-actress Selena Gomez from January to October 2017. Both of the relationships received widespread media attention, and were the topic of tabloid speculation.

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". He cut his hair in 2016, prior to the release of Starboy. On social media, Tesfaye typically suffixed his first name with "xo", which is often used as an emoticon for hugs and kisses. According to The Guardian's Hermione Hoby, this was his intention, though others believe it was a reference to his recreational use of ecstasy and oxycodone. He later altered the handles on his social media to reflect his stage name in preparation for the release of Starboy.

In January 2015, Tesfaye was arrested for allegedly punching a police officer in Las Vegas after being taken into an elevator to break up a fight. He pleaded no contest and was sentenced to complete fifty hours of community service.

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. Tesfaye previously lived in penthouses in Westwood, Los Angeles and New York City.

In April 2023, Tesfaye revealed in an interview with Interview Magazine that he has attention deficit disorder.