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 Jacksonâs 1979 hit
"Donât Stop âtil You Get Enough," describing it as "the song that helped
me find my voice. Itâs the reason I sing.â
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 âCanât Feel My Face.â His follow-up album, Starboy (2016), also won a Grammy and featured collaborations with artists such as Daft Punk.
Before adopting the stage name 'the Weeknd', Tesfaye released music using the aliases 'the Noise' and 'Kin Kane', the former of which was leaked in May 2011. He stated that his current stage name was chosen in tribute to the time he left school, took his mattress, and "left one weekend and never came home".
In 2015, the Weeknd continued his rise to the top with the No. 1 album Beauty Behind the Madness. His disco-pop infused single âCanât Feel My Face,â which could be about a romantic experience or drug use, became for many the unofficial song of the summer, while his ballad âThe Hillsâ 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."
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.
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.
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" â which became his fourth track to top the Billboard Hot 100 â and "Blinding Lights," ahead of the March 2020 release of the album After Hours.