The Weeknd

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Recognized for his light-lyric tenor vocal range, falsetto, alternative R&B sound, and cinematic visual storytelling, he is considered an influential figure in popular music and is among the best-selling and most-streamed artists of all time. His achievements include four Grammy Awards, 20 Billboard Music Awards, 22 Juno Awards, six American Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, a Latin Grammy Award, an Academy Award nomination, and eight RIAA diamond-certified singles.

Tesfaye was born on February 16, 1990, to Ethiopian immigrants Makkonen Tesfaye and Samrawit Hailu, who separated shortly after his birth. Raised in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough by his mother and grandmother, he grew up speaking Amharic and became fluent in French. After dropping out of high school at age seventeen, he relocated to Parkdale with friends, including his future creative director La Mar Taylor. During his youth, Tesfaye experienced period homelessness, incarceration, and drug use, working jobs at an American Apparel store and adopting his stage name after moving to Parkdale on a weekend.

Tesfaye began releasing music anonymously online in 2009. In 2011, he co-founded the XO record label and released three acclaimed mixtapes: House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence. After signing with Republic Records, he compiled these works into the 2012 compilation album Trilogy. He made his debut studio album release with Kiss Land in 2013, which debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200. He also contributed to major film soundtracks, notably earning an Academy Award nomination for "Earned It" from Fifty Shades of Grey.

With his second and third studio albums, Beauty Behind the Madness (2015) and Starboy (2016), Tesfaye blended alternative R&B with pop. Both records debuted atop the Billboard 200 and launched chart-topping singles such as "Can't Feel My Face", "The Hills", "Starboy", and "Die for You". He followed these with the 2018 EP My Dear Melancholy, featuring the top-ten hit "Call Out My Name". He later launched an album trilogy featuring After Hours (2020), Dawn FM (2022), and Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025). This era produced hit singles like "Heartless", "Save Your Tears", "Take My Breath", "Timeless", and "Blinding Lights"—the best-performing song in Billboard Hot 100 history and the most-streamed song on Spotify.

Beyond his music catalog, Tesfaye set the record for the highest-grossing tour by a male soloist with his After Hours til Dawn Tour (2022–2026). He co-created and starred in the HBO drama series The Idol (2023) and the film Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025). His additional projects include hosting the Apple Music 1 show Memento Mori from 2018 to 2022, serving as a World Food Programme goodwill ambassador since 2021, and advocating for food security and racial equality.