History Music / TheWeeknd

Just under a year after the final mixtape released, Tesfaye signed with Republic Records in a joint venture with his own imprint "XO"[[note]]a [[DoubleEntendre reference to both]] "hugs and kisses" and "ecstasy (X) and oxycodone (O)"[[/note]], his first release as a signed artist being an UpdatedRerelease of the mixtape trilogy. He would continue his career with more official studio works, collaborations with other artists, and work for films and TV both in music (''Film/FiftyShadesOfGrey'', ''Film/TheHungerGamesCatchingFire'', ''Series/GameOfThrones''), acting (''Film/UncutGems'', ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken''), and a little bit of both (''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', ''Series/TheIdol'').

When he started out, a moniker that orbited close to Tesfaye was "[[http://www.elle.com/pop-culture/best/30-under-30-the-essential-names-to-know-655416-10#slide-10 the next]] Music/MichaelJackson", but since his meteoric rise to stardom, he's struck out as a contemporary artistic voice all of his own. Among his mass commercial success, he currently stands as the world's single most popular artist ([[https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2023/3/the-weeknd-is-officially-the-worlds-most-popular-artist-741774 as deemed by Guinness World Records]]), currently having 107.5 million monthly Spotify listeners[[note]]as of April 15, 2023; he is also the first artist to reach 100 million listeners[[/note]], the most of any artist on the platform.

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990 in [[UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}} Toronto, Ontario]]), better known as The Weeknd[[note]]modified to avoid copyright issues with the Canadian band The Weekend, and inspired in part by the manner in which he dropped out of high school and moved away from home -- essentially leaving one ''weekend'' and never coming back[[/note]], is a Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer. He is known for his distinctive voice (often used in a falsetto register) and his music's pairing of unconventional production and lyrics detailing the dark side of the hedonistic celebrity lifestyle.

* NotSafeForWork: The majority of his music videos features some nudity and a lot of violence. "Pretty" and "Twenty-Eight" are under [=YouTube=]'s age barrier, and "False Alarm" has a ContentWarning for very graphic violence.

* FriendsWithBenefits: The protagonist of ''Dawn FM'' tries to be this with his love interests in both "Sacrifice" and "Best Friends". It does not work out in either case.

Just under a year after the final mixtape released, Tesfaye signed with Republic Records in a joint venture with his own imprint "XO"[[note]]a [[DoubleEntendre reference to both]] "hugs and kisses" and "ecstasy (X) and oxycodone (O)"[[/note]], his first release as a signed artist being an UpdatedRerelease of the mixtape trilogy. He would continue his career with more official studio works, collaborations with other artists, and work for films and TV both in music (''Film/FiftyShadesOfGrey'', ''Film/TheHungerGamesCatchingFire'', ''Series/GameOfThrones''), acting (''Film/UncutGems'', ''WesternAnimation/RobotChicken''), and a little bit of both (''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'').

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990 in [[UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}} Toronto, Ontario]]), known professionally as The Weeknd[[note]]modified to avoid copyright issues with the Canadian band The Weekend, and inspired in part by the manner in which he dropped out of high school and moved away from home -- essentially leaving one ''weekend'' and never coming back[[/note]], is a Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer. He is known for his distinctive voice (often used in a falsetto register) and his music's pairing of unconventional production and lyrics detailing the dark side of the hedonistic celebrity lifestyle.

Tesfaye began his career in 2010 by uploading several songs to Website/YouTube under the name "The Weeknd". Their dark, atmospheric R&B sound and the complete anonymity with which they were released started generating buzz and mystery alike around him. A trilogy of nine-track mixtapes were released the next year to rapturous reception and cosigns from the likes of Music/{{Drake}}, Music/KatyPerry and [[Music/FlorenceAndTheMachine Florence Welch]].

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990 in [[UsefulNotes/{{Toronto}} Toronto, Ontario]]), known professionally as The Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer known for his distinctive falsetto voice, cinematic aesthetic, and atmospheric production.

In 2010, he uploaded several songs to Website/YouTube under the name "The Weeknd"[[note]]modified to avoid copyright issues with the Canadian band The Weekend, and inspired in part by the manner in which he dropped out of high school and moved away from home -- essentially leaving one ''weekend'' and never coming back[[/note]]. Their dark, atmospheric R&B sound and the complete anonymity with which they were released started generating buzz and mystery alike around Tesfaye. A trilogy of nine-track mixtapes were released the next year to rapturous reception and cosigns from the likes of Music/{{Drake}}, Music/KatyPerry and [[Music/FlorenceAndTheMachine Florence Welch]].

When he started out, a moniker that orbited close to him was "[[http://www.elle.com/pop-culture/best/30-under-30-the-essential-names-to-know-655416-10#slide-10 the next]] Music/MichaelJackson", but since his meteoric rise to stardom, he's struck out as a contemporary artistic voice all of his own. Among his mass commercial success, he currently stands as "the world's most popular artist" ([[https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2023/3/the-weeknd-is-officially-the-worlds-most-popular-artist-741774 as deemed by Guinness World Records]]), currently having 107.5 million monthly Spotify listeners[[note]]as of April 15, 2023; he is also the first artist to reach 100 million listeners[[/note]], the most of any artist on the platform.

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990) a.k.a. The Weeknd is a Canadian singer-songwriter and record producer.

When he started out, a moniker that orbited close to him was "[[http://www.elle.com/pop-culture/best/30-under-30-the-essential-names-to-know-655416-10#slide-10 the next]] Music/MichaelJackson", but since his meteoric rise to stardom, he's struck out as a contemporary artistic voice all of his own.

* ''Music/HouseOfBalloons'' (2011)

* DreamTeam:
** Enlisted Labrinth, Music/LanaDelRey and Music/EdSheeran for songs on ''Beauty Behind The Madness''. (He would return the favor for Lana and appears on the title track of her album ''Lust For Life''.)
** His ''Trilogy'' mixtape series features two guest artists: Music/{{Drake}} in "The Zone" and [[Music/ThreeSixMafia Juicy J]] in "Same Old Song".
** He has provided vocals for the vocal mix of Music/{{Kavinsky}}[='=]s "Odd Look". The mix also appears as a bonus track in ''Kiss Land''.
** Music/{{Eminem}} and Music/NickiMinaj contribute a verse to remixes of "The Hills".
** "Starboy" and "I Feel It Coming" were produced by/feature Music/DaftPunk. In the music video for "Starboy", they can be seen in a portrait hanging in the house as it's being trashed, and their likenesses appear in space in the video for "I Feel It Coming". [[spoiler: They themselves make an appearance in the video's [[TheStinger stinger.]]]] Future, Lana and Music/KendrickLamar also make appearances in the album.
** My Dear Melancholy has production credits from Music/{{Skrillex}} (on "Wasted Times") and [[Music/DaftPunk Guy-Man]] (on "Hurt You").
** He has occasionally collaborated with Gesaffelstein, more precisely on "I Was Never There", "Hurt You" and "Lost In The Fire". The latter appears on Gesaffelstein's sophomore album, ''Hyperion''.
** ''After Hours'' features co-production from the likes of [[Music/TameImpala Kevin Parker]] and Music/OneohtrixPointNever.
** ''Dawn FM'' features Quincy Jones, Max Martin, Swedish House Mafia, Calvin Harris, Bruce Johnston of Music/TheBeachBoys, Lil Wayne, Tyler the Creator, and Creator/JimCarrey as the voice of the radio DJ.