The Weeknd
Abel Tesfaye, Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, Kin Kane, Gene Hackerman
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Who is this?
Abel Tesfaye (born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye; February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. Regarded as an influential figure in popular music, he is known for his light-lyric tenor vocal range and falsetto, alternative R&B sound, and dark aesthetics, as well as the cinematic visuals and storytelling of his music videos. His accolades include four Grammy Awards, 20 Billboard Music Awards, 22 Juno Awards, 6 American Music Awards, 3 MTV Video Music Awards, and a Latin Grammy Award. Tesfaye began releasing music anonymously in 2009. After co-founding the record label XO, he released three mixtapes—House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence—in 2011. He signed with Republic Records to compile the mixtapes into the compilation album Trilogy (2012), before releasing his debut studio album, Kiss Land (2013). Following collaborations and film soundtrack contributions from 2013 and 2014, Tesfaye blended alternative R&B with pop on his second and third studio albums, Beauty Behind the Madness (2015) and Starboy (2016); both debuted atop the US Billboard 200 and featured the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Can't Feel My Face", "The Hills", "Starboy", and "Die for You". Tesfaye returned to his alternative R&B sound for his debut extended play (EP), My Dear Melancholy (2018), featuring the US top-ten single "Call Out My Name". He began an album trilogy based on three time points, starting with the dream pop and new wave-inspired album After Hours (2020), which spawned the chart-topping singles "Heartless" and "Save Your Tears", as well as "Blinding Lights"—the best-performing song in the Billboard Hot 100's history and the most-streamed song on Spotify. The trilogy's latter two installments, Dawn FM (2022) and Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025), featured the US top-ten singles, "Take My Breath" and "Timeless". Tesfaye also co-created and starred in the controversial and critically panned HBO drama series The Idol (2023), and made his filmmaking debut in the film Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025). Tesfaye is one of the best-selling artists of all time with estimated sales of over 75 million units, and has amassed eight diamond-certified singles from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Time named him one of the world's most influential people in 2020. His After Hours til Dawn Tour (2022–2026) set the record for the highest-grossing tour by a male soloist in history. Tesfaye also hosted the Apple Music 1 radio show Memento Mori (2018–2022) and was appointed goodwill ambassador for the World Food Programme in 2021. He has donated to various causes, and advocates for racial equality and food security.
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