The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, was born on 16 February 1990 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada to Ethiopian immigrant parents. Raised in the Scarborough district of Toronto, he grew up influenced by a mix of Ethiopian music, R&B, and pop. After dropping out of high school, he began uploading mysterious, moody songs to YouTube under the name “The Weeknd” in 2010. These early tracks led to three critically acclaimed mixtapes—House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence—released in 2011, which gained a cult following and helped define the “alternative R&B” sound.
His mainstream breakthrough came with the album Kiss Land (2013) and especially Beauty Behind the Madness (2015), which featured the hit “Can’t Feel My Face.” He continued to dominate the charts with Starboy (2016), After Hours (2020), and Dawn FM (2022), producing global hits like “Starboy,” “Blinding Lights,” and “Save Your Tears.” The Weeknd is known for his dark, cinematic production style, falsetto vocals, and themes of love, fame, and excess. Over his career he has won multiple Grammy Awards, an Academy Award nomination, and set streaming records worldwide. In addition to music, he’s ventured into acting and film scoring, appearing in Uncut Gems (2019) and co-creating the HBO series The Idol.