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The Weeknd

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Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (Amharic: አቤል መኮንን ተስፋዬ; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as The Weeknd, is a Canadian singer and songwriter. He is known for his unconventional music production, artistic reinventions, and signature use of the falsetto register.

Tesfaye began releasing music anonymously in 2009. He co-founded the record label XO and released the mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence in 2011, which gained recognition for its style of contemporary and alternative R&B and the mystery surrounding his identity. In 2012, Tesfaye signed with Republic Records and re-issued the mixtapes for his compilation album Trilogy. He explored the dark wave genre for his debut studio album Kiss Land (2013), which debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200. After its release, Tesfaye began contributing to film soundtracks. His 2014 single "Earned It" from Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.

Early life

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye was born on February 16, 1990, in Toronto, Ontario.[1][2] The only child of Ethiopian Amhara immigrants Makkonen Tesfaye and Samrawit Hailu, who separated shortly after his birth,[3] he was raised in the district of Scarborough by his mother and grandmother.[4] Tesfaye's patronymic is spelled "Makkonen" instead of the traditional Ethiopian name "Makonnen". The similarity with the Finnish surname Makkonen is pure coincidence. The spelling of Tesfaye's patronymic might be the result of a typographic error or a new form of the traditional name.[5]

Tesfaye has an estranged relationship with his father, telling Rolling Stone in 2015 that, "I saw him vaguely when I was six, and then again when I was eleven or twelve, and he had a new family and kids. I don't even know where he lived [...] I'd see him for, like, a night. I'm sure he's a great guy. I never judged him. He wasn't abusive, he wasn't an alcoholic, he wasn't an asshole. He just wasn't there".[6]

Tesfaye was raised as an Ethiopian Orthodox.[7] He is proficient in Amharic, his native language acquired from his grandmother.[8] He attained fluency in French by attending a French immersion school.[9] He was further educated at West Hill Collegiate Institute and Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute.[10] When he was seventeen, Tesfaye dropped out of school and relocated to an apartment in the neighbourhood of Parkdale with two friends, one of whom is La Mar Taylor, his best friend and now creative director.[11]

He has described this period as being like the 1995 film Kids "without the AIDS", as they lived a hedonistic lifestyle.[12] He has also experienced homelessness and was incarcerated on several occasions during this time, which encouraged him to "smarten up, to focus".[13][14] During this time, Tesfaye frequently engaged in drug use, including substances such as ketamine, cocaine, MDMA, magic mushrooms, and cough syrup,[15] stating that drugs were a "crutch" for him when he wrote music.[16]

Discography

  • Kiss Land (2013)
  • Beauty Behind the Madness (2015)
  • Starboy (2016)
  • After Hours (2020)
  • Dawn FM (2022)

Collaborations

References

  1. ↑ "The Weeknd"
  2. ↑ "Can The Weeknd Turn Himself into the Biggest Pop Star in the World?"
  3. ↑ "Daily Disc: The Weeknd's 'Echoes Of Silence'"
  4. ↑ "Who is The Weeknd? Super Bowl 55 halftime show performer's songs, lyrics & more to know"
  5. ↑ Kesällä Suomeen saapuvan supertähden Weekndin oikea nimi on Makkonen - ei silti yhteyttä Suomeen
  6. ↑ "Sex, Drugs and R&B: Inside The Weeknd's Dark Twisted Fantasy"
  7. ↑ "The Weeknd Reveals How He Got His Name... And Where The 'E' Went"
  8. ↑ "The Weeknd Reveals The Origin Of His Name + More"
  9. ↑ "The Weeknd Opens Up About His Past, Turning 30 and Getting Vulnerable on 'After Hours'"
  10. ↑ "Scarborough native The Weeknd scores seven Grammy nominations"
  11. ↑ "Why The Weeknd is truly Toronto's very own"
  12. ↑ "10 Things You Should Know About The Weeknd"
  13. ↑ "The Weeknd Reveals How His Fans Helped Him Overcome Stage Fright"
  14. ↑ "The Weeknd: 'Drugs were a crutch for me'"
  15. ↑ "The Weeknd Opens Up About His 'Dark' Past"
  16. ↑ "The Weeknd opens up about 'heavy' drug use"