Log in to your account
Stats
Biography
Tesfaye dropped out of high school at age 17 and left his native Scarborough, Ontario for Toronto. He began his music career in 2009 by dropping tracks anonymously on YouTube. The Weeknd co-founded the record label XO in 2011 and released three mixtapes in the same year: House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence.
The Weeknd’s mixtapes began to make noise as people responded to his unique R&B style and mysterious identity. His three mixtapes were downloaded eight million times, an astonishing audience for an artist without even a debut album to their name.
In 2012, The Weeknd signed with Republic Records and re-released his mixtapes as a compilation album, Trilogy. The album was met with positive reviews from critics, and it reached number four on the charts in the US and number five in Canada. At the end of 2012, The Weeknd embarked on a concert tour to promote Trilogy.
He dropped his debut studio album, Kiss Land, in 2013. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold 95,000 copies in its first week.
After the release of Kiss Land, The Weeknd wrote a song for the film Fifty Shades of Grey. “Earned It” went on to win a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance. The song was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
In 2014, The Weeknd collaborated with Ariana Grande on her song, “Love Me Harder.” It climbed to number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In September of that year, The Weeknd kicked off his first headlining tour at Barclays Center in New York.
In May 2015, The Weeknd released the second single from his upcoming album. “The Hills” entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number twenty and climbed all the way to the top, making it his first number-one single. The full album, Beauty Behind the Madness, dropped that August and reached number one in Canada, Australia, the UK, and Norway. The Weekend promoted the album by headlining several summer music festivals, including Lollapalooza.
Beauty Behind the Madness was certified double platinum in the US, selling 1.5 million copies worldwide. It was the most-streamed album of the year and produced three platinum singles. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album.
Following this major success, The Weeknd embarked on his first arena tour. The Madness Fall Tour kicked off in his home country at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre.
At the end of 2016, The Weeknd released his third studio album, Starboy with an eponymous lead single featuring legendary French electronic duo, Daft Punk. After reaching number one in several countries, the song became the duo’s first chart-topping hit and The Weeknd’s third.
Debuting at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, Starboy became The Weeknd’s second consecutive number-one record. It also took home a Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album, making it The Weeknd’s second win in that category. The album was certified four-times platinum by the RIAA.
In support of the album, The Weeknd embarked on the Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour in early 2017. It kicked off at the Ericsson Globe in Sweden.
2018 was another big year for The Weeknd. In February, he collaborated with Kendrick Lamar on “Pray for Me”, a song from the Black Panther film soundtrack which peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The next month, Tesfaye released his first EP, My Dear Melancholy. Debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, it became The Weeknd’s third number-one album.
In November, The Weeknd released his first greatest hits album, The Weeknd in Japan, with songs from the setlists of his 2018 The Weeknd Asia Tour.
In 2020, The Weeknd released his fourth studio album, After Hours. The first two singles, “Heartless” and “Blinding Lights,” both peaked at number one on the Billboard 100 chart. “Blinding Lights” also went on to become the first song in history to hold a top-ten spot for an entire year.
To date, The Weeknd has sold over 75 million records and remains one of the top-selling artists of all time. In 2020, Time magazine named him one of the most influential people in the world. His work toward racial equality and food security has also earned him the title of Goodwill Ambassador for the Global Food Programme.
In January 2022, The Weeknd released his fifth studio album, Dawn FM. He is currently promoting it on his After Hours til Dawn Tour. Catch him live through November 27.
Live reviews
This review might not be completely objective as Abel has been my favourite singer for a few years now. However, I can definitely admit the Starboy tour date in Paris was the best pop concert I've been to this year. Even though some songs could have been put out of the tracklist, he mostly sang his catchiest songs of his career, no matter the era. He has great, or should I say, tremendous energy as he continuously sang twenty-something songs with no pause in between. He has no trouble reaching high notes live, his voice sounding even more heavenly in real life. That night, he invited Travis Scott on stage who pumped up the crowd more than him, which is a shame and showcases very well his lack of success and recognition in France, yet, in a sold out stadium. Most people actually didn't even know his real name or the lyrics of his songs ! I would recommend any "real fan" who has known him for a while or who likes his last album a lot to go to a Starboy tour date. I promise you, you won't regret it.
elisa-gyn
I loved it! There were 3 openingsacts, which I thought were a lot but they were all really good! I really enjoyed Bryson Tiller, I really think he has great potential. But The Weeknd was everything. It was even better than I could imagine and I was thinking big. He did a lot of songs and everybody was singing along and everything just was so perfect. He sounded amazing and with one song he let us all sing and nobody could hit the high notes and he smiled so freaking cute. It went by so fast. Also it was quite funny how big of an age difference there was between the fans. There were elderly people, like a grandmother and her granddaughter together and this elderly couple,... Of course there were a lot of young people. And there also were young teenagers with their friends. Everything was organized very well. And I would definitely go again.
AliensAreFuckinReal
This concert was awesome. The lines were a block away and round a corner it was crazy. We waited bout 2 hours but some waited even more. The weekend had a great live band with solos. I had made it to the near front on the floor.next time I will just be on the balcony because there was a lot of pushing going on throught the night. Not only that but it was like being in a sweat box. A lot of people were allowed to smoke ganja and there were drinks to be served of course. About two people passed on near me which is scary but predictable at a concert extreme as this one. Over all a memorable experience for me and my friends.
val-jones
The Weeknd was my first official concert and will be my most memorable. The emotion of the songs live is so fulfilling just knowing he's right there in front of me, it's like some weird connection that I can't explain. He felt the song when he sang it and I think that is so unique, most artists sing it so much it's just putting on a performance for them but this was deeper than that. I wish I could relive that feeling again, where I get chills when he can hit that notes so well. I don't care if this review gets published, I just wanted to state how this concert felt.
Lovelychavez
The show was awesome!!! No surprise, The Weeknd is even better live than he is on record! Nonetheless, his beautiful voice blows me away every time I hear him. Such a true, talented artist; one of the few left in our generation. Again the show was great, the only thing I wish was different was that I wish the show was longer than an hour & a half-2 hours and I would have loved to have heard some of his older songs!
kerrih20
The Weeknd is amazing live. His voice is incredible and he is beyond talented. Also, the stage production for the Legend of the Fall tour was unlike anything I've ever seen before. The Star Destroyer-esque prop moving above the stage was so cool. Loved every minute of it. Well worth the outrageous cost of the ticket for an obstructed view by the stage.
swthny76
This was the best show I have ever seen in my whole life. The incredible lighting paired with Abel's enthusiasm and the attitude that the whole crowd shared made this an unforgettable experience. There is nothing better than hearing your favourite artist live and next time the Weeknd comes back to Australia, I'm definitely going again.
jacintanrossetto
The Weeknd’s concert was so good. My throat hurts from so much yelling. He’s so adorable, someone said I love you to him and said I love you too baby back AWWW. He also brought out Kodak black as a surprise guest. The way the venue was set up was so pretty.
lia12348
AMAZING. Abel gave it his all for 90+ minutes and sang a variety of new and old songs. Absolutely worth every cent. Travis $cott and DJ Khaled made an appearance. American Airlines arena was great. Would reccomend the venue, the Weeknd, Travis, etc
charlottexcx
Videos (21)
