The Weeknd

Life and career

1990–2008: Early life

Abel Tesfaye (born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye) was born on February 16, 1990, in a city in Ontario, variously reported to be Toronto, or Scarborough. The only child of Ethiopian immigrants Makkonen Tesfaye and Samrawit Hailu, who separated shortly after his birth, he was raised in the suburb of Scarborough by his mother and grandmother. 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. In 2024 he legally removed his middle name. Tesfaye grew up speaking Amharic, and is also fluent in French, as he attended a French immersion school. He was further educated at West Hill Collegiate Institute and Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute.

At seventeen, Tesfaye dropped out of school and relocated to an apartment in the neighbourhood of Parkdale with two friends, one of whom was La Mar Taylor—his best friend and now creative director. Living a hedonistic lifestyle with his friends, Tesfaye adopted his stage name because he left home on a weekend. He removed the last 'e' in 'weekend' to avoid trademark issues with the Canadian pop rock band the Weekend. He has also experienced homelessness and was incarcerated on several occasions during this time, which encouraged him to "smarten up, to focus". During this time, Tesfaye frequently engaged in drug use, including substances such as ketamine, cocaine, MDMA, magic mushrooms, and cough syrup, stating that drugs were a "crutch" for him when he wrote music. Before releasing music under his current stage name, he went under the alias "Kin Kane", as part of a hip-hop duo called "Bulleez n Nerdz", and was part of a production team called 'the Noise'.

2009–2014: Trilogy and Kiss Land

In August 2009, Tesfaye began anonymously releasing music on YouTube. The following year, he met the producer Jeremy Rose at a party. Rose asked Tesfaye if he wanted to work together as a dark R&B project after hearing him freestyle over an instrumental. After creating multiple songs and parting ways due to creative differences, Tesfaye was allowed to use the songs they made together under the condition that Rose received production credits. In December 2010, Tesfaye uploaded "What You Need", "Loft Music" and "The Morning" to YouTube under the username "xoxxxoooxo". His identity remained undisclosed initially. These songs gained attention online and were later acknowledged in a blog post by the rapper Drake. The songs subsequently received coverage from various media outlets, including Pitchfork and The New York Times.

In 2011, Tesfaye met music executives Wassim "Sal" Slaiby and Amir "Cash" Esmailian, with whom, along with Taylor, he founded the XO record label; earlier in 2009, Tesfaye and Taylor, along with friend and later photographer and collaborator Hyghly Alleyne formed a multimedia collective, She's So Lovely via Tumblr. On March 21, Tesfaye released his debut mixtape, House of Balloons, which featured production from Illangelo and Doc McKinney. The mixtape also included tracks produced by Rose, although he did not receive production credits. House of Balloons was named as one of the ten shortlisted nominees for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize. Tesfaye started working with Drake in May, eventually earning a spot at the latter's OVO Fest on July 31. That month, Tesfaye held his first live performance at the Mod Club Theatre in Toronto, which received media attention for Drake being in attendance. He also participated in concerts hosted by the Black Student Association at the University of Toronto. In summer 2011, he also received media attention in the United States when his song "High For This" was featured in an ad campaign for the final season of HBO's "Entourage." On August 18, Tesfaye released his second mixtape, Thursday, which garnered usually positive reviews. Tesfaye contributed to four songs on Drake's second studio album, Take Care, released on November 15, as a songwriter, producer and a featured artist on the album's seventh single, "Crew Love". He released his third mixtape, Echoes of Silence, on December 21. It was a long-listed nominee for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize.

In April 2012, Tesfaye began performing at more shows, such as the Coachella Festival, and two sold-out shows at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. He also performed at various European festivals, such as Primavera Sound in Spain and Portugal and the Wireless Festival in the United Kingdom. In September, Tesfaye signed with Republic Records; XO was assumed as a subsidiary label. That same month, he embarked on his first concert tour, the Fall Tour, which included his own headlining shows and some opening shows for the English band Florence and the Machine. The tour was performed in North America in September to November. On November 13, Tesfaye released Trilogy, a compilation album comprising re-mixed and remastered versions of his 2011 mixtapes, and three additional tracks. The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 86,000 copies, and has received platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and double-platinum from Music Canada. It also earned Tesfaye a nomination for the Sound of 2013 poll award by BBC.

2015–2016: Beauty Behind the Madness

On May 27, 2015, Tesfaye released the second single from Beauty Behind the Madness, "The Hills". The single debuted at number twenty on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number one, becoming Tesfaye's second number-one single, following "Can't Feel My Face", which had reached the number one position before it, and by four years, was certified diamond by the RIAA, marking Tesfaye's first diamond-certified record. In June 2015, after winning the Centric Award at the BET Awards, Tesfaye performed "Earned It" with Alicia Keys. On June 8, he released the song "Can't Feel My Face" as the album's third single. The track was previously leaked in May, but was released as a single following a performance by Tesfaye at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. The single debuted at number twenty-four on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number one, making it Tesfaye's third top 10 hit and his first number-one song in the United States. The song was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

Tesfaye occupied all three slots on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart simultaneously with the aforementioned singles, becoming the first artist in history to accomplish this. He was also unveiled as one of the musical faces of the streaming service Apple Music, alongside Drake. During the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, Apple debuted a two-part promotional commercial featuring Tesfaye, which had a guest appearance from John Travolta. In July, Tesfaye headlined the inaugural FVDED in the Park festival in Surrey, British Columbia. On June 29, Tesfaye was featured on Meek Mill's second studio album Dreams Worth More Than Money (2015), on the track "Pullin' Up".

Beauty Behind the Madness, Tesfaye's second studio album, was released on August 28, 2015, and debuted atop the Billboard 200, earning 412,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. It reached the top 10 in over ten countries and reached number one in Canada, Australia, Norway, and the United Kingdom. The album was promoted by Tesfaye headlining various summer music festivals, including Lollapalooza, the Hard Summer Music Festival, and the Bumbershoot Festival. He announced The Madness Fall Tour, his first large-scale tour across the United States, which began in November, and concluded in December. The album was certified double platinum in the U.S., and sold 1.5 million copies worldwide. It was the most-streamed album in 2015, with over 60 million streams, and was ranked on multiple lists of albums of the year. The three singles that preceded the album were certified platinum in the United States. The album won Best Urban Contemporary Album and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

2016–2019: Starboy and My Dear Melancholy,

In September 2016, Tesfaye announced that his third studio album, Starboy, would be released on November 25, and included collaborations with now-disbanded French electronic music duo Daft Punk. He released the album's title track, which featured the duo on September 21. The song debuted at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number one, making it Tesfaye's third number-one single. As of March 2023, the song is certified Diamond by the RIAA. Their second collaboration, "I Feel It Coming" was released on November 24. The single peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. On October 1, Tesfaye made a second appearance on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest alongside actress Margot Robbie. During the show, he performed "Starboy" and "False Alarm". On November 23, he released the short film M A N I A. Directed by Grant Singer, it featured excerpts from the album, including snippets from "All I Know" featuring Future, "Sidewalks" featuring Kendrick Lamar, "Secrets", and "Die for You". Upon release, the album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 with 348,000 units, making it Tesfaye's second consecutive number-one album. As of January 2019, the album is certified triple platinum by the RIAA. The album won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, making it Tesfaye's second win in the category.

On February 17, 2017, Tesfaye began his fifth concert tour, called Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour. The tour was in support of his third studio album Starboy, and concluded on December 14. He visited the continents Europe, North America, and Oceania. On February 15, Tesfaye was featured on Nav's commercial debut single "Some Way", which also served as the lead single from his self-titled mixtape. On February 24, he appeared on Future's sixth studio album Hndrxx, on the song "Comin Out Strong". On April 19, Tesfaye appeared on the title track and second single from Lana Del Rey's fifth studio album. On July 30, he was featured on French Montana's track "A Lie", the third single from his second studio album Jungle Rules. He then appeared on the Virgil Abloh-directed music video for Lil Uzi Vert's "XO Tour Llif3" alongside Nav. He was later featured on Lil Uzi Vert's debut album Luv Is Rage 2 on the track "UnFazed" and on Gucci Mane's eleventh studio album Mr. Davis on the track "Curve".

On February 2, 2018, Tesfaye contributed to the soundtrack for Black Panther on the song "Pray for Me" with Kendrick Lamar. The track served as the third single from the soundtrack, and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. On March 30, Tesfaye released his debut extended play My Dear Melancholy, after news of the project were teased and leaked. The EP debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 169,000 units, making it Tesfaye's third consecutive number-one album and the shortest album, by track count, to top the chart in eight years. On April 6, Tesfaye released the EP's lead single "Call Out My Name", which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. On April 13, he headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for the first time. He appeared in multiple festivals throughout 2018 to support the EP, most notably the Mawazine Festival in Morocco, Lollapalooza in both Chicago and Berlin, and a post-race concert at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

2019–2021: After Hours and Super Bowl LV halftime show

On November 24, 2019, Tesfaye teased his single "Blinding Lights" through a Mercedes-Benz commercial. On November 27, he released "Heartless" as the lead single from his fourth studio album. The song debuted at number thirty-two on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number one, making it Tesfaye's fourth number-one single. "Blinding Lights" was released two days after the release of "Heartless" on November 29. The single debuted at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number one, making it Tesfaye's fifth number-one single. "Blinding Lights" would then go on to become the first song in the chart's history to hold a spot in the top ten for an entire year. It also became the longest charting song by a solo artist on the Hot 100 at 90 weeks, ending the week of September 11, 2021. On November 23, 2021, "Blinding Lights" was ranked as the best-performing song in the Billboard Hot 100's history, surpassing "The Twist" by Chubby Checker. On January 1, 2023, it became the most streamed song on Spotify with 3.3 billion streams.

On February 19, 2020, Tesfaye revealed that his fourth studio album would be titled After Hours, and would be released on March 20. He also released the album's title track as a promotional single. On March 7, he made his third appearance as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, alongside actor Daniel Craig. On the show, he starred in the skit "On The Couch" with actors Kenan Thompson and Chris Redd, performed "Blinding Lights", and debuted the track "Scared to Live". Tesfaye released the album's third single "In Your Eyes" on March 24. The track peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100. Upon release, After Hours debuted atop the Billboard 200, earning 444,000 units, marking Tesfaye's fourth consecutive number-one album. It became the most streamed R&B album of all time, surpassing Tesfaye's own Starboy. In the album's first charting week, Tesfaye also became the first artist to lead the Billboard 200, Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Artist 100, Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts simultaneously, and repeated his lead the following week. The deluxe version of After Hours was released on March 29, 2020, and contained the tracks "Nothing Compares", "Missed You" and "Final Lullaby". On May 4, Tesfaye made a guest appearance on the American Dad! episode "A Starboy Is Born", also co-written by Tesfaye and featuring a song titled "The Weeknd's Dark Secret". On July 27, he voiced three characters during the 200th episode of Robot Chicken.

On August 7, 2020, Tesfaye was featured on the late Juice Wrld's single "Smile" from his first posthumous album Legends Never Die. On August 28, he was featured on Calvin Harris' single "Over Now". On October 30, Tesfaye appeared on Ariana Grande's song "Off the Table" from her sixth studio album Positions. On the same day, he appeared on Oneohtrix Point Never's track "No Nightmares" from his ninth studio album Magic Oneohtrix Point Never, which he also executive produced with OPN. On November 5, he appeared on the remix of Maluma's "Hawái", was nominated for Best Urban Fusion/Performance at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. On December 10, he performed at iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball. On February 5, 2021, Tesfaye released his second greatest hits album The Highlights. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, making it Tesfaye's highest charting compilation album and the biggest first week debut for a greatest hits album since Fully Loaded: God's Country (2019).Tesfaye headlined the Super Bowl LV halftime show on February 7, 2021, becoming the first Canadian solo artist to headline the show. He reportedly spent US$7 million of his own money on the Super Bowl performance. Reviews of the performance were generally positive. The show resulted in a surge in streaming and downloads for Tesfaye's After Hours album as well as for the seven other songs he performed. The halftime show earned three nominations at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Variety Special (Live), Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special, and Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Special.

2021–2023: Dawn FM

On August 2, 2021, Tesfaye released a snippet of new music on social media. He appeared on the cover of the September 2021 issue of GQ, marking the magazine's first global publication. Then, in a collaboration with NBC Sports and the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tesfaye announced the single "Take My Breath", which was released on August 6. Later that month, he appeared on Kanye West's tenth studio album Donda on the track "Hurricane", which won Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. On October 4, during an episode of Memento Mori, Tesfaye revealed that his fifth studio album was complete and that he was waiting on a "couple characters that are key to the narrative." On October 18, Tesfaye announced that his upcoming tour, originally titled the After Hours Tour, would be held entirely in stadiums due to arena constraints and was scheduled to commence in July 2022. The tour was renamed as the After Hours til Dawn Tour, and would incorporate elements from his fourth and fifth studio albums.

On October 22, 2021, Tesfaye appeared on Swedish House Mafia's single "Moth to a Flame" from their debut studio album Paradise Again. On November 5, he appeared on Post Malone's single "One Right Now" from his fourth studio album Twelve Carat Toothache. On November 11, he was featured on Rosalía's single "La Fama" from her third studio album Motomami. On December 16, Tesfaye was featured on FKA Twigs' single "Tears in the Club" from her debut mixtape Caprisongs. The next day, on December 17, he was featured on Aaliyah's single "Poison" from her posthumous album Unstoppable. Tesfaye released his fifth studio album Dawn FM on January 7, 2022. Upon release, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 148,000 units, marking Tesfaye's eighth top ten entry and his second non-consecutive album to debut at number two. He also broke the record for the most simultaneous entries for a male soloist on the Billboard Global 200, with twenty-four songs on the chart. In addition to "Take My Breath", Dawn FM was supported by the singles "Sacrifice" and "Out of Time". On February 26, Tesfaye premiered The Dawn FM Experience, a television music special in partnership with Amazon Prime Video.

On March 20, 2022, Tesfaye played in an episode of the cartoon The Simpsons. On April 18, he headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for the second time, performing alongside Swedish House Mafia. On July 8, his record of most number-one songs on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart was surpassed by fellow singer and would-be rival Chris Brown; Weeknd had 71 while Brown broke his record by 8 more. On July 26, Tesfaye announced that he would host a haunted house at Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood, as part of Universal's Halloween Horror Nights hosted every Halloween. Tesfaye appeared on the song "Creepin'" from Metro Boomin's album, Heroes & Villains, on December 2. His song "Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)", made for the film Avatar: The Way of Water's official soundtrack, was released on December 16.

2023–present: The Idol and Hurry Up Tomorrow

Tesfaye co-created the HBO drama series The Idol with Sam Levinson, and stars in the show alongside Lily-Rose Depp. The series premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival out of competition, where it received significant controversy for its graphic depiction of onscreen nudity and sexual content. The series debuted to widespread negative reviews from critics. The Hollywood Reporter stated that the series confirms the allegations that "Instead of subtly skewering the misogynistic and predatory nature of the business, The Idol became a forbidden love story — the stuff of a toxic man's fantasy", and called it "regressive rather than transgressive". He received negative reviews for his acting, with critic Robert Daniels of The Playlist writing, "Tesfaye is also a terrible actor. He lacks the comfortability, the gravitas, charisma, and charm to increase the viability of Jocelyn being attracted to him. In most scenes, Tesfaye either hides under the cover of dim lighting, obtrusive coverage, or re-recorded dialogue dubbed into several scenes." On August 28, 2023, HBO announced it had cancelled The Idol after one season.

On June 8, 2023, Tesfaye announced a series of EPs featuring music from The Idol. Originally intended as a soundtrack album, each EP was released following the premiere of each episode of the show, which featured collaborations with Future, Playboi Carti, Madonna, Lil Baby, Lily-Rose Depp, and Jennie from the South Korean girl group Blackpink. These EPs yielded the hit singles "Popular" and "One of the Girls". Later in June he received an invitation from the Academy to become a member. On July 21, Tesfaye appeared on Travis Scott's lead single "K-pop" from his fourth studio album Utopia, and later appeared on another track on Scott's album, "Circus Maximus". Tesfaye appeared on Diddy's single "Another One of Me" on September 15, which he called his "final feature", despite releasing multiple collaborations with Metro Boomin and Future in 2024.

On December 2, 2023, Fortnite announced that Tesfaye would be featured as the headlining artist for its Fortnite Festival gamemode and outfits of him would become available to play with on December 9. His outfits have three different variants of himself; the red suit seen throughout the promotional material for After Hours, the outfit from his 2022 Coachella performance, and two of the costumes that he was seen wearing during the After Hours til Dawn Tour. Tesfaye first teased news of a follow-up album to Dawn FM in 2022, telling his fans: "[I] wonder... did you know you're experiencing a new trilogy?" via Twitter. On January 8, 2024, he further teased an upcoming album, posting pictures of his last two albums and a question mark on his social media. On March 22, he appeared on the track "Young Metro" from Future and Metro Boomin's collaborative album, We Don't Trust You, as well as three tracks on Future and Metro Boomin's We Still Don't Trust You album two weeks later.

Artistry

Influences

Tesfaye cites Michael Jackson, Prince, and R. Kelly as his main musical inspirations. He has attributed Jackson's music as key in spurring him to be a singer, referencing the lyrics to "Dirty Diana" as an example. His high-flying vocal style was influenced by Ethiopian singers such as Aster Aweke. He grew up listening to a variety of music genres, including soul, hip hop, funk, indie rock, and post-punk. Tesfaye is heavily influenced by 1980s music, and credits the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) for "opening my eyes" to the music of that era. "I've always had an admiration for the era before I was born", he said in an interview for Billboard. "You can hear it as far back as my first mixtape that the '80s – Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins – play such a huge role in my sound."

Tesfaye has named Deftones as one of his influences during the making of House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence. He has also cited Lana Del Rey, David Bowie, the Smiths, Bad Brains, Talking Heads, DeBarge, 50 Cent, Wu-Tang Clan, and Eminem as influences and inspirations. When Daft Punk announced their split in 2021, Tesfaye praised them during an interview with Variety, saying: "Those guys are one of the reasons I make music, so I can't even compare them to other people..."

Production and songwriting

Tesfaye's songs are "built around a fogged, crepuscular production", and feature slow tempos, rumbling bass, and forlorn echoes. His music incorporates samples that are unconventional in R&B production, including punk, shoegaze, dream pop and alternative rock. Marc Hogan of Spin says that Tesfaye's samples tend "to draw from rock critic-approved sources, though generally ones that already share elements of his sexual menace", sampling artists such as Beach House, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Aaliyah. Tesfaye worked mostly with producers Illangelo and Doc McKinney, whom Ian Cohen of Pitchfork credits with developing "a state-of-the-art R&B template" with the artist. In concert, Tesfaye reappropriates his digitized productions with a suite-like arena rock aesthetic.

His emotional, plaintive lyrics often express feelings of hurt and deal with subject matter such as sex, drugs, and partying; this is seen especially in After Hours and House of Balloons. Hermione Hoby of The Guardian characterizes Tesfaye's songs as "narcotised-slow jams" and delineates their message as "partying is an existential experience, sex is fraught with alienation, and everything registers as unreal and unsettling." Paul MacInnes of The Guardian stated that he views Tesfaye's three mixtapes as "a rough trajectory of party, after-party and hangover." Tesfaye has stated that by singing vulgar, ignorant lyrics in an elegant, sexy way, he is "paying homage to R Kelly, and even Prince to a certain extent."

Voice and music style

Tesfaye often sings in a falsetto register. J. D. Considine finds his singing's "tremulous quality" similar to Michael Jackson, but writes that he eschews Jackson's "strong basis in the blues" for a more Arabic-influenced melisma. Tesfaye possesses a wide light-lyric tenor vocal range, which spans over three octaves. His vocal range reaches its extreme low at the bass F (F2), and its peak high at the tenor G♯ (G♯5), with a natural tessitura within the upper fourth octave. Tesfaye often makes use of his head voice to build resonance to belt out strong high notes within the fifth octave. Tesfaye's vocals have a recognizable Ethiopian characteristic. Hannah Giogis of Pitchfork notes that "his trademark vibrato, the characteristically pained whine that pervades much of Tesfaye's music, draws from a long Ethiopian musical legacy of tortured pining. Imbuing our voices with the shaky pain of loss—romantic or otherwise—is a hallmark of Ethiopian musical tradition. Tesfaye, with his staccato wails and aching nostalgia, is a young, North American addition to a dynasty of melodramatic Ethiopian singers." In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked the Weeknd at number 110 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Tesfaye's discography spans pop, R&B, hip-hop, and dance genres. His earlier work is generally categorized as alternative R&B, due to its contributions in broadening the genre's musical palette to incorporate electronic and indie styles, while his later work gravitates towards electropop. Critics have credited his early work with helping shape the development of alternative R&B. Tesfaye shared his thoughts on the primary label during an interview with Time in 2015, stating: "Alternative R&B is in my soul. It's not going anywhere. When I put out songs from House of Balloons in 2010, people said I made R&B cool again. I'm assuming that's when the label was created. I feel honored that a good part of today's music is inspired by it, consciously or subconsciously. The only way I could have done that was to be ambitious and grand." Tesfaye's first three mixtapes; House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence, are alternative R&B projects that draw on dream pop, post-punk and trip hop, amongst others. His debut studio album Kiss Land is categorized as R&B and dark wave. His next three albums, Beauty Behind the Madness, Starboy and After Hours, are considered R&B and pop; with Starboy utilizing heavy trap influences, and After Hours drawing on new wave and dream pop influences. Tesfaye's fifth studio album Dawn FM explores dance-pop and synth-pop genres.

Legacy

Tesfaye's early work, particularly his 2011 mixtape House of Balloons, has been retrospectively credited with helping reshape contemporary R&B. Critics have highlighted the project's dark and atmospheric production, incorporation of alternative and electronic influences, and lyrical focus on sex, drugs and emotional isolation as a departure from much of the mainstream R&B of the period. In a 2016 retrospective, The Fader described House of Balloons as having shifted the contemporary pop landscape and provided a new framework for music, while Exclaim! credited the mixtape with helping transform R&B and contributing to the development of alternative R&B.

Tesfaye's rise from anonymously releasing music online to becoming an international pop star has also been regarded as a defining aspect of his career. His early releases attracted attention despite the limited public information surrounding his identity, with critics noting the project's appeal across both independent and mainstream audiences. Although his early work was associated with alternative R&B, Tesfaye later achieved widespread mainstream success while continuing to incorporate elements of R&B, electronic music and other genres into his work. In a 2020 essay for Time, Elton John described Tesfaye as an artist with "an incredible imagination" who incorporated diverse musical influences into his work while remaining one of the world's most-streamed artists.

Tesfaye's commercial success has contributed to his cultural legacy. His 2019 single "Blinding Lights" became one of the most successful songs in chart history. In November 2021, it topped Billboard's Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs ranking, and in 2025 it was named the leading song on Billboard's recap of the first 25 years of the 21st century. In 2026, Spotify identified "Blinding Lights" as the most-streamed song in the platform's history.

Critics have also noted the cinematic and interconnected visual narratives associated with Tesfaye's later work. After Hours was accompanied by an ongoing storyline that extended across music videos and televised performances, with the album's red-suited and increasingly injured protagonist appearing throughout the era. His performance at the Super Bowl LV halftime show incorporated elements of this narrative while bringing imagery associated with his work to one of the world's most prominent popular-music stages.

Tesfaye has also been recognized as a prominent cultural figure in his hometown of Toronto. In July 2025, the City of Toronto awarded him a Key to the City and proclaimed July 26 and 27 as "Weeknd Weekend", citing his cultural impact in Toronto and internationally.

Controversies

Plagiarism allegations

In December 2015, Tesfaye was sued by Cutting Edge Music, which alleged that the bassline for "The Hills" had been taken from a composition featured in the score for the 2013 science fiction film The Machine. One of the producers of the song was alleged to have sent a private Twitter message to Tom Raybould, the composer of the film's score, stating that he had sampled the composition. The lawsuit was dismissed in March 2016, with legal reporting indicating that the parties appeared to have reached a settlement. In April 2025, Cutting Edge filed another copyright infringement lawsuit against Tesfaye and several of his collaborators and music companies, again alleging that "The Hills" copied elements of the score for The Machine.

In September 2018, Tesfaye and Daft Punk were sued by Ethiopian-American singer and songwriter Yasmin Mohamed, who alleged that "Starboy" infringed on her work. Tesfaye denied the allegations.

In April 2019, Tesfaye was sued by British songwriters William Smith, Brian Clover, and Scott McCulloch, who alleged that his song "A Lonely Night" infringed on their song "I Need to Love". In July 2020, a federal court granted summary judgment in favor of Tesfaye and his collaborators, finding that the plaintiffs had failed to establish a genuine dispute concerning the defendants' access to their song or substantial similarity between the protectable elements of the two works. In October 2021, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the decision.

In February 2020, Tesfaye and Kendrick Lamar were sued by the now-defunct indie band Yeasayer, which alleged that "Pray for Me" included an unauthorized sample of their song "Sunrise". Yeasayer voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit later that year.

In September 2021, Tesfaye, Nicolás Jaar, and Frank Dukes were sued for copyright infringement by producers Suniel Fox and Henry Strange, who alleged that "Call Out My Name" was "strikingly [or] substantially similar, if not identical" to their song "Vibeking". In March 2023, the parties reached a settlement, the terms of which were not publicly disclosed.

Allegations of homophobic lyrics

In January 2019, Tesfaye faced criticism over lyrics in his and Gesaffelstein's single "Lost in the Fire". Critics and social media users described lines in the song's second verse as homophobic or biphobic, arguing that they dismissed same-sex attraction as a "phase", fetishized relationships between women, and invoked the idea that a person's sexual orientation could be changed through sex.

The criticism focused particularly on the lyric "While I fuck you straight", which commentators interpreted as invoking the idea that lesbian or bisexual women could be "turned straight". Tesfaye did not publicly respond directly to the criticism at the time.

Public disputes

Tesfaye and Drake were early collaborators from Toronto. In 2010, Drake's October's Very Own blog promoted several of Tesfaye's early songs, and the two subsequently collaborated on Tesfaye's mixtape Thursday and Drake's 2011 album Take Care. Tesfaye received writing and vocal credits on several songs from Take Care.

In 2012, Drake indicated that he was interested in signing Tesfaye to his OVO Sound imprint, although Tesfaye ultimately signed with Republic Records. The decision prompted media speculation about a rift between the two, although Drake later denied that several of his songs were directed at Tesfaye and stated that he had no hard feelings about Tesfaye's decision. In a 2013 interview, Tesfaye discussed contributing material to Take Care that had originally been intended for his own music, while also describing Drake as his closest friend in the music industry at the time and expressing gratitude for his early support.

The two continued to collaborate publicly during the following years. In 2017, Drake brought Tesfaye out during OVO Fest, where they performed together and Drake expressed interest in a future collaborative OVOXO project. Later that year, reports emerged of possible tension between the two amid rumors that Drake had been romantically involved with Tesfaye's former girlfriend, model Bella Hadid.

In January 2019, Tesfaye appeared on Gesaffelstein's song "Lost in the Fire". Media outlets interpreted lyrics from the song as possible references to Drake's son and to the rumors concerning Drake and Hadid. Later that year, Drake released the song "War", whose lyrics were widely interpreted as indicating that the two had resolved their differences.

In November 2020, Drake publicly defended Tesfaye following his exclusion from the nominations for the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. The two appeared publicly together again in February 2022, when Drake attended Tesfaye's birthday celebration and referred to their relationship as a reunited "family".

Their apparent tensions resurfaced in 2024 amid Drake's wider conflicts with Future, Metro Boomin, and Kendrick Lamar. Tesfaye appeared on Future and Metro Boomin's collaborative album We Still Don't Trust You, released on April 12, on the song "All to Myself". Media outlets interpreted the song's lyrics as references to Drake and Tesfaye's previous decision not to sign with OVO Sound.

2021 Grammys snub

Following the announcement of the nominations for the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in November 2020, Tesfaye received no nominations despite the commercial and critical success of his album After Hours and its single "Blinding Lights". The absence of any nominations was widely described by music critics and publications as one of the ceremony's most notable snubs. Tesfaye subsequently accused the Grammys of corruption, writing on Twitter, "The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency...".

Reports subsequently indicated that Tesfaye's team and the Recording Academy had held discussions about a possible performance at the ceremony while he was also preparing to perform at the Super Bowl LV halftime show. A source close to Tesfaye's team alleged that disagreements over the scheduling of the two performances had complicated the negotiations. Harvey Mason Jr., the Recording Academy's chair and interim president and chief executive officer at the time, denied that Tesfaye's Super Bowl performance could have affected the nomination process, stating that voting had concluded before the performance was announced.

In January 2021, Tesfaye described the snub as a "sucker punch" and said that he had been confused by the outcome after being widely told that his work was expected to receive nominations. He questioned the Recording Academy's record regarding Black artists in the Album of the Year category, while stating that he did not want to make the controversy solely about himself. He later stated that his three Grammy Awards "mean nothing to me now" and said that he was willing to face criticism if doing so could help prevent a similar situation from occurring again.

In March 2021, Tesfaye announced that he would boycott the Grammy Awards and would no longer allow his record label to submit his music for consideration, citing the Academy's anonymous nomination review committees, which he referred to as "secret committees".

The following month, the Recording Academy announced changes to its nomination process, including the elimination of the nomination review committees for most categories and a shift toward nominations determined by votes from the Academy's wider voting membership. The Academy stated that the changes had been under consideration before the controversy surrounding Tesfaye's exclusion and were not a direct response to his boycott.

The Idol allegations

In March 2023, Rolling Stone published a report based on interviews with 13 sources connected to the production of the HBO drama series The Idol, which Tesfaye co-created, co-wrote, and starred in alongside Sam Levinson. The report described alleged production difficulties following the departure of the series' original director, Amy Seimetz, and a subsequent creative overhaul. Sources interviewed by the magazine alleged that the revised version placed greater emphasis on explicit sexual content and included material they characterized as resembling "sexual torture porn" and a "rape fantasy". The report also cited sources who alleged that Tesfaye had been dissatisfied with the original direction of the series, including its perceived "female perspective".

HBO disputed the report's characterization of the production, stating that the series' initial approach had not met the network's standards and that the subsequent creative changes had been made in the interests of the production and its cast and crew. The network stated that the creative team had remained committed to maintaining a "safe, collaborative and mutually respectful working environment". Actress Lily-Rose Depp, who starred in the series, similarly defended the production, stating that she had felt supported and that her input and opinions had been valued during the creative process.

Tesfaye responded to the report by posting a clip from The Idol in which his character described Rolling Stone as "a little irrelevant", accompanying it with the caption "@RollingStone did we upset you?" In a subsequent interview with Vanity Fair, he said that he considered the report "ridiculous" and had intended his response to be similarly "ridiculous".

Tesfaye disputed the characterization of Seimetz's departure and the creative overhaul. He stated that he had enjoyed working with Seimetz and attributed the changes to logistical difficulties involving production timelines and her schedule, as well as his desire not to rush his first television series. Addressing speculation that the overhaul had been motivated by a desire for a more prominent role, he maintained that the series remained centered on Depp's character and said that he had initially been reluctant to play Tedros.

During the series' release, Tesfaye also rejected interpretations that his character, Tedros, was intended to be romanticized. He described the character as a "pathetic scumbag" and stated that he wanted audiences to be disgusted by him rather than view him as seductive or aspirational.

Other ventures

Endorsements and investments

In 2013, Tesfaye collaborated with condom company ONE to give away limited-edition condoms at his shows during the Kiss Land Fall Tour. In November 2015, he partnered with electronic vaporizer company Pax Labs to release a limited edition vaporizer. He also collaborated with fashion designer Alexander Wang for an apparel collection. In 2016, Tesfaye became a creative collaborator and global brand ambassador for the clothing brand Puma. With the partnership, he released numerous capsule collections and hosted several pop-up retail stores.

In 2017, Tesfaye partnered with retail company H&M for their men's collection. He cut ties with the company in 2018, following a racist incident within the company. In July 2018, Tesfaye collaborated with Marvel Comics to release a comic book and limited merchandise collection inspired by his third studio album Starboy. In August, he released an apparel collection in collaboration with A Bathing Ape. A second collection was released in January 2020.

In April 2019, Tesfaye became an owner and global ambassador of the esports company OverActive Media, who owns the Splyce and Overwatch League team Toronto Defiant. On August 31, 2020, Tesfaye partnered with TD Bank to launch Black HXOUSE, an entrepreneurial initiative within the incubator HXOUSE, where he serves as a sleeping partner. On September 9, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a CA$221,000,000 joint venture with HXOUSE for Black Canadian entrepreneurs. In March 2021, Tesfaye auctioned a collection of visual artwork and an unreleased song in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) on Nifty Gateway. In October, he joined football player Tom Brady's NFT platform Autograph as a member of their board of directors.

In 2022, Tesfaye invested in plant-based beverage brand Koia. Since 2023, Tesfaye, in partnership with Blue Bottle Coffee launched Samra Origins, a specialty coffee brand inspired by his Ethiopian heritage and which he named after his mother. A new coffee blend collection (the "Togetherness Blend") in collaboration with Nespresso was released in 2025. The same year, he partnered with Roblox to launch a limited avatar collection, as well as French football club Paris Saint-Germain FC to launch a limited capsule collection and kits under the XO branding, and Canadian baseball team Toronto Blue Jays for a limited merch collaboration during the 2025 World Series. In December 2025, Tesfaye secured a $1 billion deal with Lyric Capital, placing his music catalogue in a joint venture and allowing him "freedom to utilize the publishing and masters' rights over the catalog." On January 22, 2026, HXOUSE announced a partnership with Point Park University to launch their "Creative Direction Credential Program", providing education for young artists in Pittsburgh, which began in March.

Philanthropy

After being presented with a Bikila Award for Professional Excellence in 2014, Tesfaye donated CA$50,000 to the University of Toronto to fund a new course on Ge'ez, the classic language of Ethiopia. In May 2016, during Orthodox Easter, Tesfaye donated CA$50,000 to the St. Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Cathedral in Toronto, Canada, a church he attended growing up. In August 2016, he funded a new Ethiopian studies program at the University of Toronto. That same month, Tesfaye donated US$250,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation following numerous reports of police brutality in the United States. In June 2017, Tesfaye donated US$100,000 to the Suubi Health Center, a maternity and children's medical facility in Budondo, Uganda. He was inspired to support the center after learning of French Montana's work with Global Citizen and Mama Hope to help raise awareness for Suubi and the people of Uganda.

In April 2020, Tesfaye launched a line of non-medical face masks with all of the proceeds going to the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund, a campaign launched by the Recording Academy to help musicians affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Tesfaye donated US$500,000 to MusiCares and CA$500,000 to the Scarborough Health Network. In May 2020, in response to the murder of George Floyd and the protests that followed, Tesfaye donated US$500,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Colin Kaepernick's Know Your Rights Camp, and the National Bail Out. He then urged other music executives, major record labels, and streaming services to donate to the cause as well.

On August 7, 2020, Tesfaye held the "Weeknd Experience", an interactive virtual concert on the social media platform TikTok that drew two million total viewers, including 275,000 concurrent viewers. The concert raised over US$350,000 for the Equal Justice Initiative. He also donated US$300,000 to Global Aid for Lebanon in support of victims of the Beirut explosion. On November 2, the University of Toronto announced that it was able to reach and surpass its fundraising goal of CA$500,000 for its Ethiopic program, which included a CA$30,000 donation from Tesfaye. In May 2021, he was among the celebrities expressing more solidarity for civilians who died during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis. On September 23, Tesfaye was honored with the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award at the inaugural Music in Action Awards, presented by the Black Music Action Coalition. On January 9, 2024, Tesfaye partnered with the non-profit organization School on Wheels Inc. to support more than 1,000 students experiencing homelessness. To coincide with his concert in Brazil, Tesfaye released merchandise and will donate 10% of the net profits to the Brazilian Soul Fund of BrazilFoundation. In 2026 Tesfaye participated in an international charity auction providing medical and emergency supplies for displaced families in Sudan.

WFP ambassadorship

On April 4, 2021, Tesfaye announced a US$1,000,000 donation through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to relief efforts in Ethiopia for people affected by the Tigray War. On June 9, he met with the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, to discuss the humanitarian crisis of the Tigray War. Tesfaye was appointed as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the World Food Programme on October 7.

On March 3, 2022, he partnered with the WFP to launch the XO Humanitarian Fund. Through the fund, Tesfaye was to donate US$1 from every ticket sold at his After Hours til Dawn Tour, in addition to a US$500,000 donation, to the WFP. $2,500,000 from the XO Humanitarian Fund was directed toward WFP's humanitarian response efforts in the Gaza Strip, providing four million emergency meals for those affected by the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. On April 29, 2024, Tesfaye announced another $2 million donation to the WFP to provide loaves of bread in Gaza. On January 17, 2025, it was announced that Tesfaye had pledged a further $1 million to support relief efforts in the Southern California wildfires. In November 2025, he announced a donation of $350,000 in support of the WFP's response to Hurricane Melissa. In 2026 it was announced that Tesfaye had once again partnered with WFP and would be directing a portion of the proceeds from his tour legs in Latin America and Europe to the XO Humanitarian Fund.

Personal life

Tesfaye has generally sought to keep his personal life out of the public eye. During much of his career, he rarely participated in interviews and instead primarily communicated through social media, attributing his reluctance to shyness and insecurities. In a 2018 interview with Time, he said that his reluctance to give interviews was largely driven by nervousness, stating that he would feel uncomfortable appearing in a live television interview. He has also expressed discomfort with the loss of privacy associated with fame, saying that he often felt as though he was being watched.

Tesfaye was raised in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. When asked in 2020 whether he was still religious, he expressed uncertainty, stating, "I dunno... everything is a test, and if you are religious or spiritual, you have to go through things."

Tesfaye is a cinephile and has incorporated numerous references to films into his music videos and other visual projects. In April 2023, he disclosed that he has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

From April 2015 to August 2019, Tesfaye was in an on-again, off-again relationship with American model Bella Hadid. Hadid appeared in the music video for his 2015 single "In the Night".

Tesfaye dated American singer and actress Selena Gomez from January to October 2017. His relationships with Hadid and Gomez received extensive media attention and tabloid speculation. In 2018, Tesfaye declined to discuss the specifics of his relationships publicly, saying that he did not want to "open that Pandora's box".

Tesfaye was later publicly linked to Saudi-born disc jockey Simi Khadra. They were first reported to have been romantically involved in 2022 and subsequently made several public appearances together while generally maintaining a relatively private relationship.

In January 2015, Tesfaye was arrested in Las Vegas after police alleged that he punched an officer while officers were attempting to break up a fight. He later pleaded no contest and avoided jail time. Reflecting in 2020 on the period surrounding his early rise to fame, Tesfaye described it as a "real rock-star era" that he was "not really proud of". He said that the sirens at the end of his song "Faith" represented him being in the back of a police car following the arrest.

Accolades

Tesfaye has won four Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy Award, twenty Billboard Music Awards, six American Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and twenty-two Juno Awards. He has also received nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

In October 2014, Tesfaye was awarded the Allan Slaight Honour by Canada's Walk of Fame for "making a positive impact in the fields of music, film, literature, visual or performing arts, sports, innovation or philanthropy". Toronto mayor John Tory announced that the city would observe February 7, 2021, as the Weeknd Day to commemorate Tesfaye's Super Bowl halftime performance.

Discography

Studio albums

Kiss Land (2013)

Beauty Behind the Madness (2015)

Starboy (2016)

After Hours (2020)

Dawn FM (2022)

Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025)

Filmography

Uncut Gems (2019)

The Show (2021)

Live at SoFi Stadium (2023)

The Idol (2023)

Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025)

Rolling Loud: The Movie (2026)

Tours

Headlining

The Fall Tour (2012)

The Kiss Land Fall Tour (2013)

King of the Fall Tour (2014)

The Madness Fall Tour (2015)

Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour (2017)

The Weeknd Asia Tour (2018)

After Hours til Dawn Tour (2022–2026)

Supporting

Florence and the Machine – Ceremonials Tour (2012)

Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience World Tour (2013)

Drake – Would You Like a Tour? (2014)

Current touring musicians

Ricky Lewis – drums (2011–present)

Patrick Greenaway – lead guitar, backing vocals (2012–present), keyboards (2022–present), synthesizer (2020–present)

Mike Dean – synthesizer, guitar, keyboards, saxophone (2022, 2023–present)

Former touring musicians

Adrian "Adrian X" Eccleston – lead guitar (2011)

Hill Kourkoutis – bass, keyboards (2011)

Nathaniel James – bass, keyboards (2012)