The Weeknd’s Biography

Synopsis

The Weeknd is the stage name of the Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. Abel Makkonen Tesfaye . He gained recognition after posting several of his songs on YouTube under the username ‘The Weeknd’.

In 2015, The Weeknd’s ‘Beauty Behind the Madness’ album won two Grammy Awards for ‘Best Urban Contemporary Album’ and ‘Best R&B Performance’.

The Weeknd was in a relationship with Selena Gomez for a year before they broke up in 2017. Previously, he also dated Alice Ustinova & Bella Hadid .

Early age and education

The Weeknd was born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye on February 16, 1990 in Scarborough, Ontario. He belongs to the Black-Canadian ethnicity and has Canadian nationality.

The Weeknd is the only child of his parents, Makkonen and Samra Tesfaye, who moved from Ethiopia to Canada in the 1980s. His father left the family when he was one or two years old and Weeknd was raised by his mother and maternal grandmother. .

His first language is Amharic, which the Weeknd learned from his grandmother. He also learned to speak French fluently in French immersion class when he was in eighth grade. .

During his childhood, the Weeknd attended West Hill Collegiate Institute and later joined Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute.

The Weeknd left home after dropping out of school and began living with two of his friends in a one-bedroom house at 65 Spencer Avenue.

Race

The Weeknd began his career with mixtapes, ‘House of Balloons,’ ‘Thursday,’ and ‘Echoes of Silence,’ which he released from his website for free, helping him build a loyal fan base.

On March 21, 2011, the Weeknd released his first mixtape, ‘House of Balloons’, which was selected as a nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Award. The mixtape has nine tracks, including songs he created for Rose.

The Weeknd began performing live within a few months and began working in collaboration with Pato as a vocalist. He also released another mixtape titled ‘Thursday’ containing nine tracks on August 18, 2011.

On December 21, 2011, The Weeknd released his third mixtape, ‘Echoes of Silence’, which contained nine songs and completed the ‘Balloon Trilogy’.

In April 2012, The Weeknd and his band began performing at various festivals in the United States and Europe. He has also performed at the Primavera Sound Festivals in Spain and Portugal and at the Wireless Festival in London.

In September 2012, the Weeknd signed a deal with Republic Records and a joint venture with their XO label, releasing a compilation album, ‘Trilogy’, the following month. The album contained all the tracks from his three mixtapes, along with three bonus entries. .

In September of the following year, the Weeknd released his studio debut, ‘Kiss Land’, which garnered positive reviews from critics. His longtime collaborator, Drake, made a guest appearance on the song ‘Live For’.

In 2013, The Weeknd contributed to the soundtrack of the Hollywood movie ‘The Hunger Games: Catching Fire’. He later accompanied Justin Timberlake on his ‘The 20/20 Experience World Tour’.

In 2014, the Weeknd collaborated with Ariana Grande on the duet ‘Love Me, Harder’. Later, he released the song ‘Earned It’, from the soundtrack of the movie ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’.

In August 2015, The Weeknd released his second studio album ‘Beauty Behind the Madness’ which has five songs, with guest appearances by Ed Sheeran , Labrinth, and Lana Del Rey .

On November 25, 2016, the Weeknd released his third studio album, ‘Starboy’, which also received a positive compliment. He had guest appearances by famous musicians like Daft Punk, Future, Lana Del Rey, and Kendrick Lamar.

In 2016, The Weeknd worked with Kanye West is on the song ‘FML’ from Kanye’s album ‘The Life of Pablo’. The same year, he also appeared on the song ‘6 Inch’ from Beyoncé’s album ‘Lemonade’.

Personal life

The Weeknd recently broke up with American singer and actress Selena Gomez while they were working on a project together, they got closer and started dating from January 2017.

According to some sources, the duo was seen hugging and kissing after an extended three-hour date night at the Giorgio Baldi Santa Monica hotspot in January 2017.

After that, they temporarily moved in together in Greenwich Village, New York in September 2017. After being together for over ten months, they broke up in October 2017.

The Weeknd previously dated an American model, Bella Hadid. in early 2015 to late 2016 and he also had an affair with Alice Ustinova .

Legal problem

In January 2015, The Weeknd was arrested for beating up a Las Vegas police officer. He pleaded not guilty and was sentenced to 50 hours of community service.

In December of the following year, the Weeknd was sued by Cutting Edge Music, as they alleged that the bass line for ‘The Hills’ was copied from The Machine’s sheet music. The results of the lawsuit are unknown.

Net worth

Canadian artist, as well as producer, The weekend has a net worth of $50 million. He grossed over $90 million in record sales, tours, and merchandise sales.

The Weeknd’s debut studio album ‘Kiss Land’ peaked at number two in the US. He has a $20 million home in Hidden Hills, CA. In May 2017, he bought the luxurious mansion.

The Weeknd is also a philanthropist who has provided monetary support to various causes, including a $250,000 donation to the Black Lives Matter movement. He owns three cars of different makes: Lamborghini ($530,000), McLaren P1 ($1.5 million), and Bentley ($300,000).

The Weeknd’s most successful album is ‘Beauty Behind the Madness’; earning him multiple awards and nominations. It became the 10th best-selling album of 2015, with 1.5 million copies sold worldwide, and has also sold over two million copies in the United States so far. In 2016, he earned $700,000 for endorsing various brands.