The Weeknd

A moody counterpart whose voice echoes through the pop star's most transformative eras.

The Weeknd is a Canadian singer-songwriter who collaborated with Ariana Grande on the remix of "Die for You," released on February 23, 2023. The remix marked their sixth collaboration, following "Love Me Harder" (2014), "Sidewalks" (2016), "I Was Never There" (2018), "Off the Table" (2020), and the remix of "Save Your Tears" (2021). The remix propelled "Die for You" to number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the seventh number-one single for both artists. According to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), the remix was the 10th best-selling global single of 2023, though IFPI did not publicly report a specific subscription stream equivalents figure for the track.

Quick Facts

Other names

Kin Kane; • Gene Hackerman

Birth name

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye

Born

16 February 1990

Birthplace

Metropolitan Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Occupation

Singer-songwriter
record producer
actor

Years active

2009–present

Facts from the source article.

Lore & Background

Within the narrative of Ariana's discography, The Weeknd serves as a key collaborator, with their joint remix of "Die for You" becoming a major commercial success. The remix was recorded while Grande was filming for the film adaptation of the musical Wicked. It was added to a reissue of The Weeknd's album Starboy (Deluxe), originally released in 2016, on March 3, 2023. The remix climbed to number one in its 33rd week, but the record for longest climb to number one on the Hot 100 for a non-holiday song is held by 'Heat Waves' by Glass Animals (59 weeks). It did not break the record for largest opening day streams for a remix in Spotify history. With this remix, Grande earned her fourth number-one duet on the Hot 100, while Paul McCartney held five at that time.

Reader's Guide

The Weeknd's collaboration with Ariana Grande on the "Die for You" remix was released on February 24, 2023, alongside an accompanying lyric video. Grande shared a video on social media on February 21, 2023, of her working on the remix. The remix peaked at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the seventh number-one single for both artists. It also peaked at number one in Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam, and number two on the Billboard Global 200 and the Canadian Hot 100. The remix ranked as the seventh best-performing song of the year on the year-end Hot 100 chart of 2023. The Weeknd joined Michael Jackson as the only male soloists in history to have multiple number one hits on the Hot 100 from three albums.