The Weeknd

Lore & Background

Tesfaye began releasing music anonymously in 2009. After co-founding the record label XO, he released three mixtapes—House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence—in 2011. He signed with Republic Records to compile the mixtapes into the compilation album Trilogy (2012), before releasing his debut studio album, Kiss Land (2013). Following collaborations and film soundtrack contributions from 2013 and 2014, Tesfaye blended alternative R&B with pop on his second and third studio albums, Beauty Behind the Madness (2015) and Starboy (2016); both debuted atop the US Billboard 200 and featured the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles 'Can't Feel My Face', 'The Hills', 'Starboy', and 'Die for You'.

His debut extended play (EP), My Dear Melancholy (2018), featured the US top-ten single 'Call Out My Name'. Tesfaye began an album trilogy based on three time points, starting with the dream pop– and new wave–inspired album After Hours (2020), which spawned the chart-topping singles 'Heartless' and 'Save Your Tears', as well as 'Blinding Lights'—the best-performing song in the Billboard Hot 100's history and the most-streamed song on Spotify. The trilogy's latter two installments, Dawn FM (2022) and Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025), featured the US top-ten singles, 'Take My Breath' and 'Timeless'.

Reader's Guide

Tesfaye is one of the best-selling and most-streamed artists of all time. He has amassed eight diamond-certified singles from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The first artist to ever surpass 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify and the highest-paid musician in 2025, he ranked among the world's 100 most influential people by Time in 2020. His After Hours til Dawn Tour (2022–2026) set the record for the highest-grossing tour by a male soloist in history. Tesfaye also co-created and starred in the HBO drama series The Idol (2023), and the film Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025). His other ventures include hosting the Apple Music 1 radio show Memento Mori (2018–2022), being appointed goodwill ambassador for the World Food Programme in 2021, and advocacy for racial equality and food security.

Did You Know?

• Tesfaye was born on February 16, 1990, in a city in Ontario, variously reported to be Toronto or Scarborough.
• He adopted his stage name because he left home on a weekend, removing the last 'e' to avoid trademark issues.
• Tesfaye grew up speaking Amharic and is also fluent in French.
• He was incarcerated on several occasions during his late teens, which encouraged him to 'smarten up'.
• His debut mixtape House of Balloons was shortlisted for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize.