The Weeknd, born as Abel Makkonen Tesfaye in Ontario, Canada, February 16 1990. His mother and grandmother emigrated from Ethiopia to Canada in the 1980s, and his first language was Amharic. When he was around 17, he dropped out of school to focus on a life of partying.
The Weeknd eventually got a job at American Apparel, and started writing songs about drugs, casual sex, and alienation. The Weeknd eventually met Jeremy Rose, a musician and producer and the pair decided to work together.
Their work includes three songs: "The Morning", "Loft Music" and "What You Need" the songs featured singing and rapping. The songs were uploaded to YouTube in 2010. Their popularity grew after a blog post by fellow Canadian rapper Drake.
With the support of Drake, The Weeknd, was presented amazing recording opportunities, and in March 2011 he compiled a nine song mix tape entitled, House of Balloons, which he released as a free download. The album received critical acclaim and was nominated for the Polaris Music Awards in Canada. Up until this point The Weeknd was still going by his given name and it wasn't until July of 2011 did he make his first appearance as The Weeknd.
He released two additional mixtapes in 2011 called Thursday and Echo Of Silence that were also free downloads. He contributed to the 2011 release of Take Care by Drake. After the release of Take Care, The Weeknd partnered with Republic Records in September 2012. Two months later, he released Trilogy, the reworked versions of his first three mixtapes; Trilogy became a best seller. However, The Weeknd's debut studio album Kiss Land (2013) did not resonate well with his fanbase.
The Weeknd he asked the recording company to help him compose songs. As a result the professional relationship between renowned Swedish designer Max Martin and Pop Sensation Ariana Grande "Love Me Harder". The song released in 2014, the song became an instant hit. The Weeknd's released three more hits "Earned It", "The Hills" and "Can't Feel My Face" and all are featured in Beauty Behind the Madness (2015). In 2016, The Weeknd won the second consecutive Canadian Juno Award for Best Artist of the Year, along with four other Junos, including Best Album of the Year. He also won Grammy Awards for best R&B performance for "Earned It," and for best urban contemporary album for his 2015 album Beauty Behind The Madness.
The Weeknd was on a roll with the release of Starboy (2016), where he worked with Kendrick Lamar Daft Punk. It was a commercial success and won a Grammy for Best Contemporary Urban Album. His work following Starboy, My Dear Melancholy (2018), was reminiscent of moody and atmospheric sounds of his early work.
The Weeknd performed at the Super Bowl halftime show in 2021. Following this performance, his fifth studio album, Dawn FM, appeared. The show was described as a "dance party in purgatory" and was narrated by comedian actor Jim Carrey.
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