Abel Tesfaye records as The Weeknd, a once-enigmatic presence who rose to superstardom by recounting tales of corrosive emotional and physical excess across brooding alternative R&B and luminous electro-pop revivals. Emerging from Toronto in 2011 via three mixtapes that carried no obvious commercial intentions, Tesfaye quickly amassed multiple Top Ten pop entries that introduced his distinctive tenor to international audiences. Among them were a duet with Ariana Grande titled “Love Me Harder,” the Grammy-winning dramatic ballad “Earned It” from the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, the disco-funk cut “I Can’t Feel My Face” shaped with Max Martin, and the sleek Daft Punk production “Starboy.” His second and third official albums, Beauty Behind the Madness (2015) and Starboy (2016), both led charts in the United States and abroad while adding to his Grammy tally. Entering the following decade, Tesfaye delivered his third consecutive multi-platinum release, After Hours (2020), which housed the worldwide hit “Blinding Lights,” then issued Dawn FM (2022), a conceptual sharpening of his retro-modern sound. Having explored acting and screenwriting, he later served as a central creative force for the 2023 dramatic series The Idol, whose soundtrack extended his run of Top Ten placements through “Double Fantasy” and “Popular.” After teaming with Future and Metro Boomin, he previewed his fifth album, 2025’s Hurry Up Tomorrow, via the atmospheric club single “Dancing in Flames.”
Born in Toronto to Ethiopian immigrant parents, Tesfaye introduced The Weeknd in late 2010 by uploading three tracks to YouTube. Crafted alongside producer Jeremy Rose, these recordings quietly preceded three mixtapes offered as free downloads throughout 2011. House of Balloons, released in March, merged mainstream contemporary R&B influences such as Trey Songz, Jeremih, the-Dream, and Drake with the more experimental leanings of Spacek and Sa-Ra. Produced in tandem with Doc McKinney, Illangelo, and additional contributors, the project drew immediate widespread attention. Thursday arrived in August and led to several guest spots on Drake’s album Take Care, while Echoes of Silence, issued in December and featuring a version of Michael Jackson’s “Dirty Diana,” closed the series before year’s end. In June of the following year, “Crew Love” from Take Care reached the Top Ten of Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart, and Tesfaye soon appeared on another charting track, Wiz Khalifa’s “Remember You.”
After signing with Universal Republic, the original three mixtapes were remastered and supplemented with three fresh songs to form Trilogy, which surfaced in November 2012. Although the material had previously circulated at no cost, the collection entered the Billboard 200 at number four. In April 2013, Tesfaye earned Juno Awards for Breakthrough Artist of the Year and R&B/Soul Recording of the Year, and Trilogy received RIAA platinum certification the next month. Kiss Land, released in September 2013 and darker than its title suggested, debuted at number two, with only the Drake-assisted “Live For” registering on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart. Greater traction arrived through standalone 2014 singles: “Often” reached the Top Ten on the R&B/Hip-Hop list, while featured roles on Ariana Grande’s “Love Me Harder” and the Fifty Shades of Grey cut “Earned It” both cracked the Hot 100’s Top Ten and achieved U.S. platinum status.
In 2015, “The Hills,” a brooding, nocturnal ballad co-produced by Illangelo, and the buoyant Max Martin collaboration “Can’t Feel My Face” launched Beauty Behind the Madness, each claiming the top spot on the Hot 100. The album followed in August and also debuted at number one. At the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, Beauty Behind the Madness took Best Urban Contemporary Album, and “Earned It” secured Best R&B Performance. Through late 2015 and 2016, Tesfaye joined Disclosure on “In the Night,” Kanye West on “FML,” Future on “Low Life,” and Beyoncé on “6 Inch.” “Starboy,” another Daft Punk production, arrived in September 2016 as the lead single from the album of the same name, becoming his fifth Top Ten pop hit ahead of Starboy’s November release, which topped the Billboard 200. Its second single, the further Daft Punk production “I Feel It Coming,” sustained the project’s momentum.
Guest appearances on tracks by Nav, Lana Del Rey, and French Montana dotted 2017, followed in 2018 by “Pray for Me” with Kendrick Lamar, one of the lead singles from the Marvel’s Black Panther soundtrack. That March, Tesfaye surprise-released the EP My Dear Melancholy,, which revisited the atmospheric tone of Trilogy, topped the Billboard 200, and was driven by the Top Ten single “Call Out My Name.” After additional interim collaborations and soundtrack contributions, late 2019 brought the first two singles from his fourth proper album: “Heartless,” co-produced by Illangelo and Metro Boomin, reached number one on the Hot 100, while “Blinding Lights,” another Max Martin partnership, entered the Top Ten prior to After Hours’ arrival in March 2020. The introspective set, which included several collaborations with Daniel Lopatin (Oneohtrix Point Never), marked Tesfaye’s fourth straight number-one album on both the U.S. and Canadian charts. “Blinding Lights” later ascended to the Hot 100 summit and emerged as his most dominant global single, topping charts in Canada, the U.K., Australia, and multiple European markets.
In February 2021, Tesfaye performed at Super Bowl LV, aligning with the release of the career-spanning compilation The Highlights, which led the Billboard 200. Later that year came the standalone single “Take My Breath,” joined by featured turns on Top Ten hits from Kanye West (“Hurricane”), Swedish House Mafia (“Moth to a Flame”), and Post Malone (“One Right Now”). These preceded the January 2022 arrival of Dawn FM, Tesfaye’s fifth proper album, which featured narration from Jim Carrey alongside contributions from Daniel Lopatin, Quincy Jones, and Tyler, The Creator. The set peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 while leading the Canadian and U.K. album charts. A tour supporting After Hours and Dawn FM was captured on Live at SoFi Stadium, recorded across two November 2022 shows and issued the following March.
Beyond music, Tesfaye contributed to television and film, co-writing an episode of American Dad!, voicing segments of Robot Chicken and The Simpsons, and appearing briefly in Uncut Gems. In 2023 he expanded further with The Idol, the drama series he co-created, wrote, produced, and starred in, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival before debuting on HBO that June. Each of its five episodes incorporated new music from Tesfaye and cast members including Lily-Rose Depp, Suzanna Son, BlackPink’s Jennie, and Troye Sivan. His hazy “Double Fantasy” featuring Future and the Neptunes-inspired “Popular” with Madonna and Playboi Carti reached seventh and tenth, respectively, on the Canadian pop chart.
April 2024 saw Tesfaye reunite with Future and Metro Boomin on the singles “Young Metro” and “We Still Don’t Trust You,” after which he previewed his fifth studio album, Hurry Up Tomorrow, with the synth-driven dance track “Dancing in Flames.” Additional previews, among them “Timeless” with Playboi Carti and “São Paulo” featuring Anitta, preceded the album’s January 2025 release.
