Early life as a teenager
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, also known as “The Weeknd“, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and record producer. Abel was born on February 16, 1990, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is of Ethiopian descent and learned Amharic (a Semitic language) from his grandmother, who was his primary caretaker through his childhood while his single mother worked. He lived in the suburb of Scarborough with his mother and grandmother. At just the age of 17, Abel dropped out of school and moved to an apartment in the neighborhood of Parkdale that everyone calls the “House of Balloons.” He was influenced musically in his youth by R&B and pop artists such as Michael Jackson, R. Kelly and Prince. Before releasing music as his current stage name, he was in a production team called “The Noise.” (More on Early Life)
His rise to fame
Abel began to write music while working at the clothing store, hoping that other artists would record his songs since he didn’t like to hear his own voice. In the fall of 2010, his friend Taylor uploaded three of his songs, “The Morning,” “What You Need,” and “Loft Music,” to YouTube and shared them on other social media platforms.
Abel chose his stage name as “The Weeknd” after the songs began to blow up. He removed one letter of “weekend” since the name already existed as a rock band. At first, the Weeknd kept his identity anonymous, refusing to accept interviews or perform in public. He would mention that his coworkers at American Apparel would play his songs without realizing they were made by him. (More on Music Career)
The Weeknd’s albums include:
- Trilogy and Kissland (2012/2013): The Weeknd re-released his early tapes “House of Balloons”, “Thursday” and “Echoes of Silence” as 2012’s Trilogy. He still hid his identity from the public such as refusing interviews or using photos of himself for his 2013 “Kissland” album. The Weeknd released his debut studio album Kiss Land in September 2013. The record received good reviews and hit No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.
- Beauty Behind the Madness (2015): In 2015, The Weeknd rose up with his album “Beauty Behind the Madness” as No. 1 in the Billboard. Songs like The Hills including his single “Can’t Feel My Face” became great hits. In 2016, The Weeknd managed to rack up seven nominations, winning best R&B Performance for “Earned It” and Best Urban Contemporary Album. He also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.
- Starboy (2016): In late November of 2016, he released his third 4th album “Starboy.” His album featured artists like Future, Kendrick Lamer, and Lana Del Rey. The album was worked on with Daft Punk, which they released the single “I Feel it Coming.” Abel would then take the Best Urban Contemporary Album Grammy for Starboy in early 2018.
- My Dear Melancholy (2018): In late March of 2018, the Weeknd released the EP “My Dear Melancholy.” It was speculated that this dark, sad, heartbroken EP was most focused on Abel’s past relationships with Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez. (All the album information found in The Weeknd’s Biography)
New Trilogy
The Weeknd would release his newest trilogy with a new completely different story. His trilogy is based on fictional journey of different stages of life, getting inspiration from Dante’s Divine Comedy. The Weeknd’s 2020 album “AFTER HOURS” is the first part of the trilogy. This is stage Inferno, exploring the depths of heartbreak, addiction, and death. This album reflects on Abel’s thoughts and feelings and what he goes through daily.
This is where Dawn FM comes in, being the second part of the trilogy. This is stage Purgatory, where the Weeknd travels through a fictional radio station. 103.5 Dawn FM (Narrated by actor Jim Carrey) after death which leads to a form of acceptance. This album explores death and healing.
As of 2025, Abel released his newest album “HURRY UP TOMORROW”, putting an end to his trilogy. This album represents Paradise and the battle of him trying to escape “The Weeknd” persona. Some songs in the album are based on his perspective on his old self and some events that has occurred in the past. For example, his transition “I Can’t F****** Sing” is based on the where he lost his voice during the Los Angeles concert in 2023. In the last 10-7 seconds of the final track in the album “HURRY UP TOMORROW”, it transitions to his first every track from “House of Balloons” called “High for This.” Some people speculated that Abel is free, leaving “The Weeknd” behind and having his persona trapped in a endless cycle. Before the release of his current album, he has said he does want to leave his old self behind and have himself be known as his real name instead of “The Weeknd.” (Some information found in Heaven, Hell, and Heartbreak + Own knowledge.)
Newest projects relating to Abel
His upcoming film “Hurry Up Tomorrow” will be making it’s way to theaters on May 16th. Other than that, we are still not sure what will be the future for Abel, but we are hoping that he does create more projects in the near future. He has made a guest appearance on Playboi Carti’s “I AM MUSIC” and NAV’s “OMW2 Rexdale.”
The Weeknd fans at AJMS
Eighth grade student Diana Sanchez said, “I love The Weeknd. His music means something to me.”
According to AJMS eighth grade student Brian Baltazar, “His songs has some meaningful things that can touch your heart.”
According to AJMS eighth grade student Katelyn Hernandez, “I love The Weeknd and he’s one of my favorite artists. Some songs are really freaky, and he was also my number three on my Spotify WRAP last year.”
His impact to his fans and the world
The Weeknd has helped fund causes from all around the world. He has raised awareness for Black Lives Matter, COVID-19, global hunger, and the Ethiopian humanitarian crisis.
The Weeknd is known to be one of the most influential artists of all time due to his unique sound and genre blending, which has influenced new generation of artists. As one of his fans myself, I love the way he story tells in his songs and how he puts it. As of today, The Weeknd is top two on Spotify and is considered the most popular artist in the world. He has had 27 songs reach at least 1 billion listeners, winning 176 awards and 513 nominations.
