The Weeknd

Life and career

1990–2008: Early life

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye was born on February 16, 1990, in a city in Ontario, variously reported to be Toronto, or Scarborough. The only child of Ethiopian immigrants Makkonen Tesfaye and Samrawit Hailu, who separated shortly after his birth, he was raised in the suburb of Scarborough by his mother and grandmother. Tesfaye's patronymic is spelled "Makkonen" instead of the traditional Ethiopian name "Makonnen". The similarity with the Finnish surname Makkonen is pure coincidence. The spelling of Tesfaye's patronymic might be the result of a typographic error or a new form of the traditional name. Tesfaye is proficient in Amharic, his ancestral language acquired from his grandmother, and is also fluent in French, as he attended a French immersion school. He was further educated at West Hill Collegiate Institute and Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute.

At seventeen, Tesfaye dropped out of school and relocated to an apartment in the neighbourhood of Parkdale with two friends, one of whom was La Mar Taylor—his best friend and now creative director. Living a hedonistic lifestyle with his friends, Tesfaye adopted his stage name because he left home on a weekend. He removed the last 'e' in 'weekend' to avoid trademark issues with the Canadian pop rock band the Weekend. He has also experienced homelessness and was incarcerated on several occasions during this time, which encouraged him to "smarten up, to focus". During this time, Tesfaye frequently engaged in drug use, including substances such as ketamine, cocaine, MDMA, magic mushrooms, and cough syrup, stating that drugs were a "crutch" for him when he wrote music. Before releasing music under his current stage name, he went under the alias "Kin Kane", as part of a hip-hop duo called "Bulleez n Nerdz", and was part of a production team called 'the Noise'.

2009–2014: ''Trilogy'' and ''Kiss Land''

In August 2009, Tesfaye began anonymously releasing music on YouTube. The following year, he met the producer Jeremy Rose at a party. Rose asked Tesfaye if he wanted to work together as a dark R&B project after hearing him freestyle over an instrumental. After creating multiple songs and parting ways due to creative differences, Tesfaye was allowed to use the songs they made together under the condition that Rose received production credits. In December 2010, Tesfaye uploaded "What You Need", "Loft Music" and "The Morning" to YouTube under the username "xoxxxoooxo". His identity remained undisclosed initially. These songs gained attention online and were later acknowledged in a blog post by the rapper Drake. The songs subsequently received coverage from various media outlets, including Pitchfork and The New York Times.

In 2011, Tesfaye met music executives Wassim "Sal" Slaiby and Amir "Cash" Esmailian, with whom, along with Taylor, he founded the XO record label. On March 21, Tesfaye released his debut mixtape, House of Balloons, which featured production from Illangelo and Doc McKinney. The mixtape also included tracks produced by Rose, although he did not receive production credits. House of Balloons was named as one of the ten shortlisted nominees for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize. Tesfaye started working with Drake in May, eventually earning a spot at the latter's OVO Fest on July 31. That month, Tesfaye held his first live performance at the Mod Club Theatre in Toronto, which received media attention for Drake being in attendance. He also participated in concerts hosted by the Black Student Association at the University of Toronto. In summer 2011, he also received media attention in the United States when his song "High For This" was featured in an ad campaign for the final season of HBO's "Entourage." On August 18, Tesfaye released his second mixtape, Thursday, which garnered usually positive reviews. Tesfaye contributed to four songs on Drake's second studio album, Take Care, released on November 15, as a songwriter, producer and a featured artist on the album's seventh single, "Crew Love". He released his third mixtape, Echoes of Silence, on December 21. It was a long-listed nominee for the 2012 Polaris Music Prize.

In April 2012, Tesfaye began performing at more shows, such as the Coachella Festival, and two sold-out shows at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. He also performed at various European festivals, such as Primavera Sound in Spain and Portugal and the Wireless Festival in the United Kingdom. In September, Tesfaye signed with Republic Records; XO was assumed as a subsidiary label. That same month, he embarked on his first concert tour, the Fall Tour, which included his own headlining shows and some opening shows for the English band Florence and the Machine. The tour was performed in North America in September to November. On November 13, Tesfaye released Trilogy, a compilation album comprising re-mixed and remastered versions of his 2011 mixtapes, and three additional tracks. The album debuted at number four on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 86,000 copies, and has received platinum certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and double-platinum from Music Canada. It also earned Tesfaye a nomination for the Sound of 2013 poll award by BBC.

On May 17, 2013, Tesfaye released the title track to his debut studio album, Kiss Land and announced the album's release date of September 10. Upon its release, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 96,000 copies and received generally positive reviews from music critics. Tesfaye further promoted the album with a fall tour that occurred in North America and England in September to November. In October 2013, Tesfaye was announced as the opening act for Drake's European leg of Would You Like a Tour?, lasting between February and March 2014. Between November 6 and 13, he served as an opening act for Justin Timberlake during The 20/20 Experience World Tour. He also contributed two songs to the soundtrack for the 2013 film The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, "Devil May Cry" and the soundtrack's second single, "Elastic Heart" with Sia and Diplo.

In February 2014, Tesfaye released a remix of "Drunk in Love" from Beyoncé's eponymous studio album, and Ty Dolla Sign's "Or Nah". He announced the King of the Fall Tour in June, a 4-city tour of North America between September and October and was supported by Schoolboy Q and Jhené Aiko. In promotion of the tour, he released the songs "King of the Fall" and "Often" in July of that year. On August 25, Tesfaye collaborated with Ariana Grande on the song "Love Me Harder" from Grande's second studio album My Everything. It was later released on September 30 as the fourth single from the album, and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. On December 23, Tesfaye released the song "Earned It" from the soundtrack for Fifty Shades of Grey (2015). The single, which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, earned Tesfaye his first and only Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song. The song won Best R&B Performance and was nominated for Best R&B Song and Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

2015–2016: ''Beauty Behind the Madness''

On May 27, 2015, Tesfaye released the second single from Beauty Behind the Madness, "The Hills". The single debuted at number twenty on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number one, becoming Tesfaye's second number-one single, following "Can't Feel My Face", which had reached the number one position before it, and by four years, was certified diamond by the RIAA, marking Tesfaye's first diamond-certified record. In June 2015, after winning the Centric Award at the BET Awards, Tesfaye performed "Earned It" with Alicia Keys. On June 8, he released the song "Can't Feel My Face" as the album's third single. The track was previously leaked in May, but was released as a single following a performance by Tesfaye at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. The single debuted at number twenty-four on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number one, making it Tesfaye's third top 10 hit and his first number-one song in the United States. The song was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

Tesfaye occupied all three slots on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart simultaneously with the aforementioned singles, becoming the first artist in history to accomplish this. He was also unveiled as one of the musical faces of the streaming service Apple Music, alongside Drake. During the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards, Apple debuted a two-part promotional commercial featuring Tesfaye, which had a guest appearance from John Travolta. In July, Tesfaye headlined the inaugural FVDED in the Park festival in Surrey, British Columbia. On June 29, Tesfaye was featured on Meek Mill's second studio album Dreams Worth More Than Money (2015), on the track "Pullin' Up".

Beauty Behind the Madness, Tesfaye's second studio album, was released on August 28, 2015, and debuted atop the Billboard 200, earning 412,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. It reached the top 10 in over ten countries and reached number one in Canada, Australia, Norway, and the United Kingdom. The album was promoted by Tesfaye headlining various summer music festivals, including Lollapalooza, the Hard Summer Music Festival, and the Bumbershoot Festival. He announced The Madness Fall Tour, his first large-scale tour across the United States, which began in November, and concluded in December. The album was certified double platinum in the U.S., and sold 1.5 million copies worldwide. It was the most-streamed album in 2015, with over 60 million streams, and was ranked on multiple lists of albums of the year. The three singles that preceded the album were certified platinum in the United States. The album won Best Urban Contemporary Album and was nominated for Album of the Year at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

On September 4, 2015, Tesfaye was featured on Travis Scott's debut album Rodeo, on the track "Pray 4 Love". On October 10, Tesfaye appeared on Saturday Night Live alongside actress Amy Schumer, performing as the show's musical guest. This was his first performance on the show as a solo artist, after appearing with Ariana Grande to perform "Love Me Harder". In November, he began his debut arena tour, The Madness Fall Tour, concluding in December. On December 18, Tesfaye was featured on Belly's single "Might Not" from his eighth mixtape Up For Days. On February 14, 2016, Tesfaye was featured on Kanye West's seventh studio album The Life of Pablo on the track "FML". It marked their second collaboration, with West previously writing and producing on Tesfaye's track "Tell Your Friends" from Beauty Behind the Madness. On March 1, Tesfaye was featured on Future's single "Low Life" from his fourth studio album Evol. On April 23, he was featured on Beyoncé's sixth studio album Lemonade on the track "6 Inch". On August 26, Tesfaye was featured on Cashmere Cat's single "Wild Love" with Francis and the Lights, which served as the lead single from Cashmere Cat's debut studio album 9 (2017).

2016–2019: ''Starboy'' and ''My Dear Melancholy'',

In September 2016, Tesfaye announced that his third studio album, Starboy, would be released on November 25, and included collaborations with now-disbanded French electronic music duo Daft Punk. He released the album's title track, which featured the duo on September 21. The song debuted at number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100, and peaked at number one, making it Tesfaye's third number-one single. As of March 2023, the song is certified Diamond by the RIAA. Their second collaboration, "I Feel It Coming" was released on November 24. The single peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. On October 1, Tesfaye made a second appearance on Saturday Night Live as the musical guest alongside actress Margot Robbie. During the show, he performed "Starboy" and "False Alarm". On November 23, he released the short film M A N I A. Directed by Grant Singer, it featured excerpts from the album, including snippets from "All I Know" featuring Future, "Sidewalks" featuring Kendrick Lamar, "Secrets", and "Die for You". Upon release, the album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 with 348,000 units, making it Tesfaye's second consecutive number-one album. As of January 2019, the album is certified triple platinum by the RIAA. The album won Best Urban Contemporary Album at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, making it Tesfaye's second win in the category.

On February 17, 2017, Tesfaye began his fifth concert tour, called Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour. The tour was in support of his third studio album Starboy, and concluded on December 14. He visited the continents Europe, North America, and Oceania. On February 15, Tesfaye was featured on Nav's commercial debut single "Some Way", which also served as the lead single from his self-titled mixtape. On February 24, he appeared on Future's sixth studio album Hndrxx, on the song "Comin Out Strong". On April 19, Tesfaye appeared on the title track and second single from Lana Del Rey's fifth studio album. On July 30, he was featured on French Montana's track "A Lie", the third single from his second studio album Jungle Rules. He then appeared on the Virgil Abloh-directed music video for Lil Uzi Vert's "XO Tour Llif3" alongside Nav. He was later featured on Lil Uzi Vert's debut album Luv Is Rage 2 on the track "UnFazed" and on Gucci Mane's eleventh studio album Mr. Davis on the track "Curve".

On February 2, 2018, Tesfaye contributed to the soundtrack for Black Panther on the song "Pray for Me" with Kendrick Lamar. The track served as the third single from the soundtrack, and peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. On March 30, Tesfaye released his debut extended play My Dear Melancholy, after news of the project were teased and leaked. The EP debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 169,000 units, making it Tesfaye's third consecutive number-one album and the shortest album, by track count, to top the chart in eight years. On April 6, Tesfaye released the EP's lead single "Call Out My Name", which peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. On April 13, he headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for the first time. He appeared in multiple festivals throughout 2018 to support the EP, most notably the Mawazine Festival in Morocco, Lollapalooza in both Chicago and Berlin, and a post-race concert at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

On June 6, 2018, Tesfaye announced his new Apple Music 1 radio show Memento Mori. The first episode was released two days later. He would later feature on two tracks from Travis Scott's third studio album, Astroworld, which were "Skeletons" and "Wake Up" on August 3. On November 21, he released his first greatest hits album The Weeknd in Japan. In support of the album and his EP My Dear Melancholy, he began his sixth concert tour, the Weeknd Asia Tour, a six-show tour of Asia during November and December. On January 11, 2019, Tesfaye was featured on Gesaffelstein's song "Lost in the Fire", the second single from his second studio album Hyperion. On April 18, he released "Power Is Power" with SZA and Travis Scott, the lead single from the Game of Thrones-inspired soundtrack. On August 30, during the Telluride Film Festival, he made his acting debut in the film Uncut Gems as himself.

2019–2021: ''After Hours'' and Super Bowl LV halftime show

On November 24, 2019, Tesfaye teased his single "Blinding Lights" through a Mercedes-Benz commercial. On November 27, he released "Heartless" as the lead single from his fourth studio album. The song debuted at number thirty-two on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number one, making it Tesfaye's fourth number-one single. "Blinding Lights" was released two days after the release of "Heartless" on November 29. The single debuted at number eleven on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked at number one, making it Tesfaye's fifth number-one single. "Blinding Lights" would then go on to become the first song in the chart's history to hold a spot in the top ten for an entire year. It also became the longest charting song by a solo artist on the Hot 100 at 90 weeks, ending the week of September 11, 2021. On November 23, 2021, "Blinding Lights" was ranked as the best-performing song in the Billboard Hot 100's history, surpassing "The Twist" by Chubby Checker. On January 1, 2023, it became the most streamed song on Spotify with 3.3 billion streams.

On February 19, 2020, Tesfaye revealed that his fourth studio album would be titled After Hours, and would be released on March 20. He also released the album's title track as a promotional single. On March 7, he made his third appearance as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live, alongside actor Daniel Craig. On the show, he starred in the skit "On The Couch" with actors Kenan Thompson and Chris Redd, performed "Blinding Lights", and debuted the track "Scared to Live". Tesfaye released the album's third single "In Your Eyes" on March 24. The track peaked at number sixteen on the Billboard Hot 100. Upon release, After Hours debuted atop the Billboard 200, earning 444,000 units, marking Tesfaye's fourth consecutive number-one album. It became the most streamed R&B album of all time, surpassing Tesfaye's own Starboy. In the album's first charting week, Tesfaye also became the first artist to lead the Billboard 200, Billboard Hot 100, Billboard Artist 100, Hot 100 Songwriters and Hot 100 Producers charts simultaneously, and repeated his lead the following week. The deluxe version of After Hours was released on March 29, 2020, and contained the tracks "Nothing Compares", "Missed You" and "Final Lullaby". On May 4, Tesfaye made a guest appearance on the American Dad! episode "A Starboy Is Born", also co-written by Tesfaye and featuring a song titled "I'm a Virgin". On July 27, he voiced three characters during the 200th episode of Robot Chicken.

On August 7, 2020, Tesfaye was featured on the late Juice Wrld's single "Smile" from his first posthumous album Legends Never Die. On August 28, he was featured on Calvin Harris' single "Over Now". On October 30, Tesfaye appeared on Ariana Grande's song "Off the Table" from her sixth studio album Positions. On the same day, he appeared on Oneohtrix Point Never's track "No Nightmares" from his ninth studio album Magic Oneohtrix Point Never, which he also executive produced with OPN. On November 5, he appeared on the remix of Maluma's "Hawái", was nominated for Best Urban Fusion/Performance at the 22nd Annual Latin Grammy Awards. On December 10, he performed at iHeartRadio's Jingle Ball. On February 5, 2021, Tesfaye released his second greatest hits album The Highlights. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, making it Tesfaye's highest charting compilation album and the biggest first week debut for a greatest hits album since Fully Loaded: God's Country (2019).[[File:Raymond James Stadium (50898195996).jpg|thumb|Tesfaye headlined the [[Super Bowl LV halftime show]] at the [[Raymond James Stadium]] in 2021]]Tesfaye headlined the Super Bowl LV halftime show on February 7, 2021, becoming the first Canadian solo artist to headline the show. He reportedly spent US$7 million of his own money on the Super Bowl performance. Reviews of the performance were generally positive. The show resulted in a surge in streaming and downloads for Tesfaye's After Hours album as well as for the seven other songs he performed. The halftime show earned three nominations at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Variety Special (Live), Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Special, and Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Special.

Over 2021, Tesfaye reissued his three mixtapes in its authentic form with the original mixes and samples to celebrate the tenth anniversary of their release, with House of Balloons coming first in March. *Thursday'''s reissue followed in August, and in December, Echoes of Silence was reissued. On April 23, Tesfaye released a remix of "Save Your Tears" with Ariana Grande, marking their third collaboration. The remix launched the song to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated May 8, 2021, becoming both artists' sixth number one hit. He later began to tease new music in the same month. When asked about a new album during an interview with Variety, he explained that "if the last record is the After Hours of the night, then *The Dawn'' is coming". On May 11, Tesfaye performed "Save Your Tears" at the Brit Awards. He also accepted his first Brit Award for International Male Solo Artist, which was presented to him by former first lady of the United States Michelle Obama.

On May 24, Tesfaye performed "Save Your Tears" at the Billboard Music Awards. He was nominated for a record sixteen awards, and won ten, including Top Artist and Top Hot 100 Song. When accepting his awards, Tesfaye continued to tease new music by saying "the After Hours are done, and The Dawn is coming". On May 28, he performed the remix of "Save Your Tears" at the iHeartRadio Music Awards with Ariana Grande. On June 25, Tesfaye appeared on Doja Cat's single "You Right" from her third studio album Planet Her. On July 22, he appeared on Belly's single "Better Believe" with Young Thug from his third studio album See You Next Wednesday.

2021–2023: ''Dawn FM''

On August 2, 2021, Tesfaye released a snippet of new music on social media. He appeared on the cover of the September 2021 issue of GQ, marking the magazine's first global publication. Then, in a collaboration with NBC Sports and the 2020 Summer Olympics, Tesfaye announced the single "Take My Breath", which was released on August 6. Later that month, he appeared on Kanye West's tenth studio album Donda on the track "Hurricane", which won Best Melodic Rap Performance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards. On October 4, during an episode of Memento Mori, Tesfaye revealed that his fifth studio album was complete and that he was waiting on a "couple characters that are key to the narrative." On October 18, Tesfaye announced that his upcoming tour, originally titled the After Hours Tour, would be held entirely in stadiums due to arena constraints and was scheduled to commence in July 2022. The tour was renamed as the After Hours til Dawn Tour, and would incorporate elements from his fourth and fifth studio albums.

On October 22, 2021, Tesfaye appeared on Swedish House Mafia's single "Moth to a Flame" from their debut studio album Paradise Again. On November 5, he appeared on Post Malone's single "One Right Now" from his fourth studio album Twelve Carat Toothache. On November 11, he was featured on Rosalía's single "La Fama" from her third studio album Motomami. On December 16, Tesfaye was featured on FKA Twigs' single "Tears in the Club" from her debut mixtape Caprisongs. The next day, on December 17, he was featured on Aaliyah's single "Poison" from her posthumous album Unstoppable. Tesfaye released his fifth studio album Dawn FM on January 7, 2022. Upon release, the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 with 148,000 units, marking Tesfaye's eighth top ten entry and his second non-consecutive album to debut at number two. He also broke the record for the most simultaneous entries for a male soloist on the Billboard Global 200, with twenty-four songs on the chart. In addition to "Take My Breath", Dawn FM was supported by the singles "Sacrifice" and "Out of Time". On February 26, Tesfaye premiered The Dawn FM Experience, a television music special in partnership with Amazon Prime Video.

On March 20, 2022, Tesfaye played in an episode of the cartoon The Simpsons. On April 18, he headlined the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for the second time, performing alongside Swedish House Mafia. On July 8, his record of most number-one songs on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart was surpassed by fellow singer and would-be rival Chris Brown; Weeknd had 71 while Brown broke his record by 8 more. On July 26, Tesfaye announced that he would host a haunted house at Universal Studios Florida and Hollywood, as part of Universal's Halloween Horror Nights hosted every Halloween. Tesfaye appeared on the song "Creepin'" from Metro Boomin's album, Heroes & Villains, on December 2. His song "Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)", made for the film Avatar: The Way of Waters official soundtrack, was released on December 16.

On February 24, 2023, following months-long renewed interest in and virality of Tesfaye's 2016 song "Die for You", which began charting in 2022 and reached a new peak of 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 6 years after its release, a remix of the song featuring Ariana Grande was released. The remix marked their fourth collaboration. In the Billboard Hot 100 issue dated March 11, the remix reached the top of the chart, becoming both artists' seventh number one hit. On February 27, in the wake of the remix's success, Tesfaye became the first artist to surpass 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify. On March 3, Tesfaye released his first live album, titled Live at SoFi Stadium. It featured recordings from his HBO concert film of the same name, showcasing the last concert of the North American leg of his After Hours til Dawn Tour at SoFi Stadium. He subsequently featured on four songs—"Artificial Intelligence", "Defame Moi", "More Coke!!", and "Emotionless"—from Mike Dean's album 4:23, released on April 29. On May 8, Tesfaye stated that he was intending to retire the moniker of "the Weeknd" in favor of performing under his birth name, or adopting a new pseudonym altogether. He explained that his upcoming album would most likely serve as his "final hurrah" under the name.

2023–present: ''The Idol'' and ''Hurry Up Tomorrow''

Tesfaye co-created the HBO drama series The Idol with Sam Levinson, and stars in the show alongside Lily-Rose Depp. The series premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival out of competition, where it received significant controversy for its graphic depiction of onscreen nudity and sexual content. The series debuted to widespread negative reviews from critics. The Hollywood Reporter stated that the series confirms the allegations that "Instead of subtly skewering the misogynistic and predatory nature of the business, The Idol became a forbidden love story — the stuff of a toxic man's fantasy", and called it "regressive rather than transgressive". He received negative reviews for his acting, with critic Robert Daniels of The Playlist writing, "Tesfaye is also a terrible actor. He lacks the comfortability, the gravitas, charisma, and charm to increase the viability of Jocelyn being attracted to him. In most scenes, Tesfaye either hides under the cover of dim lighting, obtrusive coverage, or re-recorded dialogue dubbed into several scenes." On August 28, 2023, HBO announced it had cancelled The Idol after one season.

On June 8, 2023, Tesfaye announced a series of EPs featuring music from The Idol. Originally intended as a soundtrack album, each EP was released following the premiere of each episode of the show, which featured collaborations with Future, Playboi Carti, Madonna, Lil Baby, Lily-Rose Depp, and Jennie from the South Korean girl group Blackpink. Later in June he received an invitation from the Academy to become a member. On July 21, Tesfaye appeared on Travis Scott's lead single "K-pop" from his fourth studio album Utopia, and later appeared on another track on Scott's album, "Circus Maximus". Tesfaye appeared on Diddy's single "Another One of Me" on September 15, which he called his "final feature", despite releasing multiple collaborations with Metro Boomin and Future in 2024.

On December 2, 2023, Fortnite announced that Tesfaye would be featured as the headlining artist for its Fortnite Festival gamemode and outfits of him would become available to play with on December 9. His outfits have three different variants of himself; the red suit seen throughout the promotional material for After Hours, the outfit from his 2022 Coachella performance, and two of the costumes that he was seen wearing during the After Hours til Dawn Tour. Tesfaye first teased news of a follow-up album to Dawn FM in 2022, telling his fans: "[I] wonder... did you know you're experiencing a new trilogy?" via Twitter. On January 8, 2024, he further teased an upcoming album, posting pictures of his last two albums and a question mark on his social media. On March 22, he appeared on the track "Young Metro" from Future and Metro Boomin's collaborative album, We Don't Trust You, as well as three tracks on Future and Metro Boomin's We Still Don't Trust You album two weeks later.

On July 17, 2024, Tesfaye announced a one-night show in São Paulo, Brazil, set to take place on September 7, 2024. He announced the title of his upcoming sixth album, Hurry Up Tomorrow, three days prior to the concert, and on September 13, released "Dancing in the Flames", which was then intended as the debut single from the album. Three days later, he released an acoustic version of the song. On September 27, Tesfaye released "Timeless", featuring previous collaborator Playboi Carti, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. On October 30, Tesfaye released "São Paulo", featuring Brazilian singer Anitta. The album was released on January 31, 2025. Upon release, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 490,500 units, including 359,000 pure album sales, the latter figure being the highest for any male artist since 2020. With this feat, Hurry Up Tomorrow marks his fifth Billboard 200 chart-topping album and his highest opening week sales by overall units in the country. The album also marked the second largest week opener of 2025 (after Morgan Wallen's I'm the Problem), and the largest for any album since Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department (2024). On March 14, 2025, Tesfaye appeared on "Rather Lie" from Playboi Carti's third studio album, Music.

Tesfaye starred alongside Jenna Ortega in a companion film Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025) directed by Trey Edward Shults, released on May 16 and widely criticized by critics, bombing at the box office bomb with grossing $7.6 million from its $15 million budget. Brandon Yu of The New York Times described the psychological thriller as being "all style and no substance". Charles Bramesco of IndieWire criticized Tesfaye's acting and writing, describing it as "modes of imitative, hollow performance, like a bad actor's varying notions of good acting". Jordan Hoffman of Entertainment Weekly criticized the overall film as being a "nearly plot-free movie, [that] is self-indulgent, overly serious, and, worst of all, just plain dull." IndieWire labeled it one of the "worst vanity projects ever made". On December 30, 2025, Tesfaye became the first artist on Spotify to have thirty songs with more than one billion streams each.

Artistry

Influences

Tesfaye cites Michael Jackson, Prince, and R. Kelly as his main musical inspirations. He has attributed Jackson's music as key in spurring him to be a singer, referencing the lyrics to "Dirty Diana" as an example. His high-flying vocal style was influenced by Ethiopian singers such as Aster Aweke. He grew up listening to a variety of music genres, including soul, hip hop, funk, indie rock, and post-punk. Tesfaye is heavily influenced by 1980s music, and credits the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) for "opening my eyes" to the music of that era. "I've always had an admiration for the era before I was born", he said in an interview for Billboard. "You can hear it as far back as my first mixtape that the '80s – Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins – play such a huge role in my sound."

Tesfaye has named Deftones as one of his influences during the making of House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence. He has also cited Lana Del Rey, David Bowie, the Smiths, Bad Brains, Talking Heads, DeBarge, 50 Cent, Wu-Tang Clan, and Eminem as influences and inspirations. When Daft Punk announced their split in 2021, Tesfaye praised them during an interview with Variety, saying: "Those guys are one of the reasons I make music, so I can't even compare them to other people..."

Production and songwriting

Tesfaye's songs are "built around a fogged, crepuscular production", and feature slow tempos, rumbling bass, and forlorn echoes. His music incorporates samples that are unconventional in R&B production, including punk, shoegaze, dream pop and alternative rock. Marc Hogan of Spin says that Tesfaye's samples tend "to draw from rock critic-approved sources, though generally ones that already share elements of his sexual menace", sampling artists such as Beach House, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Aaliyah. Tesfaye worked mostly with producers Illangelo and Doc McKinney, whom Ian Cohen of Pitchfork credits with developing "a state-of-the-art R&B template" with the artist. In concert, Tesfaye reappropriates his digitized productions with a suite-like arena rock aesthetic.

His emotional, plaintive lyrics often express feelings of hurt and deal with subject matter such as sex, drugs, and partying; this is seen especially in After Hours and House of Balloons. Hermione Hoby of The Guardian characterizes Tesfaye's songs as "narcotised-slow jams" and delineates their message as "partying is an existential experience, sex is fraught with alienation, and everything registers as unreal and unsettling." Paul MacInnes of The Guardian stated that he views Tesfaye's three mixtapes as "a rough trajectory of party, after-party and hangover." Tesfaye has stated that by singing vulgar, ignorant lyrics in an elegant, sexy way, he is "paying homage to R Kelly, and even Prince to a certain extent."

Voice and music style

Tesfaye often sings in a falsetto register. J. D. Considine finds his singing's "tremulous quality" similar to Michael Jackson, but writes that he eschews Jackson's "strong basis in the blues" for a more Arabic-influenced melisma. Tesfaye possesses a wide light-lyric tenor vocal range, which spans over three octaves. His vocal range reaches its extreme low at the bass F (F2), and its peak high at the tenor G (G5), with a natural tessitura within the upper fourth octave. Tesfaye often makes use of his head voice to build resonance to belt out strong high notes within the fifth octave. Tesfaye's vocals have a recognizable Ethiopian characteristic. Hannah Giogis of Pitchfork notes that "his trademark vibrato, the characteristically pained whine that pervades much of Tesfaye's music, draws from a long Ethiopian musical legacy of tortured pining. Imbuing our voices with the shaky pain of loss—romantic or otherwise—is a hallmark of Ethiopian musical tradition. Tesfaye, with his staccato wails and aching nostalgia, is a young, North American addition to a dynasty of melodramatic Ethiopian singers." In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked the Weeknd at number 110 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Tesfaye's discography spans pop, R&B, hip-hop, and dance genres. His earlier work is generally categorized as alternative R&B, due to its contributions in broadening the genre's musical palette to incorporate electronic and indie styles, while his later work gravitates towards electropop. Tesfaye shared his thoughts on the primary label during an interview with Time in 2015, stating: "Alternative R&B is in my soul. It's not going anywhere. When I put out songs from House of Balloons in 2010, people said I made R&B cool again. I'm assuming that's when the label was created. I feel honored that a good part of today's music is inspired by it, consciously or subconsciously. The only way I could have done that was to be ambitious and grand." Tesfaye's first three mixtapes; House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence, are alternative R&B projects that draw on dream pop, post-punk and trip hop, amongst others. His debut studio album Kiss Land is categorized as R&B and dark wave. His next three albums, Beauty Behind the Madness, Starboy and After Hours, are considered R&B and pop; with Starboy utilizing heavy trap influences, and After Hours drawing on new wave and dream pop influences. Tesfaye's fifth studio album Dawn FM explores dance-pop and synth-pop genres.

Controversies

Feuds

Previously friends in the music industry, Tesfaye and Drake's dispute began in 2019, when the former disapproved of Drake's friendship with ex-girlfriend, Bella Hadid. The feud intensified when Tesfaye echoed an alleged publication of Drake's hiding of his son from the media, specifically on the Gesaffelstein track, "Lost in the Fire". They squashed their dispute in 2022, a year after Drake defended Tesfaye's decision not to submit his music for Grammy award considerations. However, on March 22, 2024, the feud reignited when Tesfaye appeared on Future and Metro Boomin's collaborative album, We Still Don't Trust You, on the track "All to Myself", which he thanked God that he "never signed [his] life away", referring to Drake's imprint, OVO Sound. Drake later involved Tesfaye in his ongoing feuds with Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar through his responding diss tracks, in the context of the highly publicized feud between him and the latter.

Tesfaye was also involved in minor disputes with singer Usher, and rapper Lil B.

Plagiarism allegations

In December 2015, Tesfaye was sued by Cutting Edge Music, which alleged that the bassline for "The Hills" had been taken from a composition featured in the score for the 2013 science fiction film The Machine. One of the producers of the song was alleged to have sent a private Twitter message to Tom Raybould, the composer of the film's score, to tell him about the sample. In September 2018, Tesfaye and Daft Punk were sued for allegedly stealing the rhythm for "Starboy" from Ethiopian poet and singer-songwriter Yasminah. Tesfaye denied the allegations.

In April 2019, Tesfaye was sued by British trio William Smith, Brian Clover, and Scott McCulloch, who accused Tesfaye of copyright infringement from plagiarising their song "I Need to Love" in order to create his song "A Lonely Night". They sought $150,000 from Tesfaye and Belly. In August 2019, the lawsuit was dismissed via summary judgment with the option to amend, with the court ruling that they had failed to show that Tesfaye or anyone else involved in making "A Lonely Night" had access to their song or that the works were substantially similar. In September 2019, the plaintiffs filed an amended claim based on secondary infringement, which is still in litigation.

In February 2020, Tesfaye and Kendrick Lamar were sued by the now-defunct indie band Yeasayer, claiming that "Pray for Me" includes an unauthorized sample of their song "Sunrise". Later that year, Yeasayer voluntarily dismissed their lawsuit. In September 2021, Tesfaye, Nicolás Jaar, and Frank Dukes were sued for copyright infringement by producers Suniel Fox and Henry Strange, protesting that "Call Out My Name" is "strikingly [or] substantially similar, if not identical" to their 2015 track "Vibeking".

Allegations of homophobic lyrics

In January 2019, Tesfaye was criticized for some of the lyrics in his and Gesaffelstein's single "Lost in the Fire". The second verse of the song, with the lines "You said you might be into girls, said you're going through a phase / Keeping your heart safe / Well, baby, you can bring a friend / She can ride on top your face / While I fuck you straight", were accused of being homophobic, fetishizing bisexuality, and perpetuating the falsehood that a person who identifies as being part of the LGBTQ+ community can be "turned straight". Tesfaye subtly addressed the controversy in the song "Snowchild" from After Hours, with the lines "Every month another accusation / Only thing I'm phobic of is failing".

2021 Grammys snub

Following the release of the nominations at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards in November 2020, Tesfaye accused the Grammys of corruption after he failed to receive any nominations. Based on the success of his album, After Hours, Tesfaye had been expected by many critics and publications to receive a large number of nominations, including Album of the Year as well as several nods for "Blinding Lights". Expressing his disappointment, Tesfaye tweeted "The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency...". He further explained that he was expecting nominations due to discussions between his team and the Grammys to perform at the ceremony but it was later reported by Rolling Stone that these discussions broke down due to Tesfaye also performing at the Super Bowl LV halftime show. In response, the Grammys released a statement saying that they "empathized" with Tesfaye's disappointment but that some "deserving" artists miss out every year. Recording Academy president Harvey Mason Jr. later expanded on this by explaining that "we understand that the Weeknd is disappointed at not being nominated. I was surprised and can empathise with what he's feeling. Unfortunately, every year, there are fewer nominations than the number of deserving artists. To be clear, voting in all categories ended well before the Weeknd's performance at the Super Bowl was announced, so in no way could it have affected the nomination process". Several days later, Tesfaye stated that "I personally don't care anymore. I have three Grammys, which mean nothing to me now, obviously. I suck at giving speeches anyways. Forget awards shows. It's not like, 'Oh, I want the Grammy!' It's just that this happened, and I'm down to get in front of the fire, as long as it never happens again". Halsey, a Weeknd collaborator, also spoke out in solidarity with Tesfaye after her 2020 album, Manic, received no nominations.

''The Idol'' allegations

On March 1, 2023, Rolling Stone released a lengthy exposé on the working conditions and set life of the HBO drama series The Idol, a series in which Tesfaye stars, co-created and co-wrote alongside Sam Levinson. The series received significant controversy for its graphic depiction of sexual content, which critics labeled "torture porn". The series was originally directed by Amy Seimetz who suddenly "exited with roughly 80 percent of the six-episode series finished". The series saw a major creative overhaul, as it was reported that Tesfaye felt the show had too much of a "female perspective". Over 14 crew members alleged a toxic work environment with one adding "What I signed up for was a dark satire of fame and the fame model in the 21st century..." however, "It went from satire to the thing it was satirizing." Sources alleged that Seimetz's approach to the story was scrapped and the show became "like any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show — and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better".

In response to the allegations, Tesfaye mocked the reporting on his Twitter account, posting a clip of the characters in the show discussing the magazine saying, "Rolling Stone? Aren't they a little irrelevant?". Tesfaye posted the comment in the caption: "@Rolling Stone did we upset you?". Tesfaye's response received widespread criticism, with some pointing out that in his 2011 song "Rolling Stone" he boasted about being recognized by the magazine. In an interview with Vanity Fair, he continued to dismiss the reporting, saying that logistical difficulties with Seimetz's schedule and production timelines, as well as a desire not to rush his first show, propelled the overhaul.

Other ventures

Endorsements and investments

In 2013, Tesfaye collaborated with condom company ONE to give away limited-edition condoms at his shows during the Kiss Land Fall Tour. In November 2015, he partnered with electronic vaporizer company Pax Labs to release a limited edition vaporizer. He also collaborated with fashion designer Alexander Wang for an apparel collection. In 2016, Tesfaye became a creative collaborator and global brand ambassador for the clothing brand Puma. With the partnership, he released numerous capsule collections and hosted several pop-up retail stores.

In 2017, Tesfaye partnered with retail company H&M for their men's collection. He cut ties with the company in 2018, following a racist incident within the company. In July 2018, Tesfaye collaborated with Marvel Comics to release a comic book inspired by his third studio album Starboy. In August, he released an apparel collection in collaboration with A Bathing Ape. A second collection was released in January 2020.

In April 2019, Tesfaye became an owner and global ambassador of the esports company OverActive Media, who owns the Splyce and Overwatch League team Toronto Defiant. On August 31, 2020, Tesfaye partnered with TD Bank to launch Black HXOUSE, an entrepreneurial initiative within the incubator HXOUSE, where he serves as a sleeping partner. On September 9, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a CA$221,000,000 joint venture with HXOUSE for Black Canadian entrepreneurs. In March 2021, Tesfaye auctioned a collection of visual artwork and an unreleased song in the form of a non-fungible token (NFT) on Nifty Gateway. In October, he joined football player Tom Brady's NFT platform Autograph as a member of their board of directors.

In 2022, Tesfaye invested in plant-based beverage brand Koia. Since 2023, Tesfaye, in partnership with Blue Bottle Coffee launched Samra Origins, a specialty coffee brand inspired by his Ethiopian heritage and which he named after his mother. A new coffee blend collection (the "Togetherness Blend") in collaboration with Nespresso was released in 2025. The same year, he partnered with Roblox to launch a limited avatar collection, as well as French football club Paris Saint-Germain FC to launch a limited capsule collection and kits under the XO branding, and Canadian baseball team Toronto Blue Jays for a limited merch collaboration during the 2025 World Series. On January 22, 2026, HXOUSE announced a partnership with Point Park University to launch their "Creative Direction Credential Program", providing education for young artists in Pittsburgh, set to begin in March.

XO

In 2011, Tesfaye co-founded with managers Wassim Slaiby and Amir Esmailian, as well as creative friend La Mar Taylor, the XO record label. Its motto is "XO 'Til We Overdose" and has been frequently associated with OVO Sound, Drake's record label, of which the partnership has been sometimes labelled as "OVOXO". "XO", sometimes used as an emoticon for hugs and kisses, may refer to Tesfaye's recreational use of ecstasy and oxycodone. Tesfaye would later use the word as a suffix for his given name on social media (AbelXO). Artists signed to XO include the Weeknd himself, Belly, Nav, and Chxrry22, while 88Glam and Black Atlass were previously signed to the label. As of 2025, the label has eight number-one albums on the Billboard 200: six albums by the Weeknd and two albums by Nav.

Memento Mori

In June 2018, Tesfaye created the radio show Memento Mori under Apple Music 1 (then known as Beats 1). The show, which featured numerous guest artists, featured songs that inspired Tesfaye's album during recording processes. The guests would also make curated playlists and host their own episodes. The first episode, aired on June 8, featured songs that were inspired by "some very memorable nights." Tesfaye was at the time living in Paris when airing the first episode. Campaigns for After Hours and Dawn FM were also aired on Memento Mori. For the former campaign, the ninth episode that aired on August 13, 2020, was made to celebrate Tesfaye's debut album Kiss Land (2013). These includes unreleased tracks that did not make part of the final release and a Lana Del Rey collaboration, as well as a track that would later be released as "Another One of Me" with Diddy.

Philanthropy

After being presented with a Bikila Award for Professional Excellence in 2014, Tesfaye donated CA$50,000 to the University of Toronto to fund a new course on Ge'ez, the classic language of Ethiopia. In May 2016, during Orthodox Easter, Tesfaye donated CA$50,000 to the St. Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Cathedral in Toronto, Canada, a church he attended growing up. In August 2016, he funded a new Ethiopian studies program at the University of Toronto. That same month, Tesfaye donated US$250,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation following numerous reports of police brutality in the United States. In June 2017, Tesfaye donated US$100,000 to the Suubi Health Center, a maternity and children's medical facility in Budondo, Uganda. He was inspired to support the center after learning of French Montana's work with Global Citizen and Mama Hope to help raise awareness for Suubi and the people of Uganda.

In April 2020, Tesfaye launched a line of non-medical face masks with all of the proceeds going to the MusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund, a campaign launched by the Recording Academy to help musicians affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Tesfaye donated US$500,000 to MusiCares and CA$500,000 to the Scarborough Health Network. In May 2020, in response to the murder of George Floyd and the protests that followed, Tesfaye donated US$500,000 to the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, Colin Kaepernick's Know Your Rights Camp, and the National Bail Out. He then urged other music executives, major record labels, and streaming services to donate to the cause as well.

On August 7, 2020, Tesfaye held the "Weeknd Experience", an interactive virtual concert on the social media platform TikTok that drew two million total viewers, including 275,000 concurrent viewers. The concert raised over US$350,000 for the Equal Justice Initiative. He also donated US$300,000 to Global Aid for Lebanon in support of victims of the Beirut explosion. On November 2, the University of Toronto announced that it was able to reach and surpass its fundraising goal of CA$500,000 for its Ethiopic program, which included a CA$30,000 donation from Tesfaye. In May 2021, he was among the celebrities expressing more solidarity for civilians who died during the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis. On September 23, Tesfaye was honored with the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award at the inaugural Music in Action Awards, presented by the Black Music Action Coalition. On January 9, 2024, Tesfaye partnered with the non-profit organization School on Wheels Inc. to support more than 1,000 students experiencing homelessness. To coincide with his concert in Brazil, Tesfaye released merchandise and will donate 10% of the net profits to the Brazilian Soul Fund of BrazilFoundation.

WFP ambassadorship

On April 4, 2021, Tesfaye announced a US$1,000,000 donation through the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) to relief efforts in Ethiopia for people affected by the Tigray War. On June 9, he met with the administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, to discuss the humanitarian crisis of the Tigray War. Tesfaye was appointed as a UN Goodwill Ambassador for the World Food Programme on October 7.

On March 3, 2022, he partnered with the WFP to launch the XO Humanitarian Fund. Through the fund, Tesfaye was to donate US$1 from every ticket sold at his After Hours til Dawn Tour, in addition to a US$500,000 donation, to the WFP. $2,500,000 from the XO Humanitarian Fund was directed toward WFP's humanitarian response efforts in the Gaza Strip, providing four million emergency meals for those affected by the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip. On April 29, 2024, Tesfaye announced another $2 million donation to the WFP to provide loaves of bread in Gaza. In November 2025, he announced a donation of $350,000 in support of the WFP's response to Hurricane Melissa.

Personal life

Tesfaye prefers to keep his personal life out of the public eye. For the majority of his career until 2025, he refrained from participating in interviews and instead chose to communicate via Twitter, which he attributed to shyness and insecurities. He prefers to be interviewed only in rare situations. Tesfaye was raised as an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian. When asked whether or not he was still religious, he stated to Variety in 2020, "I dunno...everything is a test, and if you are religious or spiritual, you have to go through things." Tesfaye is a cinephile, and has made numerous movie references in his music videos and teasers. In April 2023, Tesfaye revealed that he has Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

From April 2015 to August 2019, Tesfaye was in an on-again, off-again relationship with American model Bella Hadid. She starred in the music video for his single "In the Night" in December 2015. He dated American singer and actress Selena Gomez from January to October 2017. Both of the relationships received widespread media attention, and were the topic of tabloid speculation. Tesfaye has been in a relationship with Saudi-born disc jockey Simi Khadra since February 2022. Publications noticed that unlike his previous romances with Hadid and Gomez, Tesfaye keeps his relationship with Khadra private from the press.

Tesfaye's hairstyle, which has been described as one of his most recognizable traits, has been claimed to be partly inspired by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. He began growing it out in 2011 and remarked at how easy it was to maintain with "a hard shampoo every once in a while". He cut his hair in 2016, prior to the release of Starboy, also altering the handles on his social media to reflect his stage name in preparation for the release of the album. On social media, Tesfaye typically suffixed his first name with "xo", which is often used as an emoticon for hugs and kisses. According to The Guardian Hermione Hoby, this was his intention, though others believe it was a reference to his recreational use of ecstasy and oxycodone.

In January 2015, Tesfaye was arrested for allegedly punching a police officer in Las Vegas after being taken into an elevator to break up a fight. In August 2021, during a cover story with GQ, he described himself as being "sober lite", meaning that he has stopped using drugs with the exception of marijuana. He also noted that he drinks alcohol occasionally, stating: "I'm not a heavy drinker, as much as I used to be. The romance of drinking isn't there."

As of August 2021, Tesfaye was residing in Bel Air, Los Angeles. In 2017, he purchased a home in Hidden Hills, California, for $18.5 million, which he sold to Madonna in 2021 for $19.3 million. In October 2025, he purchased an estimated $54.9 million waterfront mansion in Coral Gables, Florida. Tesfaye previously lived in penthouse apartments in Westwood, Los Angeles, and New York City.

Accolades

Tesfaye has won four Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy Award, twenty Billboard Music Awards, six American Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and twenty-two Juno Awards. He has also received nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

In October 2014, Tesfaye was awarded the Allan Slaight Honour by Canada's Walk of Fame for "making a positive impact in the fields of music, film, literature, visual or performing arts, sports, innovation or philanthropy". Toronto mayor John Tory announced that the city would observe February 7, 2021, as the Weeknd Day to commemorate Tesfaye's Super Bowl halftime performance.

Discography

Main article: The Weeknd discography, List of songs recorded by the Weeknd

Studio albums

• Kiss Land (2013)
• Beauty Behind the Madness (2015)
• Starboy (2016)
• After Hours (2020)
• Dawn FM (2022)
• Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025)

Filmography

Main article: The Weeknd videography

• Uncut Gems (2019)
• The Show (2021)
• Live at SoFi Stadium (2023)
• The Idol (2023)
• Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025)
• Rolling Loud (2026)

Tours

Headlining

• The Fall Tour (2012)
• The Kiss Land Fall Tour (2013)
• King of the Fall Tour (2014)
• The Madness Fall Tour (2015)
• Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour (2017)
• The Weeknd Asia Tour (2018)
• After Hours til Dawn Tour (2022–2026)

Supporting

• Florence and the Machine – Ceremonials Tour (2012)
• Justin Timberlake – The 20/20 Experience World Tour (2013)
• Drake – Would You Like a Tour? (2014)

Current touring musicians

• Ricky Lewis – drums (2011–present)
• Patrick Greenaway – lead guitar, backing vocals (2012–present), keyboards (2022–present), synthesizer (2020–present)
• Mike Dean – synthesizer, guitar, keyboards, saxophone (2022, 2023–present) Former touring musicians
• Adrian "Adrian X" Eccleston – lead guitar (2011)
• Hill Kourkoutis – bass, keyboards (2011)
• Nathaniel James – bass, keyboards (2012)
• Daniel Jones – keyboards (2012–2013; died 2023)
• Jonathan "Jonny Goood" Drummond – bass, keyboards (2012–2013)
• Kelly Wolfgramm – backing vocals (2012–2013)
• Muhsinah – backing vocals (2012–2013)
• Ledaris "LJ" Jones – bass, keyboards, synthesizer (2013–2022)

Notes

References

References

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77. (June 26, 2014). "The Weeknd touring w/ Schoolboy Q & Jhene Aiko, playing Barclays Center (dates); SBQ played Central Park".
78. Bowe, Miles. (July 21, 2014). "The Weeknd – "King Of The Fall"".
79. (October 3, 2014). "Ariana Grande and The Weeknd Team Up In 'Love Me Harder' Video". [[Rap-Up]].
80. Cox, Jamieson. (February 28, 2016). "Oscars 2016: Watch The Weeknd reenact his sultry video for Earned It". [[The Verge]].
81. "Grammys 2016: The Weeknd Wins Two Awards".
82. Lockett, Dee. (May 27, 2015). "The Weeknd Returns With 'The Hills,' Which Probably Isn't About Lauren Conrad".
83. McIntyre, Hugh. (June 28, 2019). "The Weeknd's No. 1 Hit 'The Hills' Becomes His First Diamond-Certified Single". [[Forbes]].
84. Lamare, Carl. (June 28, 2019). "The Weeknd's 'The Hills' Certified Diamond: Exclusive".
85. Beauchemin, Molly. (June 28, 2015). "Janelle Monáe Performs "Yoga", The Weeknd Performs "Earned It" with Alicia Keys at the BET Awards".
86. Kreps, Daniel. (June 8, 2015). "Hear The Weeknd's Funky New Song 'Can't Feel My Face'".
87. Trust, Gary. (July 1, 2015). "Wiz Khalifa No. 1 on Hot 100 'Again,' Selena Gomez Debuts at No. 9".
88. Trust, Gary. (August 10, 2015). "The Weeknd Tops Hot 100 With 'Can't Feel My Face,' One Direction Debuts at No. 3".
89. (December 7, 2015). "Grammy Nominations 2016: See the Full List of Nominees".
90. Mendizabal, Amaya. (July 15, 2015). "The Weeknd Is First Artist to Own Entire Top Three on Hot R&B Songs Chart".
91. (June 8, 2015). "Apple's new musical faces – Drake and The Weeknd". [[Business Insider]].
92. (August 31, 2015). "Latest Apple Music ads debut during MTV VMAs, feature The Weeknd & playlists".
93. (December 19, 2017). "Deadmau5 & The Weeknd headline FVDED IN THE PARK 2015". [[Daily Hive]].
94. Harling, Danielle. (June 22, 2015). "Meek Mill Reveals 'Dreams Worth More Than Money' Features".
95. Caulfield, Keith. (September 6, 2015). "The Weeknd's 'Beauty Behind the Madness' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart".
96. Caulfield, Keith. (September 20, 2015). "The Weeknd spends third week at No. 1 on Billboard 200".
97. Ryan, Gavin. (September 5, 2015). "ARIA Albums : The Weeknd Takes Top Spot On Australian Chart". [[Noise11]].
98. "Top 20 Albums".
99. Mansfield, Brian. (July 10, 2015). "The Weeknd's new album is coming Aug. 28".
100. Gordon, Jeremy. (August 20, 2015). "The Weeknd announces The Madness Fall Tour".
101. Martin, Paley. (August 21, 2015). "The Weeknd Announces The Madness Fall Tour With Travi$ Scott, Halsey & Banks".
102. Morris, Jessie. (August 30, 2016). "The Weeknd Now Holds Two Guinness World Records". [[Complex Networks]].
103. Schneider, Marc. (December 1, 2015). "Spotify's Year in Music: Drake Most Streamed Artist, Major Lazer & DJ Snake Had Top Song".
104. (December 1, 2015). "The Weeknd, 'Beauty Behind the Madness'".
105. Trust, Gary. (September 8, 2015). "The Weeknd Doubles Up in Hot 100's Top Three".
106. "See All the Winners of the 2016 Grammys".
107. (June 29, 2017). "Justin Bieber, Kanye West, The Weeknd, & more featuring on Travi$ Scott's 'Rodeo" album".
108. Strecker, Erin. (September 1, 2015). "The Weeknd & Demi Lovato Announced as 'SNL' Musical Guests".
109. Gracie, Bianca. (September 1, 2015). "Demi Lovato & The Weeknd To Perform On 'Saturday Night Live' This Season".
110. Gordon, Jeremy. (August 20, 2015). "The Weeknd Announces "The Madness" Fall Tour". [[Pitchfork (website).
111. Hudson, Alex. (May 8, 2015). "Belly 'Might Not' (ft. The Weeknd)".
112. Guiducci, Mark. (May 3, 2016). "The Weeknd on Going From Indie R&B Enigma to the Pacesetting Prince of Pop".
113. Hooton, Christopher. (February 12, 2016). "The Life of Pablo tracklist: Kanye West's new album features Frank Ocean, The Weeknd and Young Thug". [[The Independent]].
114. Weatherby, Taylor. (August 20, 2015). "The Weeknd Shares Snippet of Kanye West-Produced Song, 'Tell All Your Friends'".
115. (December 27, 2015). "Listen: The Weeknd Surprises Fans By Dropping Two New Songs!".
116. (October 31, 2016). "Listen to The Weeknd and Belly's Demo Version of Beyoncé's "6 Inch"".
117. Morris, Jesse. (August 24, 2016). "It Sounds Like a Weeknd and Cashmere Cat Collab Is on the Way".
118. Mench, Chris. (August 23, 2016). "The Weeknd Is Reportedly Working with Daft Punk".
119. Pearce, Sheldon. (September 21, 2016). "The Weeknd Announces New Album Starboy".
120. (September 22, 2016). "Hear the Weeknd's new track with Daft Punk, Starboy". [[The Guardian]].
121. (January 20, 2021). "The Weeknd's 'Starboy,' Featuring Daft Punk, Hits No. 1 on Hot 100".
122. (February 1, 2021). "Gold & Platinum". [[Recording Industry Association of America]].
123. Zwilling, Eric. (September 21, 2016). "Listen to Daft Punk's new collaboration with The Weeknd, 'Starboy'".
124. Peters, Mitchell. (October 2, 2016). "Watch The Weeknd Perform 'Starboy' and 'False Alarm' on 'SNL' Season Premiere".
125. (November 23, 2016). "Watch The Weeknd's New Short Film Mania".
126. (January 30, 2021). "The Weeknd's 'Starboy' Bows at No. 1 on Billboard 200 With Third-Biggest Debut of 2016".
127. (February 1, 2021). "Gold & Platinum - RIAA". [[Recording Industry Association of America]].
128. (January 28, 2018). "NewsAlert: Starboy Wins Best Urban Contemporary Album for the Weeknd". [[National Post]].
129. Kreps, Daniel. (October 31, 2016). "The Weeknd Sets 'Phase One' of Massive Starboy: Legend of the Fall Tour".
130. (June 12, 2017). "The Weeknd Australian tour".
131. Blistein, John. (February 16, 2017). "Hear the Weeknd's Sultry 'Some Way' Collaboration With Nav".
132. Brandle, Lars. (February 24, 2017). "Future Releases New Album 'HNDRXX' Featuring The Weeknd and Rihanna: Listen".
133. Gaca, Anna. (April 19, 2017). "For Better or Worse, Lana Del Rey and the Weeknd's "Lust for Life" Is a Lana Del Rey Song".
134. Pearce, Sheldon. (April 20, 2017). "Lana Del Rey "Lust for Life" ft. The Weeknd".
135. "Watch French Montana's New Video for "A Lie" f/ The Weeknd and Max B".
136. Pierre, Alphonso. (August 29, 2017). "Lil Uzi Vert 'Luv Is Rage 2' (Review)". HotNewHipHop.
137. Lamarre, Carl. (September 13, 2017). "Listen to Gucci Mane & The Weeknd Kill Every Groupie's Dream on 'Curve'".
138. Boykins, Austin. (January 31, 2018). "TDE Reveals Loaded Tracklist for 'Black Panther' Soundtrack".
139. (February 2, 2018). "Kendrick Lamar And The Weeknd Team Up For 'Pray For Me'". NPR.
140. Sargent, Jordan. (March 29, 2018). "The Weekend Announces New Album 'My Dear Melancholy,'".
141. (March 27, 2018). "Is The Weeknd Dropping A New Album This Week?".
142. Murray, Robin. (March 29, 2018). "Has Someone Accidentally Leaked News of the Weeknd's New Album?". [[Clash (magazine).
143. Lamarre, Carl. (March 27, 2018). "Is The Weeknd Dropping a New Album on Friday?".
144. (November 9, 2020). "The Weeknd Scores Third Consecutive No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'My Dear Melancholy'".
145. (March 28, 2018). "The Weeknd teases new song release". [[Independent Online (South Africa).
146. Goddard, Kevin. (March 29, 2018). "Stream The Weeknd's "My Dear Melancholy" EP". HotNewHipHop.
147. Unterberger, Andrew. (April 14, 2018). "The Weeknd Fulfills His Coachella Destiny With Triumphant Headlining Set".
148. Blistein, Jon. (January 3, 2018). "Beyonce, Eminem, the Weeknd to Headline Coachella 2018".
149. Senoussi, Zoubida. (June 30, 2018). "Mawazine 2018: Friday Night Fever with 'Starboy' The Weeknd at OLM Souissi". [[Morocco World News]].
150. Legaspi, Althea. (August 5, 2018). "Lollapalooza 2018: The Weeknd, Dua Lipa, Carly Rae Jepsen Highlight Day Three".
151. Engelman, Nicole. (November 26, 2018). "The Weeknd and Bella Hadid Take a PDA-Filled Trip to Abu Dhabi".
152. Penrose, Nerisha. (June 6, 2018). "The Weeknd Announces New Beats 1 Radio Show Memento Mori".
153. (July 31, 2018). "Here are the full album credits for Travis Scott's Astroworld".
154. "ザ・ウィークエンド・イン・ジャパン(シングルス・コレクション". [[Universal Music Group]].
155. China, Billboard Radio. (August 22, 2018). "The Weeknd Will Kick Off First Asia Tour in Hong Kong".
156. Blais-Billie, Braudie. (January 11, 2019). "Listen to Gesaffelstein and the Weeknd's New Song "Lost in the Fire"".
157. Pearce, Sheldon. (April 18, 2019). "SZA / The Weeknd / Travis Scott 'Power Is Power'". [[Pitchfork (website).
158. (May 5, 2019). "SZA, The Weeknd and Travis Scott Share Video For 'Game of Thrones' Inspired Track".
159. Gwee, Karen. (September 10, 2019). "The Weeknd recorded music with Oneohtrix Point Never intended for 'Uncut Gems'".
160. (November 24, 2019). "The Weeknd to Release New Single 'Blinding Lights' on Black Friday". [[Rap-Up]].
161. (December 3, 2019). "Five Burning Questions: Billboard Staffers Discuss The Weeknd's Top 40 Debut For 'Heartless'".
162. Trust, Gary. (December 9, 2019). "The Weeknd's 'Heartless' Hits No. 1 on Hot 100, Mariah Carey's 'All I Want for Christmas Is You' Returns to No. 3 High".
163. Trust, Gary. (March 30, 2020). "The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' Hits No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100, Doja Cat's 'Say So' Enters Top 10".
164. Trust, Gary. (March 9, 2021). "The Weeknd Talks Unprecedented Year in Hot 100's Top 10 With 'Blinding Lights': 'This Is Truly a Result of the Fans'".
165. Trust, Gary. (August 16, 2021). "The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' Spends Record-Breaking 88th Week on Billboard Hot 100".
166. "The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights" Is Now the Longest-Charting Billboard Hot 100 Song of All Time".
167. Mamo, Heran. (November 23, 2021). "The Greatest Hit: The New No. 1 Song of All Time".
168. (January 4, 2023). "The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' becomes the most-streamed song on Spotify".
169. Brandle, Lars. (February 19, 2020). "The Weeknd Sets 'After Hours' Release Date, Shares Dark Title Track: Listen".
170. (March 9, 2020). "SNL's 'On the Couch' Song Is Brutal and Hilariously Relatable".
171. Young, Alex. (March 8, 2020). "The Weeknd Debuts New Song, Appears in Sketch on SNL".
172. (November 27, 2020). "The Weeknd Loses His Head in Gory New "In Your Eyes" Video".
173. Strauss, Matthew. (March 20, 2020). "Listen to the Weeknd's New Album After Hours".
174. Caulfield, Keith. (March 29, 2020). "The Weeknd's 'After Hours' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart With Biggest Week of 2020".
175. "The Weeknd Captures #1 Album and #1 on Billboard Hot 100 With After Hours and Blinding Lights".
176. McIntyre, Hugh. "The Weeknd Scores The Largest Streaming Week Ever For An R&B Album".
177. Trust, Gary. (April 1, 2020). "The Weeknd on Being the First Artist to Top These 5 Charts at Once: 'It Feels Like a Huge Blessing' (Exclusive)".
178. Zellner, Xander. (April 8, 2020). "The Weeknd also repeats at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Hot 100 & Artist 100".
179. (March 30, 2020). "The Weeknd Adds Three New Songs to 'After Hours' Deluxe Edition".
180. Mamo, Heran. (2020-05-04). "Watch a Preview of The Weeknd Guest Starring in Tonight's 'American Dad' Episode".
181. Breihan, Tom. (2020-05-05). "Watch The Weeknd Debut A New Song About Abstinence On American Dad".
182. (July 28, 2020). "The Weeknd makes cameo appearance on 'Robot Chicken'".
183. Powell, Jon. (August 7, 2020). "Juice WRLD and The Weeknd join forces on "Smile"".
184. Neale, Matthew. (23 August 2020). "Calvin Harris and The Weeknd share details of new track 'Over Now'". [[NME]].
185. BAILEY, ALYSSA. (October 30, 2020). "Ariana Grande And The Weeknd's 'Off The Table' Lyrics Are About Her Finding Love After Losing Mac Miller".
186. Iasimone, Ashley. (October 24, 2020). "Ariana Grande Unveils 'Positions' Track List".
187. (October 26, 2020). "The Weeknd Joins Oneohtrix Point Never on New Song 'No Nightmares'".
188. Roiz, Jessica. (November 5, 2020). "The Weeknd Sings in Spanglish on Fiery 'Hawái' Remix With Maluma: Watch the Video".
189. (September 28, 2021). "2021 Latin Grammy nominations: Bad Bunny, Maluma, and more".
190. Slater, Georgia. (October 30, 2020). "Harry Styles, Billie Eilish, Shawn Mendes to Perform at Virtual iHeartRadio Jingle Ball".
191. "The Weeknd Shop (1/25/2021)". [[Universal Music Group]].
192. (February 14, 2021). "Morgan Wallen's 'Dangerous' No. 1 for Fifth Week on Billboard 200 While 'If I Know Me' Hits Top 10 for First Time".
193. McCarriston, Shanna. (November 12, 2020). "Super Bowl LV: The Weeknd announced as Pepsi Halftime Show performer".
194. (February 8, 2021). "Super Bowl halftime show live: The Weeknd performs with dancers in face bandages at 2021 game".
195. (February 8, 2021). "What happened to The Weeknd's face at Super Bowl 2021 halftime show?".
196. (February 7, 2021). "Best of The Weeknd and the Super Bowl 55 halftime show".
197. Bain, Katie. (January 28, 2021). "The Weeknd on the Crew That Boosted Him From 'Basically Homeless' to the Super Bowl".
198. Caramanica, Jon. (February 8, 2021). "The Weeknd Emerges From the Shadows at the Super Bowl Halftime Show".
199. (February 8, 2021). "Super Bowl halftime show review: The Weeknd wasn't great (but it's not all his fault)".
200. Kornhaber, Spencer. (February 8, 2021). "The First Super Bowl Halftime Show About the Depravity of Halftime Shows".
201. Patten, Dominic. (February 8, 2021). "The Weeknd's Super Bowl Halftime Show Scores A Touchdown With A Technical Spectacle & Mixtape Of Hits – Review".
202. Julious, Britt. (February 7, 2021). "Review: The Weeknd's Super Bowl halftime performance was an expensive nothing".
203. Fekau, Mesfin. (February 7, 2021). "Review: Yawn, is it Monday yet? The Weeknd bores at halftime". [[Associated Press]].
204. Caulfield, Keith. (February 11, 2021). "The Weeknd's Streams Increase 41% After Super Bowl Halftime Show".
205. Caulfield, Keith. (February 9, 2021). "The Weeknd's Sales Up 385% After Super Bowl Halftime Show".
206. Libbey, Peter. (July 13, 2021). "Emmys 2021: The List of Nominees". The New York Times.
207. Kiefer, Halle. (March 21, 2021). "Step Inside the Weeknd's House of Balloons, Reissued for Its 10th Anniversary".
208. (August 18, 2021). "The Weeknd Shares Original Version of 'Thursday' Mixtape and MR. Capsule Collection for Its Tenth Anniversary".
209. "The Weeknd and MR. Team Up for Capsule Collection to Commemorate 'Thursday (Original)' Streaming Release".
210. "The Weeknd shares new "Echoes of Silence" video".
211. "The Weeknd Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary of 'Echoes of Silence' by Sharing Title-Track Video".
212. Mamo, Heran. (April 23, 2021). "The Weeknd Drops 'Save Your Tears' Remix With Ariana Grande: Stream It Now".
213. Blanchet, Brenton. "The Weeknd and Ariana Grande Score No. 1 Hit for "Save Your Tears"".
214. Aswad, Jem. (May 4, 2021). "The Weeknd Drops Hints About 'Beautiful' New Music: 'The Dawn Is Coming'". [[Variety (magazine).
215. (May 11, 2021). "The Weeknd Brings Rainy 'Save Your Tears' to 2021 Brit Awards: Watch".
216. Beaumont-Thomas, Ben. (May 11, 2021). "Brit awards 2021: the ceremony as it happened, with Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift and more". The Guardian.
217. Singh, Ashish. (May 28, 2021). "Is The Weeknd dropping an album? Fans say 'dawn is coming' after cryptic post". Meaww.com.
218. "The Weeknd Shop (1/25/2021)". [[Universal Music Group]].
219. Park, Sabrina. (June 25, 2021). "Doja Cat and The Weeknd Take Us to Another Universe in Their "You Right" Music Video".
220. "Belly Enlists The Weeknd, Young Thug For 'Better Believe'".
221. Lynch, Joe. (August 2, 2021). "The Weeknd Previews New Era With 'The Dawn Is Coming' Teaser: Watch".
222. (August 2, 2021). "Announcing the Worldwide Era of GQ".
223. (August 2, 2021). "The Weeknd vs. Abel Tesfaye".
224. Hussey, Allison. (August 2, 2021). "The Weeknd Releasing New Song "Take My Breath" This Friday: Watch Preview".
225. Sinha, Charu. (August 3, 2021). "The Weeknd Announces New Single, 'Take My Breath'".
226. (August 29, 2021). "Every Song on Kanye West's 'Donda' Album, Ranked: Critic's Pick".
227. Mamo, Heran. (October 5, 2021). "The Weeknd Says His Next Album Is 'Complete'".
228. Kreps, Daniel. (March 3, 2022). "The Weeknd Sets 'After Hours Til Dawn' North American Stadium Tour".
229. Aswad, Jem. (October 18, 2021). "The Weeknd Moves Tour Dates to Summer 2022".
230. "The Weeknd Announces 'After Hours Til Dawn' Stadium Tour".
231. Aswad, Jem. (October 22, 2021). "The Weeknd and Swedish House Mafia Team Up for Smoldering New Single, 'Moth to a Flame'".
232. (November 3, 2021). "Listen to a snippet of Post Malone and The Weeknd's new collaboration 'One Right Now'".
233. (November 3, 2021). "The Weeknd & Post Malone Tease First-Ever Collaboration: Listen".
234. "Rosalía and the Weeknd share trailer for new track "La Fama"".
235. Sport. (November 8, 2021). "Rosalía - La Fama: Así es la primera canción del nuevo disco de Rosalía junto a 'The Weeknd'".
236. (December 13, 2021). "FKA twigs teases new The Weeknd collaboration 'Tears In The Club'".
237. Sisavat, Monica. (December 14, 2021). "FKA Twigs Teases a Collab With The Weeknd, and It Sounds Like a Total Banger".
238. (December 14, 2021). "The Weeknd Follows Drake & Chris Brown By Landing Posthumous Aaliyah Collaboration".
239. (December 14, 2021). "Aaliyah's Posthumous Song With The Weeknd "Poison" Coming Soon: Report".
240. (January 3, 2022). "The Weeknd Releasing New Album Dawn FM This Week".
241. Caulfield, Keith. (January 18, 2022). "Gunna Scores Second No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'DS4Ever'".
242. "Gunna's 'DS4EVER' Scores the No. 1 Spot on the Billboard 200 as The Weeknd's 'Dawn FM' Debuts at No. 2".
243. "The Weeknd Breaks Billboard Global 200 Record With 'Dawn FM'".
244. Unterberger, Andrew. (January 19, 2022). "The Weeknd's New 'Dawn FM' Tops Charts Around The World, Showing His 'Undeniable Global Appeal'".
245. "Watch The Weeknd's New Video for "Sacrifice"".
246. Avila, Daniela. (April 5, 2022). "The Weeknd Drops a Creepy, Karaoke-Singing 'Out of Time' Music Video — and It Features Jim Carrey!".
247. Kreps, Daniel. (February 21, 2022). "The Weeknd to Premiere 'Dawn FM Experience' Special This Weekend".
248. (March 21, 2022). "Watch The Weeknd appear in new episode of 'The Simpsons'". NME.
249. Aswad, Jem. (April 18, 2022). "The Weeknd Closes Out Coachella With Hit-Filled, Tag-Team Set With Swedish House Mafia".
250. (April 18, 2022). "Coachella 2022: The Weeknd covers Kanye, Drake as part of hits-filled headlining set".
251. Anderson, Trevor. (July 8, 2022). "Chris Brown Breaks The Weeknd's Record for Most Hot R&B Songs Hits".
252. Mier, Tomás. (July 26, 2022). "The Weeknd Brings 'After Hours' to Universal Studios' Halloween Horror Nights".
253. Brodsky, Rachel. (December 2, 2022). "Stream Metro Boomin's New Album Heroes & Villains Feat. The Weeknd, Travis Scott, Young Thug, & More".
254. (December 16, 2022). "The Weeknd Releases New Song "Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)" from "Avatar: The Way of Water" Soundtrack".
255. Strauss, Matthew. (February 24, 2023). "The Weeknd Enlists Ariana Grande for New "Die for You (Remix)"".
256. Trust, Gary. (February 6, 2023). "Miley Cyrus' 'Flowers' Tops Billboard Hot 100 for Third Week, Lil Uzi Vert's 'Just Wanna Rock' Hits Top 10".
257. Trust, Gary. (March 6, 2023). "The Weeknd & Ariana Grande's 'Die for You' Leaps to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100".
258. Rowley, Glenn. (February 27, 2023). "The Weeknd Becomes First Artist to Hit This Spotify Milestone".
259. Kaufman, Gil. (March 3, 2023). "The Weeknd Drops First Live Album, 'Live at SoFi Stadium'".
260. (March 1, 2023). "The Weeknd's 'Live at SoFi Stadium' To Be Released As Live Album". [[Universal Music Group]].
261. "Stream Mike Dean's '4:23' Album Featuring 4 New Songs With The Weeknd".
262. Holmes, Helen. (May 8, 2023). "The Weeknd Doesn't Want to Be The Weeknd Anymore". The Daily Beast Company LLC.
263. White, Peter. (June 29, 2021). "The Weeknd To Star In & Write Pop Singer Cult Drama Series 'The Idol' With Sam Levinson In The Works At HBO".
264. (May 22, 2023). "'The Idol' Gets Five-Minute Standing Ovation After Cannes Premiere; Sam Levinson Gets Emotional In Speech".
265. (May 23, 2023). "'The Idol' Review: Lily-Rose Depp and The Weeknd in an HBO Series That's More Regressive Than Transgressive".
266. (May 23, 2023). "'The Idol' Review: Sam Levinson's Crude Provocation With The Weeknd & Lily-Rose Depp Is Gross & Sexist [Cannes]".
267. Campione, Katie. (August 28, 2023). "'The Idol' Canceled At HBO After One Season".
268. Spanos, Brittany. (June 9, 2023). "The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp Roll Out New Music From HBO's 'The Idol'".
269. (April 12, 2023). "The Weeknd Announces Soundtrack for Upcoming HBO Series 'The Idol'".
270. Pedersen, Erik. (June 28, 2023). "Movie Academy Invites Nearly 400 New Members Including Taylor Swift, Ke Huy Quan, The Daniels & Austin Butler".
271. Madarang, Charisma. (July 21, 2023). "Travis Scott Releases 'K-POP,' Recruits The Weeknd and Bad Bunny".
272. Pavlakos, Louis. "The Weeknd Performs "Circus Maximus" For The First Time In Mexico".
273. Blistein, Jon. (September 15, 2023). "Diddy Busts Out 'In the Air Tonight' Sample for the Weeknd's Final Feature on 'Another One of Me'".
274. Mamo, Heran. (August 11, 2023). "The Weeknd Says He's Done With Features — Unless This Group Gets Back Together".
275. (December 9, 2023). "Fortnite Festival Season 1: Opening Night Features The Weeknd!".
276. (January 10, 2022). "The Weeknd: 'Did You Know You're Experiencing a New Trilogy?'".
277. (January 8, 2024). "3️⃣".
278. Horvath, Zachary. (March 25, 2024). "Future, Metro Boomin, & The Weeknd Reunite Once Again For "Young Metro" Music Video".
279. Pavlakos, Louis. "The Weeknd Performs "Circus Maximus" For The First Time In Mexico".
280. Bloom, Madison. (July 17, 2024). "The Weeknd Announces One-Night Only Stadium Concert in São Paulo".
281. Tesfaye, Abel. (September 4, 2024). "ALBUM TITLE".
282. Aswad, Jem. (September 4, 2024). "The Weeknd Reveals Title, New Details About Next Album".
283. Camp, Alexa. (September 13, 2024). "Love Is a Danger Zone in the Weeknd's "Dancing in the Flames"".
284. Kaufman, Gil. (September 16, 2024). "The Weeknd Drops Haunting Unplugged Version of 'Dancing in the Flames'".
285. Andrews, Elias. (September 27, 2024). "The Weeknd And Playboi Carti Transcend With New Single "TIMELESS"".
286. Samuels, Keithan. (2024-10-09). "The Weeknd and Playboi Carti's 'Timeless' Debuts at No. 1 on Multiple Billboard Charts".
287. Kreps, Daniel. (October 31, 2024). "The Weeknd and Anitta Mark Halloween With Body Horror-Inspired 'São Paulo' Video".
288. Mamo, Heran. (January 31, 2025). "The Weeknd Ends His Final Trilogy With 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Album: Stream It Now".
289. Caulfield, Keith. (February 9, 2025). "The Weeknd Lands Fifth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 with 'Hurry Up Tomorrow'".
290. Diaz, Angel; Saponara, Michael. (March 14, 2025). "Every Song From Playboi Carti's ''Music'' Album Ranked: Critic's Picks".
291. Chapman, Wilson. (February 28, 2023). "The Weeknd, ''Waves'' Director Trey Edward Shults to Co-Write New Film".
292. Barfield, Charles. (February 28, 2023). "Jenna Ortega, Barry Keoghan & The Weeknd To Star In New Film From Director Trey Edward Shults".
293. Saponara, Michael. (2025-04-24). "The Weeknd Reveals 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Album 'Didn't Exist' Before the Film".
294. "Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025) - Financial Information".
295. "Hurry Up Tomorrow".
296. (May 15, 2025). "'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Review: The Shadow Cast by Blinding Lights".
297. (May 15, 2025). "'Hurry Up Tomorrow' Review: The Weeknd's Emotionally Threadbare Vanity Project Is All Skips, No Repeats".
298. "Hurry Up Tomorrow review: The Weeknd's depiction of a mopey pop star is astonishingly boring".
299. (May 16, 2025). "8 of the Most Notorious Vanity Projects Ever Made, from 'Glitter' and 'Battlefield Earth' to 'Hurry Up Tomorrow'".
300. (2025-12-30). "The Weeknd Is First Artist With 30 Songs to Earn 1 Billion Spotify Streams".
301. Scott, Damien. (July 15, 2013). "The Weeknd: Kiss And Tell (2013 Cover Story)".
302. Roberts, Randall. (December 17, 2012). "Review: Abel Tesfaye, a.k.a. The Weeknd, has hall smoldering". [[Los Angeles Times]].
303. (November 24, 2021). "The Weeknd: 'Grand Theft Auto: Vice City' "opened my eyes to '80s music"".
304. Trust, Gary. (April 1, 2020). "The Weeknd on Being the First Artist to Top These 5 Charts At Once: 'It Feels Like a Huge Blessing' (Exclusive)".
305. (August 22, 2021). "The Weeknd Says Deftones Inspired His Music".
306. Mistry, Anupa. (August 31, 2015). "The Dark Knight Returns: A Conversation With the Weeknd".
307. Reed, Ryan. (November 2, 2016). "The Weeknd Talks David Bowie, Prince Influences on New Album".
308. Slingerland, Calum. (February 6, 2016). "The Weeknd's New Album Is Inspired by Bad Brains, Talking Heads and the Smiths".
309. Schwadron, Eli. (December 14, 2016). "50 Cent and Wu-Tang Are Influences on The Weeknd's New 'Starboy' Album Read More: 50 Cent, Wu-Tang Are Influences on The Weeknd's New 'Starboy' Album".
310. (October 21, 2015). "12 Great Songs That Wouldn't Exist Without the Weeknd".
311. (November 25, 2016). "The Weeknd Says Eminem Crashed Jay Z on 'Renegade,' Talks "The Hills" Remix". Southpawer.
312. (November 25, 2016). "The Weeknd Says Eminem Destroyed 'The Hills' Remix and Jay Z on 'Renegade'".
313. (February 23, 2021). "The Weeknd Recalls Working With Daft Punk: 'They're One of the Reasons I Make Music'". Variety.
314. Hoby, Hermione. (November 8, 2012). "The Weeknd: Sounds and sensibility". [[The Guardian]].
315. Considine, J. D.. (November 17, 2012). "How The Weeknd became R&B's next big thing". [[The Globe and Mail]].
316. Hogan, Marc. (October 26, 2012). "The Weeknd Imbues 'Enemy' With the Smiths' Seductive Power".
317. Cohen, Ian. (November 13, 2012). "The Weeknd: Trilogy".
318. MacInnes, Paul. (November 15, 2012). "The Weeknd: Trilogy – review". [[The Guardian]].
319. Scott, Damien. (July 15, 2013). "The Weeknd: Kiss And Tell (2013 Cover Story)". Complex.
320. Robbins, Winston. (December 7, 2011). "Rookie of the Year: The Weeknd".
321. (January 5, 2013). "(HD) The Weeknd's Vocal Range: D2 - C6". Prettiboimico.
322. Macdonald, Kyle. (March 22, 2021). "Is The Weeknd a good singer, and what is his vocal range?". [[Classic FM (UK).
323. (June 11, 2015). "The Weeknd's East African Roots". Pitchfork.
324. (January 1, 2023). "The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time".
325. Aswad, Jem. (October 1, 2020). "Is the Weeknd Pop, R&B or Hip-Hop? Why the Distinction Matters at the Grammys".
326. (February 13, 2016). "Grammys 2016 Preview: The Weeknd, D'Angelo and More Soulful Singers Nominated for Best R&B Song and Best Urban Contemporary Album".
327. Kellman, Andy. "The Weeknd – Music Biography, Credits and Discography".
328. "The Rise of the Weeknd: 'I Want to Make Pop Cool Again'".
329. Conteh, Mankaprr. (March 22, 2021). "The Weeknd's 'The Party & the After Party' Paved the Way for our Genre-less Future".
330. Scarano, Ross. (November 21, 2019). "Songs That Defined the Decade: The Weeknd's 'House of Balloons/Glass Table Girls'".
331. Charlton, Lauretta. (September 7, 2015). "How the Weeknd Went From Underground Anonymity to Superstar in 5 Years, According to His Collaborators".
332. Berry, Peter A.. (December 5, 2016). "The Weeknd Shines Brightly on 'Starboy' - XXL".
333. Feeney, Nolan. (November 29, 2016). "The Weeknd's Starboy: EW Review".
334. McDuffie, Candace. (March 24, 2020). "The Weeknd – After Hours".
335. Herrera, Isabella. (March 24, 2020). "The Weeknd: After Hours".
336. DeVille, Chris. (January 7, 2022). "Review: The Weeknd's 'Dawn FM' Is An Art-Damaged Dancefloor Opus Inspired By Pandemic Purgatory".
337. Mitchell, Matt. (January 7, 2022). "Dawn FM Is The Weeknd's Grandest Synth-Pop Gesture and a Thoughtful Rumination on Mortality".
338. Rearick, Lauren. (October 26, 2017). "There's Reportedly Some Tension Between Drake and The Weeknd Over Bella Hadid".
339. (January 11, 2019). "All the Bella Hadid and Drake References in The Weeknd's 'Lost in the Fire' Lyrics".
340. "Drake Recalls His First Time Listening to The Weeknd, Praises Him for Headlining Toronto Stadium".
341. Brandle, Lars. (November 26, 2020). "Drake Comes to The Weeknd's Defense Over Grammys Controversy".
342. II, C. Vernon Coleman IIC Vernon Coleman. (April 12, 2024). "Looks Like Now The Weeknd and ASAP Rocky Are Coming for Drake Too".
343. Murray, Conor. "Drake-Kendrick Lamar Feud Timeline: 'Not Like Us' Headlines Super Bowl Show".
344. Mamo, Heran. (August 25, 2020). "The Weeknd Says There's 'No Feud' With Usher, Cites Him as 'Why I Make Music'".
345. Camp, Zoe. (March 1, 2016). "Lil B Apologizes for Dissing the Weeknd".
346. (December 9, 2015). "The Weeknd Sued over 'The Hills'".
347. Renshaw, David. (December 10, 2015). "The Weeknd sued over alleged similarities between 'The Hills' and sci-fi movie score". [[NME]].
348. (September 18, 2018). "The Weeknd and Daft Punk Sued for Stealing 'Starboy'".
349. (May 18, 2019). "The Weeknd Denies Stealing "Starboy" Beat From Somali-American Singer".
350. Brittain, Blake. (September 8, 2020). "The Weeknd's Copyright Win Fails to Justify Attorneys' Fees". [[Bloomberg Industry Group]].
351. O'Connor, Roisin. (April 4, 2019). "The Weeknd sued by British songwriters over 'A Lonely Night' plagiarism accusations".
352. Malt, Andy. (November 11, 2019). "The Weeknd has move to dismiss song-theft lawsuit dismissed denied".
353. Blistein, Jon. (February 24, 2020). "Yeasayer Sue the Weeknd, Kendrick Lamar Over 'Black Panther' Song".
354. Strauss, Matthew. (July 10, 2020). "Yeasayer Drop Lawsuit Against the Weeknd". [[Pitchfork (website).
355. Bloom, Madison. (September 22, 2021). "The Weeknd and Nicolás Jaar Sued for Copyright Infringement Over "Call Out My Name"".
356. Robinson, Kristin. (September 22, 2021). "The Weeknd Accused of Plagiarizing 2018 Song 'Call Out My Name'".
357. Whitehead, Joanna. (January 14, 2019). "The Weeknd's lyrics were homophobic – who cares if it's 'sensitive' to point that out?". [[The Independent]].
358. Dodgson, Lindsay. (January 14, 2019). "People are calling out The Weeknd for a 'homophobic' new song that suggests lesbianism is a 'phase' and he can 'f— a girl straight'". [[Business Insider]].
359. Aswad, Jem. (July 22, 2020). "Watch The Weeknd's Wild, Semi-Autobiographical Anime Video for 'Snowchild'".
360. (July 22, 2020). "Watch The Weeknd face up to his past in animated 'Snowchild' video".
361. (November 25, 2020). "The Weeknd calls Grammy Awards 'corrupt' after nominations snub". BBC News.
362. (January 29, 2021). "The Weeknd: Grammys 'mean nothing to me' after nominations snub". BBC News.
363. (November 28, 2020). "Halsey – Instagram post discussing The Grammys".
364. (November 29, 2020). "Halsey Speaks Out After 2021 Grammy Nominations Snub: 'It's Not Always About the Music'".
365. (March 2023). "'The Idol': How HBO's Next 'Euphoria' Became Twisted 'Torture Porn'".
366. (March 3, 2023). "The Weekend mocked online for his Rolling Stone response".
367. (March 2023). "The Weeknd Posts 'The Idol' Clip Mocking Rolling Stone After Report of On-Set Dysfunction".
368. (March 2, 2023). "The Weeknd Mocked After Hitting Back at 'Idol' Set Drama Report: 'Bad Look'".
369. (May 16, 2023). "The Weeknd Remade Pop Music. Will The Idol Remake The Weeknd?".
370. Battan, Carrie. (September 26, 2013). "The Weeknd Giving Away Kiss Land Condoms".
371. Hudson, Alex. (September 26, 2013). "The Weeknd Gets His Own 'Kiss Land' Condoms". [[Exclaim!]].
372. Keating, Lauren. (November 4, 2015). "The Weeknd Launches A Vape That Plays His Hit Single 'The Hills' As You Smoke". Tech Times.
373. (November 13, 2015). "The Weeknd Gets Limited Version of Pax 2 Vaporizer". Pausr Media LLC.
374. Hasse, Lemola. (November 14, 2015). "Hypebeast Exclusive: WANGXO Apparel Collection".
375. Mench, Chris. (September 29, 2016). "The Weeknd Partners With Puma as New Creative Collaborator and Ambassador".
376. Tucker, Alexa. (May 4, 2017). "Where Are The Weeknd's Pop-Up Shops? If You Live in One Of These Eight Cities, You're in Luck".
377. (November 22, 2017). "A Closer Look at The Weeknd x PUMA XO Collection Launch in NYC".
378. Christian, Scott. (February 2, 2017). "The Weeknd and H&M Team Up for the New Spring Icons Collection". [[Esquire (magazine).
379. Yoo, Noah. (January 8, 2018). "The Weeknd Cuts Ties With H&M Over "Deeply Offensive" Photo".
380. Saponara, Michael. (March 23, 2018). "Marvel Unveils 'The Weeknd Presents: Starboy' Comic Book Release Date".
381. (July 30, 2018). "The Weeknd x BAPE Summer Capsule Collection Dropping August 4".
382. "BAPE® x XO".
383. Stavropoulos, Laura. (January 8, 2020). "The Weeknd Reveals Latest XO And BAPE Capsule Collection".
384. Davidson, Neil. (April 10, 2019). "The Weeknd signs on as part owner, global ambassador of esports firm". [[CBC News]].
385. (August 31, 2020). "The Weeknd Joins With TD Bank to Launch Black Hxouse Entrepreneurship Initiative". [[Variety (magazine).
386. (September 9, 2020). "Trudeau announces cash for loans, support to Black Canadian entrepreneurs". [[CP24]].
387. (March 29, 2021). "The Weeknd Teases Upcoming NFT Song".
388. Ha, Anthony. (March 31, 2021). "The Weeknd will sell an unreleased song and visual art via NFT auction".
389. "Tom Brady Announced Partnership With The Weeknd in the Best Way Possible".
390. (April 21, 2022). "Plant-based beverage brand Koia Gets Investments from All-Stars to provide Plant-Based Accessibility For All".
391. Mamo, Heran. (2023-05-03). "The Weeknd Partners With Blue Bottle Coffee on 'Samra Origins' Product Line Named After Superstar's Mother".
392. Anderson, Sage. (2025-05-29). "The Weeknd Named His New Nespresso Collection After His Mother Samra, Tying Back to His Ethiopian Roots".
393. Dredge, Stuart. (2025-05-16). "Roblox adds physical merch sales – starting with The Weeknd".
394. (2025-06-16). "Paris Saint-Germain and The Weeknd Unveil "XO x PSG" Collaboration".
395. Zavaleta, Jonathan. (2025-10-24). "The Weeknd Reps His Hometown Team With New Toronto Blue Jays Merch Collaboration".
396. (2026-01-23). "The Weeknd and Point Park University Link for Creative Direction Program".
397. Hoby, Hermione. (November 8, 2012). "The Weeknd: Sounds and sensibility". [[The Guardian]].
398. (October 26, 2015). "10 Things You Should Know About the Weeknd".
399. "Why is The Weeknd's crew called 'XO'". [[Capital Xtra]].
400. (2017-02-16). "Nav Signs Deal With The Weeknd's XO Records".
401. Lane, Kwase. "With a co-sign from the Weeknd, rising singer Chxrry22 is one to watch in alt-R&B".
402. "88GLAM Talk 'New Mania,' Leaving XO, and That 'Independent Flex'".
403. A, Aron. (2021-03-09). "Black Atlass: From Bedroom Records To Signing With The Weeknd".
404. "The Weeknd Chart History (''Billboard'' 200)".
405. "Nav Chart History (''Billboard'' 200)".
406. "The Weeknd Announces New Beats 1 Radio Show Memento Mori".
407. (June 6, 2018). "The Weeknd announces Memento Mori radio show on Beats 1".
408. "Stream The Weeknd's 'Memento Mori' Episode 7 on Beats 1 Radio (UPDATE)".
409. Haylock, Zoe. (November 27, 2019). "The Weeknd's New Song Is Anti-Cuffing Season".
410. "memento mori episode 14 💀 tomorrow".
411. (August 16, 2020). "The Weeknd Shares 'Kiss Land' Demos and Lana Del Rey Remix".
412. (August 15, 2020). "The Weeknd shares 'Kiss Land' demos, including Lana Del Rey remix".
413. Carissimo, Justin. (August 7, 2016). "The Weeknd donates $50,000 to language class at the University of Toronto". [[The Independent]].
414. Min, Lilian. (August 7, 2016). "The Weeknd donated $50,000 to a cause dear to his heart". [[HelloGiggles]].
415. (May 2, 2016). "The Weeknd Donates $50,000 to St. Mary Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Toronto".
416. Daly, Rhian. (August 14, 2016). "The Weeknd has donated $250,000 to Black Lives Matter".
417. Melas, Chloe. (August 11, 2016). "The Weeknd donates $250,000 to Black Lives Matter". [[CNN]].
418. (August 11, 2016). "The Weeknd gives $250,000 to Black Lives Matter".
419. Malkin, Marc. "The Weeknd Donates $100,000 to Health Center in Uganda". [[E!]].
420. (April 23, 2020). "The Weeknd Brings Back XO Face Mask For COVID-19 Relief".
421. Aswad, Jem. (June 29, 2020). "The Weeknd Donates $1 Million to MusiCares' and His Hometown's Coronavirus Relief".
422. (June 2, 2020). "The Weeknd Donated $500K to Racial Justice Initiatives: 'Please Give What You Can Even If It's a Small Amount'".
423. Aswad, Jem. (June 2, 2020). "The Weeknd Calls on Major Music Companies to 'Go Big and Public' With Blackout Tuesday Donations".
424. Curto, Justin. (June 3, 2020). "WMG Creates Vague $100 Million Anti-Racism Fund Following the Weeknd's Criticism".
425. Spangler, Todd. (August 12, 2020). "The Weeknd Virtual Concert on TikTok Drew Over 2M Viewers, Raised $350,000 for Equal Justice Initiative". [[Variety (magazine).
426. Mahadevan, Tara C.. (August 12, 2020). "The Weeknd, TikTok Raise $350K for Equal Justice Initiative, Singer Also Donates $300K to Beirut Explosion Victims". [[Complex Networks]].
427. (November 2, 2020). "With support from The Weeknd, U of T's Ethiopic program soars past $500,000 endowment goal".
428. Nolan, Emma. (May 11, 2021). "Bella Hadid, Dua Lipa and the Other Celebs Supporting Palestine Over Israel".
429. (May 11, 2021). "The Weeknd Shares Instagram Posts Protesting Sheikh Jarrah Eviction".
430. (September 24, 2021). "The Weeknd, Motown's Ethiopia Habtemariam Highlight Emotional Night at Black Music Action Coalition Awards".
431. Mamo, Heran. (January 9, 2024). "The Weeknd & School on Wheels Team Up to Provide Laptops, Tutoring & Mentorship for Homeless L.A. Students".
432. "São Paulo XO Logo Hoodie".
433. (August 22, 2024). "The Weeknd's São Paulo concert: A night to remember".
434. Shafer, Ellise. (April 4, 2021). "The Weeknd Donates $1 Million to Relief Efforts in Ethiopia".
435. (June 9, 2021). "USAID Administrator Power Held Urgent Meetings on Famine and Atrocities in Tigray, Ethiopia, including Ministerial Convening with Nine Countries and Conversation with The Weeknd, And Announced $181 Million in New USAID Assistance".
436. (October 8, 2021). "It's The Weeknd! Superstar singer becomes World Food Programme Goodwill Ambassador".
437. "The Weeknd Becomes U.N. Goodwill Ambassador for World Food Programme".
438. Aswad, Jem. (March 3, 2022). "The Weeknd Unveils Stadium Tour Dates, Launches XO Humanitarian Fund With Combined $1.5 Million Donation".
439. Jones, Abby. (December 1, 2023). "The Weeknd Donates $2.5 Million to Gaza Food Deliveries".
440. Cho, Regina. (December 1, 2023). "The Weeknd To Provide 4 Million Emergency Meals To Humanitarian Efforts In Gaza".
441. (April 29, 2024). "The Weeknd Donates $2 Million to Provide 18 Million Loaves of Bread to Gaza Families".
442. Samuels, Keithan. (November 15, 2025). "The Weeknd Donates $350,000 for Hurricane Melissa Relief in Jamaica".
443. (August 3, 2017). "Why The Weeknd Wants to Keep an Air of "Mystery" About His Personal Life".
444. Vanderhoof, Erin. (April 3, 2018). "Can the Weeknd Recapture the Mystery?".
445. Lau, Melody. (July 25, 2011). "Mysterious R&B singer sells out first show".
446. Cooper, Leonie. (July 15, 2013). "The Weeknd says he's 'boring' in first ever interview".
447. Ehrlich, Brenna. (September 13, 2013). "The Weeknd Reveals How He Got His Name... And Where The 'E' Went". [[MTV News]].
448. Mamo, Heran. "The Weeknd Says His Song 'Faith' Recalls 'The Darkest Time of My Entire Life'".
449. Gates, Marya. "Movie References in The Weeknd's After Hours You Never Noticed". [[Moviefone]].
450. Willman, Chris. (September 10, 2019). "How the Weeknd Came to Play Himself in the Safdie Brothers' Berserk 'Uncut Gems'".
451. O. Harris, Jeremy. (April 14, 2023). "The Weeknd Introduces Us to Abel Tesfaye".
452. Lindig, Sarah. (October 10, 2015). "Bella Hadid Spends Her Birthday Weekend with the Weeknd".
453. (August 6, 2019). "Why Bella Hadid and The Weeknd Reportedly Broke Up for the Second Time".
454. (December 8, 2015). "The Weeknd's Super Bloody 'In the Night' Music Video Stars Girlfriend Bella Hadid as a Stripper Assassin".
455. Yagoda, Maria. (May 25, 2017). "Everything We Know About Selena Gomez and The Weeknd's Whirlwind Romance".
456. (October 30, 2017). "Selena Gomez and The Weeknd Split After 10 Months Together".
457. Walsh, Savannah. (February 6, 2021). "Bella Hadid and The Weeknd's Complete Relationship Timeline, Through Every Breakup and Reconciliation".
458. (January 30, 2017). "Why Did Selena Gomez Go Public—And Then Private—With Her Relationship With The Weeknd?".
459. (March 30, 2018). "A Breakdown of The Weeknd's Most Emo Lyrics About Selena Gomez and Bella Hadid On His New EP".
460. Fratti, Karen. (November 14, 2023). "The Weeknd's Girlfriend Is Outdressing Him".
461. (April 16, 2023). "All About The Weeknd's Girlfriend Simi Khadra".
462. Leung, Andrew. (February 10, 2016). "The Weeknd's Hair: It's More Than an Homage to Basquiat". [[Mic (media company).
463. (September 22, 2016). "5 '80s & '90s Artists Who May Have Inspired The Weeknd's New Haircut".
464. Dow, Gabriele. (February 21, 2012). "The Weeknd is ready for take-off". [[The Torch (St. John's University).
465. Stutz, Colin. (January 12, 2015). "The Weeknd Arrested For Punching Las Vegas Police Officer".
466. (October 23, 2015). "The Weeknd avoids jail time after punching police officer". [[The Guardian]].
467. (August 2, 2021). "The Weeknd says he's 'sober lite' after giving up drugs, except for weed". Yahoo.
468. Clarke, Katherine. (August 19, 2021). "The Weeknd Buys $70 Million Mansion in One of L.A.'s Biggest Deals of the Year". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
469. (August 20, 2021). "The Weeknd Drops $70 Million on a Massive Bel Air Mansion".
470. (April 12, 2021). "Madonna Drops $19.3 Million on The Weeknd's Hidden Hills Estate".
471. (October 3, 2025). "The Weeknd Snaps Up $54.9 Million Florida Mansion With Superyacht Dock". [[Realtor.com]].
472. Leitereg, Neal J.. (November 21, 2019). "The Weeknd buys a penthouse in Westwood's Beverly West for $21 million". [[Los Angeles Times]].
473. Strum, Beckie. (November 22, 2019). "The Weeknd Snaps Up $21 Million Los Angeles Penthouse".
474. Halberg, Morgan. (May 1, 2020). "The Weeknd Isn't Giving Up His Tribeca Penthouse Just Yet". [[The New York Observer]].
475. Brandt, Libertina. (March 31, 2022). "Home for The Weeknd: How the R&B Superstar Built a Property Portfolio Worth Millions".
476. Bell, David. (April 3, 2016). "The Weeknd really cleaned up this Juno Awards weekend".
477. "The Weeknd". [[Grammy Awards]].
478. (February 14, 2015). "The Weeknd honoured with Allan Slaight Award from Canada's Walk of Fame". [[Canada's Walk of Fame]].
479. Peters, Mitchell. (February 7, 2021). "Toronto Declares 'The Weeknd Day' to Honor Singer's Super Bowl Performance".
480. (February 7, 2021). "The Weeknd has been given his own day by Toronto mayor".