Although he has only been releasing studio albums since 2013, The Weeknd is one of the hottest musical acts out there right now. Also known by his birth name Abel Tesfaye, The Weeknd has developed a cult following for his unique and satisfying R&B sound. Born in Scarborough, Ontario on February 16th, 1990, Abel had some really humble beginnings. Since then, however, he has ascended to the upper echelon of pop stars.
The Weeknd’s Early Life and Career
Abel grew up in a pretty low-key household. His parents were both Ethiopian immigrants, and when his father left the family, his mother was forced to work multiple jobs in order to support everybody. His grandmother took care of him a lot, too. As a result of his somewhat unstable upbringing, Abel turned to some rough afterschool activities. He regularly stole and did drugs, and he ended up dropping out of high school in order to pursue a serious career in music. Tesfaye met with Jeremy Rose, a producer who helped him create a couple of tracks. The tracks that they made together were ultimately uploaded by Abel onto YouTube, where they attracted a mild amount of local attention. There was little to no marketing surrounding the “release”, with the biggest endorsement coming from Drake, who is also a Canadian rapper.
Those tracks were released in December of 2010, and by March of 2011, he was able to release his very first mixtape: House of Balloons. The mixtape received rave reviews from critics, who praised its sound and production value. Over the course of the next year or so, he would collaborate with Drake on his album Take Care, while also releasing two more mixtapes of his own. Those mixtapes, Thursday and Echoes of Silence would form a so-called “trilogy” mixtapes that would eventually be released all together in remastered form. Although none of the tapes pushed him to fame immediately, they allowed Abel to accrue a dedicated and loyal following online. As a result of this support, he was able to gradually scale up his career up to the release of an actual studio album in 2013.
The Weeknd After Kiss Land
In 2013, Abel released his debut studio album Kiss Land. The album spawned 6 singles, including “Kiss Land”, “Belong to the World”, “Love in the Sky”, “Live For”, “Pretty”, and “Wanderlust”. It received positive reviews and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart. The album was very well received, and so he carried that momentum with him into 2015 when he released the album Beauty Behind the Madness. The release of the album itself was preceded by a couple of leaked tracks, with the mots notable of which being “Can’t Feel My Face”. “Can’t Feel My Face” was a hugely popular single, and to date it may be one of The Weeknd’s more popular songs in the mainstream. The song leaked in June, and the album didn’t release until late August.
Beauty behind the Madness was well received enough, topping the Billboard 200 chart with over 400,000 units selling in its first week. More recently, in 2016 Abel took on a couple of high-profile collaborations. He appeared in the song “FML” in Kanye West’s album The Life of Pablo, and he appeared in the song “6 Inch” in Beyonce’s critically acclaimed album Lemonade. Toward the end of 2016, The Weeknd released his third debut album: Starboy. This album also topped the Billboard 200 chart upon its release, featuring guest appearances from artists Daft Punk, Future, Kendrick Lamar, and Lana Del Rey. Starboy has spawned 3 singles thus far, but it’s likely that there will be more in the future.
The Weeknd Outside of Music
It isn’t uncommon for musical artists to dabble in work outside of the music business. As a public figure, Abel has formed sponsorships and partnerships with a couple of different companies. In 2015, he formed a partnership with PAX Labs to create a limited edition Weeknd branded vaporizer. In 2016, he formed a partnership with Puma as a global brand ambassador. He is also currently set to release his own menswear collection later in 2017. Abel will be starring in H&M’s Spring 2017 campaign, as they line will also feature some clothes from his brand. A lot of the time, musicians will just kick back and bank on album sales and ticket sales, so it’s nice to see someone who understands that they’re capable of a lot more than just making music.
The Weeknd Snapchat Username – xo.official
In order to follow The Weeknd on Snapchat, all you have to do is use your app to scan the snapcode above. If you don’t want to do that, then you can just click the link right here.
The Weeknd’s Other Social Media Accounts
The Weeknd’s Personal Facebook Account
Abel has a personal Facebook account, which you can find under the username @theweeknd. Check it out yourself by clicking the link here.
The Weeknd’s Twitter Username
This musical artist has over 4 million followers on Twitter. Are you one of those 4 million? If not, try searching for him under the username @theweeknd. You can view his page by clicking here.
The Weeknd’s Instagram Username
If you want to follow The Weeknd on Instagram, then you can try to just look him up until the username theweeknd. Alternatively, view his account by clicking the link right here.
The Weeknd’s Kik Username
Sadly, if Abel has a Kik, he hasn’t shared it with anyone publicly at this time. If you have come into contact with someone on the app who claims to be The Weeknd, then they’re probably tricking you.
