The Weeknd

Chart-topping pop, hip hop and R&B star Born Abel Makonnen Tesfaye, The Weeknd's chimera of dark pop, alternative R&B and hip hop massively shifted the mainstream since 2012’s Trilogy, which is a compilation of mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence. Lyrically, The Weeknd’s music leans into the more hedonistic and indulgent aspects of love, sex, drug usage and inner turmoil – a much darker shift from his R&B predecessors, allowing him to bring the more braggadocious lyricism of hip hop or hard rock to the sensual grooves of R&B and pop. The Canadian multi-hyphenate artist has since gone on to release six studio albums – including chart-topping Starboy and After Hours, which includes ‘Blinding Lights’, the first song to achieve 5 Billion streams on Spotify. The Weeknd has also accrued four Grammy Awards, a Latin Grammy award, 22 Juno awards; been nominated for Academy and Prime Time Emmy awards; and performed as a headliner in the Super Bowl halftime show in 2021. It’s hard to believe that with all the accolades, notoriety (see HBO’s The Idol) and pop culture moments that The Weeknd originally released music anonymously on youtube back in 2009. However, after meeting producer Jeremy Rose at a party, that anonymity changed, and the two began working on his early dark R&B singles including, ‘What You Need’, ‘The Morning’ and ‘Loft Music’ – which caught the attention of fellow Canadian megastar Drake in 2010. The following year, The Weeknd founded his boutique label XO, alongside his manager SAL, and producer Cash XO. The current roster of XO records includes The Weeknd, Belly, Nav and Gen Z R&B favourite Chxrry. Since his debut, Tesfaye has gone on to work with a myriad of artists, all reflecting the varying genres and styles of his music – including Lana Del Rey, flamenco pop star ROSALIA, Tyler, the Creator, Daft Punk, Ed Sheeran and Kendrick Lamar. His sultry track ‘Earned It’, from the 2015 soundtrack of Fifty Shades of Grey, earned Tesfaye a five-time diamond certified single, and launched him firmly into the pop mainstream. His projects have since been even more genre-bending and ambitious, with 2025’s Hurry Up Tomorrow blending both audio and visual with its own cinematic release starring Barry Keoghan, and an accompanying world tour. In summer 2026, the artist will embark on the The Weeknd: After Hours Til Dawn Tour, with dates in London and Dublin.