Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known professionally by his stage name The Weeknd is a Canadian R&B artist, songwriter and record producer for his label XO, born on February 16 1990 (26), in Toronto, Ontario and raised in Scarbrough.

 

In late 2010, he anonymously uploaded several songs on YouTube under the name TheWeeknd, which grew attention online by word of mouth, including a blog featuring the songs posted by Drake, and later magazines and newspapers alike. 

 

In 2011, he released three nine-track mixtapes, House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence, the compliation which later became his  album Trilogy, signed under Republic Records. 

  

In 2013, his first studio album Kiss Land debut The Weeknd into the spotlight, debuting at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200 and No. 1 on Billboards' Top R&B/ Hip Hop Albums chart. 

 

In mid-2015, Tesfaye released his second studio album Beauty Behind the Madness, which landed him the No. 1 chart spot on many countries around the world and won him a Grammy for Best Urban Contemporary Album of the Year as well the American Music Award for Favourite Soul/R&B Album of 2015. 

 

Headlining his The Madness Fall Tour last year and accompanying Rihanna on her ANTI Tour, Abel Tesfaye continues to make dark, entrancing music in his delicate falsetto voice, taking the world by storm with his sultry lyrics and his memorable hairstyle.