The Weeknd Not only is it a global superstar with historical records in Spotify and Billboard. He also lives in a valued mansion in 70 million dollarslocated in Bubbleone of the most exclusive neighborhoods of Los Angeles. But his path was anything but easy, since it comes from a Childhood marked by the absence of his father, poverty, drugs and uprooting. His real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye And his life began very far from luxury and fame.
The Weeknd was born in 1990 in Torontoonly son of Samra y Makkonen tesfayetwo Ethiopian immigrants who fled the “red terror” regime. The couple arrived in Canada as a refugee in 1987 and Abel grew up in Scarborougha neighborhood of the east of Toronto, raised by his mother and grandmother, since his father left them when he was a child.
He first learned the Amárico, his grandmother’s language, and lived an childhood without luxuries, while his mother worked all day. Over time, the paternal absence affected it deeply. “I barely know my father’s name”said. In addition, they never reconciled.
From a very young age, The Weeknd had problems with drugs. Marijuana began to smoking to 11 years And later he experienced with stronger substances.
To the 18 years left school And he moved to a department with friends. “I thought I needed drugs. Today I appreciate not needing them,” he said in an interview with GQ.
In 2009, he began to upload songs to YouTube under the pseudonym XOwithout showing his face. It was dark, introspective music, very influenced by the R&B. The rapper Drake He discovered it and wrote about him on his blog. In 2011 he launched his first mixtape, House of Balloonsfollowed that same year for Thursday y Echoes of Silence.
Thus The Weeknd was born as a character. According to urban legend, the name comes from a weekend in which he went partying and never returned to school. But he said he was inspired by the title of his first album.
After launching the Mixtapes, he signed with Republic Records and in 2012 the album came out Trilogy. Your first official album, Kiss Landappeared in 2013, with an aesthetic inspired by horror and science fiction films.
Global fame came with Beauty Behind The Madness (2015), which included successes such as Can’t Feel My Face y The Hillsand collaborations with Ariana Grande And the movie Fifty Gray Shadows. That album positioned him as one of the most listened to artists on the planet.
In 2016 he launched Starboy. In the video of the homonym theme, Kill your former self And it is presented with a new look, without its emblematic dreadlocks.
It was a symbolic statement, a new The Weeknd was born, with a futuristic aesthetic influenced by cinema, terror and cyberpunk.
In 2020 it arrived After Hourshis most successful album, with hits such as “Binding Lights” and “Save Your Tears.” Was followed in 2022 by Dawn FMin which it is shown like an old man caught in a kind of purgatory, guided by the voice of Jim Carrey. These two albums form a conceptual narrative about death, addictions and the search for redemption.
In 2025, he launched Hurry Up Tomorrowhis sixth album and last as The Weeknd. He accompanied him with a film where he plays a version of himself, surrounded by mansions, limousines and chaos. “Do not stay more than due to the party,” he told Varietyannouncing the end of the character.
In this album, The Weeknd reflects on What remains after fame: loneliness, empty and legacy. Sing about whiskey tears, gates in attic and a life marked by darkness. “Call me by the old and familiar name,” he says citing a poem.
He had relations with Bella Hadid, Selena Gome y Yovanna Venturaall followed with attention by the media. He always remained close to his mother and distanced from his father. The latter tried to contact him in 2017, but reconciliation never happened.
Today, The Weeknd owns one of the most expensive mansions of California. In addition, he won multiple Grammy Awards, broke two Guinness records and made a world tour with more than 100 shows, which included an immersive experience transmitted by Amazon Video.
He went from being a boy raised by his grandmother in a working -class neighborhood in Toronto to become one of the most influential artists of his generation. With Hurry Up Tomorrowput an end to his alter ego and prepare for what follows, a new stage.
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