21 facts you need to know about 'Blinding Lights' singer The Weeknd

1. What is The Weeknd's net worth in 2024?

As of 2024, The Weeknd reportedly has a net worth of around $300 million. Picture: PA

2. Why did The Weeknd boycott the Grammys?

After being snubbed by the Recording Academy in 2020, The Weeknd called the organisation 'corrupt'. The singer failed to receive a single nomination despite the mammoth success of his album 'After Hours' and its hit singles, including the record-breaking 'Blinding Lights'. As a result, The Weeknd has boycotted the awards show and will not submit any more music to the Grammys. (Picture: Getty)

3. Did The Weeknd get plastic surgery?

During the promotional rollout for his 2020 album 'After Hours', The Weeknd began sporting a beaten up face, then a face covered in bandages before finally unveiling an extreme surgically-modified face in the video for 'Save Your Tears', with the help of prosthetics. The meaning behind the move? He told Variety that he was highlighting the "absurd culture of Hollywood celebrity and people manipulating themselves for superficial reasons to please and be validated." Picture: YouTube

4. What is The Weeknd's real name?

The Weeknd's real name is Abel Tesfaye. Picture: Getty

5. How old is The Weeknd?

The Weeknd was born on 16th February 1990, making him 34-years-old. Picture: Getty

6. Does The Weeknd have a girlfriend?

Following his relationship with Bella Hadid, the Canadian moved on with singer Selena Gomez. Selena and The Weeknd split in October 2017 and later rekindled his relationship with Bella. They split shortly after.

7. Is The Weeknd Ethiopian?

The Weeknd is of Ethiopian descent. He was born in Toronto, Ontario as the only child of parents Makkonen and Samra Tesfaye, who were both Ethiopian immigrants to Canada in the late '80s. After his parents split, he was raised by his grandmother. Picture: Getty.

8. Why does Abel Tesfaye use the stage name 'The Weeknd?'

Tesfaye explained the origin of his stage name in a Reddit Q&A with fans: "I left home when I was about 17 dropped out of high school and convinced Lamar [XO crew member] to do the same lol. We grabbed our mattresses from our parents threw it in our friends s****y van and left one weekend and never came back home... I hated my name at the time though so I tried it as a stage name. It sounded cool. I took out the "e" because there was already a canadian band named the weekend."

9. Why does The Weeknd spell his name like that?

The Weeknd confirmed during a Reddit AMA that he spells his name without the "e" because of copyright issues. He said: "I hated my name [at the start of my career] so I tried it as a stage name. It sounded cool. I took out the 'e' because there was already a Canadian band named the weekend."

10. Why is the The Weeknd's crew called 'XO'

Some have claimed that XO simply stands for hugs and kisses, while others argue the letters represent the drugs ecstasy and oxycontin. Given that XO is part of the slogan "XO 'til we overdose" the latter seems more feasible.

11. The Weeknd gave up "almost half" of one of his old albums to Drake.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, the Canadian singer said: "I gave up almost half of my album [to Drake]. It’s hard. I will always be thankful—if it wasn’t for the light he shined on me, who knows where I’d be. And everything happens for a reason. You never know what I would say if this success wasn’t in front of me now." Picture: Getty

12. Drake's 'Crew Love', 'Shot for Me' and 'The Ride' were all supposed to be on 'House of Balloons'

Tesfaye told Complex that all three tracks were originally planned for his debut until Drake heard them. "I wanted to come out with like 14 records. I felt like “The Ride” was the last one, and it wasn’t done yet. [Drake] heard it… and he liked it so much, he was like, 'I need to have this, man…'," he said.

13. The Weeknd's music is really inspired by Ethiopia.

“You hear it mostly in my voice,” he told Vman. “I’ve been told my singing isn’t conventional. Ethiopian music was the music I grew up on, artists like Tilahun Gessesse, Aster Aweke, and Mahmoud Ahmed. These are my subconscious inspirations. ‘The Hills’ was the first time you actually heard the Ethiopian language in my music. It will definitely be key on [Starboy]."

14. When did The Weeknd first start to get noticed?

When three tracks - 'What You Need', 'Loft Music', and 'The Morning' - credited to The Weeknd first appeared on YouTube in late 2010, little was known about the artist behind them. In 2012 more details gradually emerged and The Weeknd was revealed to be the stage name of singer Abel Tesfaye. Born in Toronto, Canada, Tesfaye is 25.

15. What's the difference between The Weeknd's mixtapes and 'Trilogy'?

Tesfaye found fame through a trio of self-released mixtapes he released in 2011, named 'House of Balloons', 'Thursday' and 'Echoes of Silence'. They were later remastered and reissued together as the compilation album 'Trilogy', along with three additional songs, in 2012.

16. The Weeknd's 'House of Balloons' is a real place.

The titular domicile of The Weeknd's debut mixtape actually exists according to Tesfaye. He revealed that the address is 65 Spencer in Parkdale, Toronto in a Reddit Q&A. The ominous looking place pictured is what comes up on Google's Street View at that location.

17. Tesfaye didn't leave Toronto until he was 21-years-old.

"From when I was born to when I was 21, I never left Toronto," Tesfaye told Complex. "That’s why I’m such a city cat. 'Trilogy' is my experiences in those four walls."

18. The Weeknd is cool with Drake, despite rumours.

Tesfaye denied there's any bad blood between the two despite his decision not to sign to Drake's OVO Sound label. "I told him from day one what my decision was going to be," said Tesfaye in Complex, "I wasn’t going that route. I was going to go my own route. And he supported me."

19. 'Kiss Land', The Weeknd's first studio album, is a horror film of sorts.

According to Tesfaye: "A lot of it is inspired by filmmakers like John Carpenter, David Cronenberg, and Ridley Scott, because they know how to capture fear. That’s what Kiss Land is to me, an environment that’s just honest fear… So when you hear the screams in the record and you hear all these horror references and you feel scared, listen to the music because I want you to feel what I’m feeling. Kiss Land is like a horror movie."

20. Tesfaye came up with title for 'Kiss Land' after overhearing it in a conversation.

"The title came from a conversation that I overheard and those words stuck out," Tesfaye has revealed, "Someone said, 'Kiss Land' and I thought, 'That’s going to be the title of my album.' It sounds so ridiculous. When I put [the title] out everyone was like, 'What the hell? This is going to be corny. It’s going to be all lovey-dovey.'”

21. Tesfaye is a big fan of Michael Jackson.

He covered MJ's 'Dirty Diana' on his third mixtape 'Echoes of Silence'.

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