Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is recognized for his tenor vocal range, falsetto, and contributions to alternative R&B and pop music. His awards include four Grammy Awards, 20 Billboard Music Awards, 22 Juno Awards, six American Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, and a Latin Grammy Award. Tesfaye began releasing music anonymously in 2009 and co-founded the record label XO. In 2011, he released three mixtapes: "House of Balloons", "Thursday", and "Echoes of Silence". These were later compiled into the album "Trilogy" (2012) after he signed with Republic Records. His debut studio album, "Kiss Land", was released in 2013. His second and third studio albums, "Beauty Behind the Madness" (2015) and "Starboy" (2016), incorporated pop influences and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, including the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Can't Feel My Face", "The Hills", "Starboy", and "Die for You". In 2018, Tesfaye released the EP "My Dear Melancholy", which included the US top-ten single "Call Out My Name". He began an album trilogy with "After Hours" (2020), which drew on dream pop and new wave influences and produced the singles "Heartless", "Save Your Tears", and "Blinding Lights", the latter becoming the most-streamed song on Spotify and the highest-performing song in Billboard Hot 100 history. The trilogy continued with "Dawn FM" (2022) and "Hurry Up Tomorrow" (2025), which included the US top-ten singles "Take My Breath" and "Timeless". In 2023, he co-created and starred in the HBO series "The Idol" and made his filmmaking debut with the film "Hurry Up Tomorrow" (2025). Tesfaye has sold over 75 million units worldwide and has eight diamond-certified singles from the Recording Industry Association of America. "After Hours" is among the most-streamed R&B albums, and the After Hours til Dawn Tour (2022–2026) is one of the highest-grossing tours by a male soloist. He co-founded the record label XO, hosted the Apple Music 1 radio show "Memento Mori" from 2018 to 2022, launched the incubator HXOUSE in 2020, and was appointed goodwill ambassador for the World Food Programme in 2021. He has also supported various charitable causes and advocated for racial equality and food security. Studio albums Kiss Land (2013) Beauty Behind the Madness (2015) Starboy (2016) After Hours (2020) Dawn FM (2022) Hurry Up Tomorrow (2025)