The Weeknd
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, romance, and ...
is a Canadian singer, songwriter, businessman and record producer. After co-founding the XO record label in 2011, he rose to prominence following the release of his critically acclaimed mixtapes ''
House of Balloons
''House of Balloons'' is the debut mixtape by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released on March 21, 2011, by the artist's own record label XO. The mixtape was released for free on the Weeknd's website and was the subject of increased media d ...
'', ''
Thursday
Thursday is the day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fifth day of the week.
Name
''Se ...
'' and ''
Echoes of Silence
''Echoes of Silence'' is the third mixtape by Canadian singer the Weeknd, released on December 21, 2011, by XO. Like his debut mixtape '' House of Balloons'' and his second mixtape ''Thursday'', the Weeknd collaborated with musician Illangelo; ...
''. ''House of Balloons'' was one of the ten shortlisted nominees for the
2011 Polaris Music Prize The 2011 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 19, 2011
, while ''Echoes of Silence'' was a longlisted nominee for the
2012 Polaris Music Prize
The 2012 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 24, 2012Republic Records and re-released his three mixtapes in the compilation album ''
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...
''. His debut studio album ''
Kiss Land
''Kiss Land'' is the debut studio album by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released on September 10, 2013, through XO and Republic Records. The album was supported by six singles: " Kiss Land", "Belong to the World", "Love in the Sky", " Live ...
'' was released in 2013 to generally positive reviews. For the single "
Earned It
"Earned It", alternatively titled "Earned It (Fifty Shades of Grey)", is a song by Canadian singer the Weeknd. The song was released as the lead single from the soundtrack to the 2015 film ''Fifty Shades of Grey'' and was included on the Weeknd' ...
" from the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack ...
Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance
The Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 54th Grammy Awards description guide it is designed for s ...
. He gained major critical and commercial success with his second studio album ''
Beauty Behind the Madness
''Beauty Behind the Madness'' is the second studio album by Canadian singer the Weeknd, released on August 28, 2015, through XO and Republic Records. It features guest appearances from Labrinth, Ed Sheeran and Lana Del Rey. The album was exec ...
'' (2015), which won the
Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album
The Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for quality works on albums in the urban contemporary subgenre within the R&B field. Honors in several categories are presented at t ...
American Music Awards
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Pro ...
Guinness World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...