XO (also known as XO Records) is a Canadian record label founded by singer

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 (love), ...

, his managers

Wassim Slaiby Wassim Joseph Slaiby (; born November 16, 1979), better known as Sal (usually stylized in all caps), is a Lebanese-Canadian music industry executive, talent manager, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is the co-founder and current CEO of XO Rec ...

and Amir "Cash" Esmailian, and his creative director

La Mar Taylor La Mar C. Taylor (born September 17, 1990) is a Canadian artist, creative director, and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of XO Records, and the creative director for the label's primary artist, singer the Weeknd. He is also the co-founder of t ...

. Slaiby also serves as the label's

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. As of 2012, it operates as a subsidiary of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

, and is distributed through

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

. The label's current acts include

Belly Belly may refer to: Anatomy * The abdomen, the part of the body between the pelvis and the thorax; or the stomach ** A beer belly, an overhang of fat above the waist, presumed to be caused by regular beer drinking ** Belly dance * The fleshy, cent ...

, Nav and Chxrry22. The label has had six projects debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200: ''

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 executi ...

'', '' Starboy'', ''

My Dear Melancholy ''My Dear Melancholy'' (stylized as ''My Dear Melancholy,'') is the first extended play by Canadian singer the Weeknd. It was released on March 30, 2018, through XO and Republic Records. Primarily produced by Frank Dukes, who serves as an execu ...

'', '' Bad Habits'', '' After Hours'' and '' Good Intentions'', with the latter two both achieving this in the first half of 2020.

History

In 2011,

Amir Esmailian Amir Esmailian ( Persian: امیر اسماعیلیان; born December 28, 1983), also known as Cash and Cash XO, is an Iranian-Canadian music industry executive, talent manager, and record producer. He is the co-founder of XO Records and the co- ...

and

founded XO as an unofficial imprint to release The Weeknd's three 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 Names of the days of the week, 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 fi ...

'', 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; wh ...

''. The mixtapes earned the Weeknd a following and recognition from mainstream publications, and helped grow the record label's reputation through various performances, song references and business ventures. To this day, it’s still unconfirmed as to what the meaning of “XO” really is. Many fans argued that it means the idea of hugs and kisses whereas other fans argued that it means ecstasy and oxycontin. During The Weeknd’s early uprising of his career, there were times when he produced music, he did it under the influence of drugs. “There were songs on my first record that were seven minutes long." When the Weeknd signed with

in 2012, XO was assumed as a subsidiary label. In 2015, rappers

and

Derek Wise Derek Fifi "Wise" Bissue (born December 11, 1992), is a Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. He was formerly signed to Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd's record label, XO and Republic Records, under the hip hop duo 88Glam with his fr ...

were signed to XO. In 2016, rapper Nav joined the label's roster. XO signed hip hop duo

88Glam 88Glam (stylized as 88GLAM) is a Canadian hip hop duo, formed in 2017 by Shakqueel "88Camino" Burthwright and Derek "Wise" Bissue. They were formerly signed to XO and Republic Records. Career Prior to the formation of 88Glam and following ...

in 2017, following the independent release of their self-titled mixtape. The duo left the label in 2020. Singer

Black Atlass Alexander Fleming (born March 19, 1994), professionally known as Black Atlass, is a Canadian singer, songwriter and model. His song, Paris, debuted in a Louis Vuitton campaign, and was also featured in a Saint Laurent fragrance ad. He was previou ...

joined in 2018, he left the label in 2022. Singer Chxrry22 joined in 2022, becoming the first female artist signed to XO. As of the 6th of June,2018, The Weeknd announced his new radio show “

Memento Mori ''Memento mori'' (Latin for 'remember that you ave todie'