THE WEEKND BIOGRAPHY - AGE, CAREER, SONGS & FACTS

The Weeknd — the Canadian global superstar born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye: four Grammys, the best-selling "Blinding Lights" (Billboard's greatest Hot 100 song of all time), and a record-breaking $1B+ After Hours Til Dawn tour still running its final Asia leg in 2026.

Over the past fifteen years, the Toronto-raised singer, songwriter and producer has grown from an anonymous internet upload into one of the most-streamed artists on the planet — the first artist ever to pass 100 million monthly Spotify listeners.

Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY (The Weeknd, Cannes Film Festival 2023), AI-enhanced.

Early Life

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye was born on February 16, 1990, in Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada — 36 years old in 2026. The only child of Ethiopian immigrants Makkonen Tesfaye and Samrawit Hailu, he was raised in Scarborough by his mother and grandmother, and grew up speaking Amharic at home.

At 17, he and his friend La Mar Taylor left home — as the story goes, they "left one weekend and never came home" — and the phrase became his stage name. The final "e" was dropped to avoid a trademark clash with a Canadian band called The Weekend.

Starting in late 2010, he uploaded music anonymously to YouTube. In 2011 he released three mixtapes — House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence — that reshaped contemporary R&B. He co-founded the XO record label with Taylor, earned an early endorsement from Drake, and in 2012 signed with Republic Records, which re-released the mixtapes as the compilation album Trilogy.

Career

His debut studio album, Kiss Land, arrived in 2013. The breakthrough came with Beauty Behind the Madness (August 28, 2015), which debuted at No. 1 in the United States and produced the chart-topping singles "Can't Feel My Face" and "The Hills". Starboy followed on November 25, 2016 — its Daft Punk-assisted title track reached No. 1 in the US, and the album won the Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album.

After the 2018 EP My Dear Melancholy ("Call Out My Name"), he entered his imperial phase with After Hours (March 2020) — home to "Heartless", "Save Your Tears" and the record-shattering "Blinding Lights". In February 2021, he headlined the Super Bowl LV halftime show.

"Blinding Lights" spent 90 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 — the longest chart run in history at the time — including four weeks at No. 1 and records of 43 weeks in the top five, 57 weeks in the top ten and 86 weeks in the top 40. Billboard named it the No. 1 Greatest of All Time Hot 100 song in 2021, and in January 2025 it was crowned the No. 1 song of the 21st century.

Dawn FM arrived in 2022, the same year he launched the After Hours Til Dawn stadium tour. In 2023 he co-created and starred in HBO's The Idol. In 2025 he released the album Hurry Up Tomorrow alongside its Lionsgate companion film (world premiere May 13, 2025, in New York City), performed at the 67th Grammy Awards in February, was named the highest-paid musician of 2025, and watched his tour cross the $1 billion mark.

Among his collaborations is "La Fama" (2021) with Rosalía, alongside the official "Blinding Lights" remix.

The Weeknd in 2026

The After Hours Til Dawn tour is still running in 2026, with its final Asia leg: Tokyo on September 20, Jakarta on September 26–27, Singapore on October 2–3, Seoul on October 7–8, Bangkok on October 11, Hong Kong on October 30–31, and the grand finale in Kuala Lumpur on November 4, 2026. Support acts are Creepy Nuts and DJ ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U, with proceeds supporting the XO Humanitarian Fund.

Across 2022–2026, the tour has spanned 153 shows and more than 7.5 million tickets sold, grossing over $1 billion — the highest-grossing tour ever by a male soloist. Add four Grammy Awards, 20 Billboard Music Awards, 22 Juno Awards, six American Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and one Latin Grammy, and The Weeknd remains the dominant pop force of his era.

Quick Facts

Full Name: Abel Makkonen Tesfaye
Born: February 16, 1990 (Toronto, Canada)
Nationality: Canadian
Genre: Alternative R&B, pop
Grammy Awards: 4
Biggest Song: Blinding Lights

Frequently Asked Questions

What is The Weeknd's real name?
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye. He adopted "The Weeknd" as his stage name after dropping out of school at 17.

How old is The Weeknd?
Born February 16, 1990 in Toronto, Canada — 36 years old in 2026.

Why is he called The Weeknd?
According to reports, he chose it after he and a friend left home "one weekend and never came home"; the final "e" was dropped to avoid a trademark clash with a Canadian band called The Weekend.

What is The Weeknd's biggest song?
"Blinding Lights" (2019) — 90 weeks on the Hot 100, a record at the time; named Billboard's greatest Hot 100 song of all time.