The Weeknd is a Canadian recording artist and record producer. The Weeknd has a net worth of $300 million. After breaking into the music industry through YouTube today The Weeknd is one of the most recognized faces in the Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B genre and his unique musical style sets him apart. He has has sold more than 70 million records in the United States alone and he has won many awards including multiple Grammys. Outside of music The Weeknd has also been involved in various entrepreneurial pursuits. This includes collaborations with various brands and the creation of his own personal brand called XO.
Today The Weeknd is one of the highest paid entertainers in the world. In a given year when he is touring The Weeknd can easily earn $90 million before taxes.
Early Life
Early Career
Breakthrough
Earnings
Musical Style
Business Ventures
Personal Life
Real Estate
Controversy
Awards
Early Life
The Weeknds real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye and he was born on February 16th 1990. He grew up in Toronto Ontario and was raised by his mother and his grandmother after his parents separated. The Weeknd is of Ethiopian heritage and his parents emigrated to Canada in the late 80s. Tesfayes father was not involved in his life during his childhood and the two only saw each other once or twice. Religion had a large influence on Tesfayes early years and he frequently attended the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Despite his religious involvement Abel Tesfaye starting using drugs at age 11. What started as a marijuana smoking habit later grew into a reliance on harder drugs and Tesfaye claims that he committed crimes to fund his addiction. Although he attended high school he didnt graduate as he dropped out before his final year.
Early Career
Tesfaye stated that his stage name comes from the fact that he left high school and his familys house one weekend and never came home. Three years after he left high school he ran into a producer called Jeremy Rose. Rose had been playing with the idea of creating dark R&B for some time and saw Tesfaye as a perfect figurehead to lead the movement. Rose produced a number of songs that Tesfaye rapped on. At this point the musician was using monikers like Kin Kane and The Noise. Rose gave Tesfaye permission to use the songs on the condition that he would be credited as a producer. Tesfaye then uploaded the tracks to YouTube and he quickly gained a considerable following – even drawing the attention of Drake.
The Weeknds first major release was a mixtape called House of Balloons. The album included tracks made with the help of a range of producers including Jeremy Rose although he was not credited as per the previous agreement. The album was a massive success and once again Drake voiced his praise for the artist. Drake also attended The Weeknds first concerts and later approached him with a plan to collaborate. The two Canadian artists then toured together with The Weeknd typically performing the opening act for Drake. After The Weeknd released two more mixtapes he was approached by several major record labels who wanted to sign him.
Breakthrough
After touring throughout the United States and Europe in 2012 The Weeknd partnered with Republic Records in a joint venture that also saw the creation of his own imprint XO. XO is The Weeknds own record label that acts as a subsidiary of Republic Records. This relationship saw the release of Trilogy which was a compilation of The Weeknds first three mixtapes. Jeremy Rose was finally credited for the songs he had produced. The album performed well charting at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200.
His first studio album came a year later with the release of Kiss Land. The album featured Drake on several tracks and debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard top 200. The next few years saw The Weeknd collaborating with artists such as Justin Timberlake and Ariana Grande as well as touring extensively.
Beauty Behind the Madness was The Weeknds second studio album and it was released in 2015. In its first week of release the album had sold 412000 units and reached the top spot on the U.S. Billboard 200. It eventually went platinum selling 1.5 million copies globally. Shortly afterward The Weeknd became the first male artist to simultaneously hold the top three spots of the Billboard Hot R&B Chart with three singles that eventually all went platinum.
In 2016 The Weeknd released his next album Starboy. The album included tracks featuring the well-known French electronica group Daft Punk. After collaborating with a range of other artists and touring once again The Weeknd released My Dear Melancholy in 2018. The Weeknd set Guinness World Records in 2017 for Most Streamed Album on Spotify in One Year.
In 2018 he also released his first greatest hits album The Weeknd in Japan. In 2020 The Weeknd announced the title of his next album After Hours.
Earnings
Between June 2017 and June 2018 he earned a staggering $90 million. Between June 2018 and June 2019 The Weeknd earned $40 million from his various endeavors.
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