The falsetto that turned midnight anxiety into the most streamed song ever, and made purgatory sound like a dance floor.
MOODS · nocturnal · melancholic · cinematic · seductive · brooding · atmospheric · introspective · hedonistic · haunted · stylish
BIOGRAPHY
Abel Tesfaye, the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and actor born in 1990 to Ethiopian immigrant parents; Amharic was his first language. He emerged in late 2010 with atmospheric songs posted to YouTube, gaining momentum after Drake championed his work, which led to the 2011 mixtape House of Balloons and a Polaris Music Prize shortlisting.
His early output helped define alternative R&B by folding in electronic and indie textures, while later albums like Beauty Behind the Madness, Starboy, After Hours, Dawn FM, and Hurry Up Tomorrow pushed toward cinematic electropop. He has won four Grammy Awards, headlined the 2021 Super Bowl halftime show, and was ranked among Rolling Stone's 200 Greatest Singers of All Time in 2023.
WHY THEY'RE COOL
The Weeknd built a singular sound out of contradictions: whispery falsetto over dark, drug-and-sex-soaked confessionals, later stretched into stadium-sized pop. 'Blinding Lights' became the most streamed song in history, produced with figures like Kevin Parker and Oneohtrix Point Never. Dawn FM, narrated by Jim Carrey and featuring Quincy Jones and Tyler, The Creator, framed a whole album as a purgatorial dance party. His 2020 Grammy snub for After Hours became one of the ceremony's most talked-about controversies, underscoring both his critical stature and his uneasy relationship with institutional recognition.
GEORGE'S PLAYS
First time on the station.
PLAYED ON WOKE1
