The Weeknd is a well-known figure today, but ten years ago, he was a drug-addicted street boy from Toronto who believed that composing for other artists would give him the best chance of success.


He admitted to Rolling Stone that at the time, he believed he would become a punk celebrity, growing out his hair, having acne on his face, and being extremely thin. He was examining groups and performers like Iggy Pop, the Ramones, and Afropunk. But he changed and saw his true potential.

He currently holds 81 awards, including two Guinness World Records, AMAs, Billboards, and Grammys. The Weeknd has always exuded a vibe that is almost magical, and because of his personal fears and shyness, he was reluctant to do interviews when he first started to gain notoriety.

This mystique further enhanced his reputation and increased interest in his music, making him the songbird for an entire generation.

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye was born in Toronto, Canada, on February 16, 1990. In the 1980s, his parents Makkonen and Samra immigrated to Canada from Ethiopia. When he was just two years old, his father left the household.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Abel disclosed: "I saw him when I was six years old and again when I was 11 or 12 years old, he had a new family and children. I'd see him for like a night and I have no idea where he lived. He must be a fantastic guy, I think. I never condemned him. He wasn't an asshole, he wasn't abusive, and he wasn't an alcoholic. He simply wasn't present."

When Abel's mother wasn't working multiple jobs, either as a nurse or in catering, she was attending night classes. As a result, his grandmother raised him. His grandmother told him stories about Ethiopia, and amharic was the first language that young Abel learned to speak. 

He was a lonely small boy who dreamed of having a sibling, and he first encountered music while attending an Ethiopian Orthodox church.

The next icon who would significantly influence him till now isnone other than Michael Jackson. Through his song We Are The World, which was written in honor of the country, MJ had become somewhat of a hero to the people of Ethiopia. "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough", according to Abel, was the song that gave him the confidence to be himself.

Abel attended a French-immersion elementary school and spent the entire day speak8ng french, which the other students teased him about at recess.


He attended Samuel Hearne Middle School while a child growing up in Scarborough, where he developed a taste for the decade's smooth R&B music. He was listening to Timberland Ginuwine, Missy Elliot, Aaliyah, and Neptunes, Pink Floyd and Zeppelin were obviously added to the mix. He also watched a ton of television and classic movies, and because he didn't have a man to look up to, he was raised by what he saw on television.

He started smoking pot at 11, later, when he was a student at Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute, he gradually started abusing increasingly potent substances.

He lost his virginity at a college toga party when he was 16 in a sloppy drunken encounter. He recalls it as a terrible affair, but he has since made up for it with many sexier experiences in the bedroom.

Abel was expelled from his high school when he was 17 and had to transfer to a more tougher one on the other side of town. He dropped out of the 11th grade after six months.

He did crossword puzzles to keep up his vocabulary since he was self-conscious about his intelligence. 

He quickly persuaded two of his buddies to move in with him, at first they slept on mattresses at the back of a van. They eventually settled at 65 Spencer, in the run-down Parkdale neighborhood of Toronto. At some point, he also resided in another apartment at 70 Shuter Street.

Teenagers who had finished high school were free to do anything they wished to, so they began frequenting neighborhood bars, where they had quite the reputation among women. They squandered their remaining funds on alcohol and drugs including ketamine, cocaine, MDMA, mushrooms, and cough syrup while subsisting on food they would smuggle from the grocery store.

Abel would enliven his buddies' calm periods with music because of how much he loved music and he had a God given talent. This eventually resulted in the formation of the hip-hop duo, Bulleez N Nerdz, and he began to rap and sing as Kin Kane.


When it failed to catch on, he started writing songs for Noise, a production firm, while keeping in mind singers like Drake and Justin Timberlake.

With his roommates, he quickly founded "XO" and took on the moniker The Weeknd. He dropped the final e to avoid copyright issues with an existing band.

Abel later met producer Jeremy Rose and presented him with a menacing, self-titled R&B. Rose produced three tracks in one session, pairing Abel's soaring vocals with the dark instrumentals.

Abel posted the three tracks, "The Morning," "Loft Music," and "What You Need" online in December 2010 and immediately began texting and inviting his pals on Facebook to check them out. The views began to soar to the hundreds and then thousands as all the friends he had met in Toronto through the party and music scene tuned in.

His music was heard by Drake's manager, who posted it on Drizzy's blog, where it spread throughout the world.

A few months later, The Weeknd made his "House of Balloons" mixtape available for free download on his website. But his face was not depicted in the cover art. He revealed to Rolling Stone, "I embodied everything an R&B performer did not. I lacked fitness. I was awkward as heck and not an attractive boy. I didn't like how I appeared in photographs; I felt disgusted when I looked at myself with a digital camera."

Abel wasn't certain if he had any star potential. Instead, he used some young hotties' creative nudes to promote his song. His mixtape received favorable reviews, and despite the fact that nobody knew for sure whether "The Weeknd" was an individual or a band, listeners adored it.


Abel was avoiding interviews left and right until he made the decision to come out of hiding and go on tour in July 2011.

Abel aspired to be an icon because of Jean-Michel Basquiat, an urban artist. He started to let his hair grow out and take on the ideal shape. He also started taking dancing lessons to enhance his performances.

He worked regularly with Drake when he was just getting started and contributed to many tracks on the "Take Care" album. Although he received payment, he claims he had to give up nearly half of his album in order to work with Drake.

That same year, he also made his second and third mixtapes accessible for free download on his website. The "Balloons Trilogy" was completed by "Thursday" and "Echoes of Silence."

After that, major labels started calling. He joined Republic Records, began performing at enormous concerts and music festivals, began dating supermodels, and his net worth increased to $92 million.