The most popular singer today is The Weeknd. Each of his records becomes platinum, in the hands of a handful of Grammy, behind him an Oscar nomination. Life tells the story of a singer who made millions on songs about sex and drugs, grew the strangest hairstyle on his head just to shave it off, and did not leave his native Toronto until the age of 21.
One of the first recordings in the archival videos of The Weeknd dates from 2010. On it, he plays the initial version of one of his future hits, Wicked Games, in the kitchen. Cigarette smoke is in the air, and the singer himself taps his cigarette pack to the rhythm. The quality of the video leaves much to be desired, but even through the noise and interference, it becomes clear: the young man has an incredible voice, which sooner or later will become his ticket to a great and bright future.
The Voice of Toronto
Abel Makkonen Tesfaye grew up in an Ethiopian expatriate family in Toronto. Abel’s parents moved to Canada in the 80s. Abel grew up as a difficult child – he did not communicate with his father, he had bad company, and at the age of 17, he dropped out of school, going with friends in pursuit of a dream – to sing on the big stage.
During the day, Abel worked at the American Apparel clothing store, and in the evening he hung out with fellow musicians. At one of the parties, he met Jeremy Rose, a young music producer, who showed Tesfaye instrumental versions of three songs, to which he immediately read the text from the blanks.
Rose invited him to work on a project called The Weekend (then with the letter “e” in the title). The idea of the project was to write very dark rhythm and blues with a bunch of electronic samples and Tesfaye’s melodic vocals.
At this moment, the brand sound of the project is born. A vicious deep bass, instrumental tunes, and Abel’s poems about sex and drugs, flavored with a decent amount of intimate details.
Friction arises between the project participants, which then leads to the fact that Rose leaves the project, leaving Tesfaye alone. The latter collects his written songs and uploads them to YouTube under the pseudonym The Weeknd, dropping the “e” either because of a quarrel with Rose or after learning about the Canadian rockers The Weekend and not wanting to argue about the rights to the name.
This “leak” attracts the attention of the music press, and Abel immediately begins to predict a great future. The project is already called “breakthrough” for three songs, and The Weeknd’s corporate style is “singing about dirt in the purest voice.” But only mentions in magazines are not enough, his fellow countryman – rapper Drake draws attention to Weeknd. He gives him a base for recording his first records and takes Abel on a tour – for this, the young talent has to leave Toronto for the first time in his life.
Trilogy
Abel records three records: “House of Balloons” (House of Balloons), “Thursday” (Thursday), and “Echoes of Silence”. On all three discs, his signature sound is finally taking shape. The vulgar texts with piquant hints, the constant listing of list of drugs under which the artist was at different moments in history, and the alluring, oily vocals.
Ambiguity and hints become key features of the project. Even Tesfaye’s label is called XO, which means both the youthful abbreviation of “kissing and hugging” and the ecstasy and oxycodone mixture that teens take at parties.
Three previously released records Abel brings to mind in the studio and publishes in one box, called “Trilogy”. The release of the triple album – a step that other musicians practice at the height of their careers – turns out to be the first for Weeknd.
Land of kisses
The concert activity of Weeknd turns into an incessant journey – he practically does not appear in his native Toronto. On the way of the tour, Abel finds himself in Japan, from which he returns so impressed that he sits down to write a new album called “Kiss Land” (Kiss Land).
Kiss Land cements the Weeknd’s success in the pop scene once and for all. Abel becomes a real “hot novelty”: he records joint tracks with Ariana Grande, makes popular remixes of Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, and performs guest verses on songs of the most popular rappers.
All this time, his legendary “pineapple” is growing on the artist’s head, which over and over again wins in the lists of the most original haircuts among the stars of the pop scene. Having started his career with short hair, a few years later Abel appears on the scene with only a giant hair nest of dreadlocks, which, according to him, rarely requires shampooing, but constantly requires maintenance and styling.
The topic of sex and drugs in the process reaches a whole new level. After Kiss Land, Abel takes his voice and lyrics to new heights with the song King of the Fall. Deftly moving from note to note, Abel begins the song with the line “I ate a whole plate of Adderall, pounded in a cup, mixed with codeine”, and in the chorus convinces the listener that the stranger whom Weeknd invited after the meeting, “will do everything whatever I wish, in the hope that I will like it.”
