Abel Makkonen Tesfaye also known as the Weeknd started to upload songs on YouTube by the end of 2010 with his own name. The main breakthrough of the Canadian singer was “Can’t Feel My Face” song launched in 2015. This song was certainly not a “single shot” success. His unique vocals and innovative performance made him one of the most popular names in the music industry. His songs are played millions of times and his albums were at the top of the lists. His relationships with popular names made him the favorite person of the magazine world. Weeknd is rocking the lists with his 4th studio album After Hours. Here are the things you need to know about 30-years-old star…
“AFTER HOURS” VIDEO CLIPS AS SHORT MOVIES
The first 5 video clip of The Weeknd’s latest album After Hours have certain plot like short movies. Following “Heartless” published in 2019, a mini film is created with consecutive “Blinding Lights”, “After Hours”, “Until I Bleed Out” and “In Your Eyes” video clips. But watch out when you watch the videos! If you are sensitive to light and sudden transitions, these videos might disturb you. The video clips are directed by Anton Tammi.
THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM FOR AWARDS
The Weeknd has 4 studio albums, 3 Grammy Awards, 8 Billboard Music Awards and 2 American Music Awards. The Weeknd was a candidate for the Academy Awards with “Earned It” song composed in 2016 for “50 Shades of Grey”.
THERE ARE 67 DIFFERENT VERSIONS FOR “THE HILLS”
The famous artists say he is completely “obsessed” when writing a song. For example, one of his famous songs “The Hills” has 67 recorded versions. You didn’t read it wrong: 67 different versions! The first version was played in 2015 in SXSW. A friend of Weeknd recorded the half of this version with his phone and uploaded to SoundCloud. Weeknd said “Almost the entire world knows this version of the song but the studio recording is far from it, I have doubts that they are even the same song!”
THAT SONG WRITTEN TO SELENA GOMEZ
The Weeknd has a relationship with Selena Gomez in 2018. After Gomez went back to her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber, he wrote “Call Out My Name” song. It is believed that “I almost cut a piece of myself for your life” line in this song was written for Gomez who had a kidney transfer in that period.
LINES WRITTEN FOR THE TEARS OF HADID
The Weeknd continues to reflect his magazine relationships to his songs. One of examples for this is the songs written for famous model Bella Hadid whom he has an on and off relationship. Weeknd saw a tear in his ex-lover Hadid’s eye when he stumbles open her in a nightclub as he was recording his album. And “Save Your Tears” song is created.
HE WAS ON “UNCUT GEMS”
Weeknd fans were surprised to see him in Safdie Brothers’ famous movie “Uncut Gems” starring Adam Sandler. Weeknd acts as himself but with a difference. Since “Uncut Gems” was in 2012, Tesfaye acts in a fictional way as he is at the beginning of his career and he is not famous yet. If you haven’t watched the movie, it is live on Netflix.
HE GAVE A DIGITAL AVATAR CONCERT ON TIKTOK
Since the release of After-Hours album corresponded to the pandemic, The Weeknd came up with a creative way to organize a concert. The famous artist gave a concert with a digital avatar on TikTok. TikTok called this concert “first in-app cross-reality experience” and used augmented reality for this concert. “The Weeknd Experience” at the same time raised funds for Equal Justice Initiative to end the racial discrimination in the US.
WHY HIS NAME IS WEEKND?
There are various claims for choosing the name “Weeknd” rather than “Weekend”. First, the famous singer dropped out from high school on a weekend and never went back home. The second is that Jeremy Rose found this name. By the way, the Weeknd is written without the letter “e” so that he is not confused with the Canadian group The Weekend.
A REAL JIM CARREY FAN
The Weeknd is a real Jim Carrey fan and he tells a memory on his 30th birthday to an interview in Variety magazine: “I was 4 years old when I watched the Mask. It blew my mind. Carrey called me on my 30th birthday. There were huge red balloons in his balcony. Then, he came to pick me up and we went to have a breakfast. It was surreal. Jim Carrey is my inspiration and I had breakfast with him on the first day on my 30th birthday!”