Munich is becoming increasingly interesting for the big music stars from all over the world. You must have noticed that The Weeknd gave a huge concert in the middle of the Olympic Park and could attract thousands of fans.
How did he do that? Who is "The Weeknd" at all?
We answer exactly these questions today!
The childhood of the superstar
The Weeknd or with a bourgeois name Abel Makkonen Tesfaye was born on February 16, 1990 in Canada, more precisely in Toronto. As the son of a family of immigrants from Ethiopia, it was clear that he would not really be easy. He also lacked a father figure because his biological father left the family early on and leaving the mother alone with the little Abel. The mother of today's superstar was a nurse who had to work during the day and still took extra English courses in the evening because she only mastered the most necessary chunks. The Weeknd described his grandma and mother as the strongest women he has ever been able to get to know and they were his world.
Since the mother had a lot to do, she could hardly spend time to raise the little one. But thank God you can rely on grandma! She took over a large part of the upbringing and also introduced him to his great love, the music. In the house of the family of three, jazz, indie, pop and even classic music ran.
It should also be added that Drake quickly became aware of The Weeknd. Both artists come from a similar circumstances and come from the same city - they supported wherever they could.
The first successes
Abel grew up with a great variety of music, but very quickly discovered his love for R&B music. In the 2010s he started his own musical career and even threw his school training at 17 to concentrate more on songwriting and music. His early projects were only available on Soundcloud and that was only completely anonymous, nobody knew who was the Weeknd. Due to his rather unmixed and rough songs, he quickly attracted a lot of attention, his songs were rather dark and very emotional, with topics such as heartache, love or drug abuse. These topics attracted a wide audience because the zeitgeist was hit exactly (Tumblr era).
At that time, The Weeknd was able to create a total of three mixtapes, "House of Balloons", "Thursday" and "Echoes of Silence", which literally catapulted him into the North American mainstream. His sound was something completely new and fresh, she made the whole music scene listen because he mixed the R&B music style with pop, as Michael Jackson or Prince did.
From star to the superstar
After building a width and loyal fan base, he got a record deal in 2013 and broke some records with his debut album "Kiss Land", even made it to number 2 on the North American charts. The big, international breakthrough came in 2015 with its second studio album "Beauty Behind the Madness". On the album there were hits such as "Can't Feel My Face" or "The Hills", which are definitely known to many of you. With the first song, he was even able to get his first Billboard Hot 100 place, which is the greatest award for most artists. He also won some awards and was even nominated for the Grammys. The following year came the third album "Starboy", which only consolidated his superstar status. The song of the same name in cooperation with Daft Punk was an incredible hit that gave him even more fans all over the world.
If you are successful like a superstar, you must of course also celebrate. You don't know much from The Weeknd's private life and in general it keeps himself very covered, which is actually rather funny for such a young star. Nevertheless, he was seen here and there in La Nightlife, sometimes in New York or formally at the usual events. Just like his private life, he also keeps his love life behind closed doors. The Canadian pop musician had a longer on-off relationship with top model Bella Hadid, in 2015-17 they were a cut couple until the musician then dated Selena Gomez for a few months.
After a short time it was over and so he came back with Bella Hadid. According to his own statement, he "never stopped loving Bella", which already has to think (in a negative sense).
From 2019 there were no more love rumors about the pop star, who, according to his own statements, enjoys the single life.
Its further development
We are already in 2020, in which he delivered the album "After Hours". With the hitsong "Save Your Tears" he makes the headlines again and has been represented in the top 100 for a long time. The album noticed that Abel had concentrated more on music and experienced an artistic ripening process. With an emotional depth, his talent achieves incredible versatility, which he considered unreachable.
Hollywood calls
As early as 2015, The Weeknd was able to create or participate for a well -known film, and he was allowed to accommodate some of his songs at "Fifty Shades of Gray". He also contributed a song for the Marvel film "Black Panther". As an actor, Abel is very useful and convinced in the film "The Black Diamond", where he played himself. The latest addition of his film career is the HBO series "The Idol" where he embodies an obsessed music manager. Many find the series rather strange, but he really played Tedros very well and the talent for acting is definitely there. A cool fact about "The Idol" is that The Weeknd even made his own house in Los Angeles available for filming.
His greatest success and how it goes on for him
A year later, in 2021, he was even allowed to appear at the half -time show of the 55th Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida. Really only the greatest artists get the chance to deliver a show at the greatest sporting event of the year. Only in the United States did over 100 million viewers turn on, of course much more worldwide. The Canadian superstar follows the footsteps of Michael Jackson and Prince, who were his role models - what a great moment.
No music is planned this year, but rather a change of image. At the moment he is on tour, but he already changed its name in his real on various social media channels: Abel Tesfaye. What this is all about has not yet been leaked, but I think it will be a change of image. He also started with his own coffee brand.
It remains exciting!
His influence on culture and social engagement
Everything about the artist was authentic from the start and really screamed for international star, but how did he change pop culture? With his unique vocals and melodies as well as his style, especially the hair, he always came across like a real pop musician. The texts were pretty good for the music direction and almost everyone can identify with at least one of the songs, which is worth gold on the genre. He always stayed true to himself and had no great escapades, ie a "white vest".
He has not only changed the music, he also supports some charity organizations with donations. He also campaigns a lot for equality in the USA and social justice.