The Weeknd

The Weeknd has been in a relationship with runway model Bella Hadid since early 2015. She also appeared in his music video 'In the Night'. However, they reportedly broke up in late 2016 due to conflicting schedules.

In early 2017, he sparked rumors of dating pop star Selena Gomez. Apparently, they have come close while working on a project together.

The Weeknd was born to Makkonen and Samra Tesfaye on 16 February 1990, in Scarborough, Ontario. He is the only child of his parents who moved from Ethiopia to Canada in the 1980s.

He was brought up by his mother and maternal grandmother, and doesn't remember his father who left the family when he was one or two. His mother worked as a nurse and caterer to support the family, attending night school at the same time.

His first language is Amharic, which he learned from his grandmother. He also became fluent in French from the French-immersion class he attended till eighth grade.

During his childhood, he attended two schools, West Hill Collegiate Institute and Birchmount Park Collegiate Institute. However, he got kicked out of one and dropped out of the other after six months. He then left home and started to live with two of his friends in a one-bedroom house at 65 Spencer Avenue.

The Weeknd's career in music started when he met producer Jeremy Rose. The two soon began working on an R&B album titled 'The Weekend'. However, the three songs Tesfaye created for him, 'What You Need', 'Loft Music', and 'The Morning', were not used by Rose.

In 2010, Tesfaye created a YouTube channel with the username 'The Weeknd' and uploaded the three songs. The songs gained popularity quickly and were also mentioned in a blog post featuring songs by rapper Drake.

He released his first mixtape, 'House of Balloons', on March 21, 2011. It contained nine tracks, including the songs he created for Rose. The mixtape was selected as a nominee for the 2011 Polaris Music Prize.

He started to perform live within a few months and began collaborative work with Drake as a vocalist. On 18 August 2011, he released another mixtape titled 'Thursday', containing nine tracks.

His third mixtape was 'Echoes of Silence', released on 21 December 2011. This one also contained nine songs and completed the 'Balloons Trilogy'. The three mixtapes together skyrocketed his fame and made him a star within a year.

The Weeknd's compilation album 'Trilogy' peaked at No. 5 on the Canadian Albums Chart and No. 4 on the U.S. 'Billboard' 200. Within a week of its release, it sold 86,000 copies. It eventually reached platinum status in America and double platinum status in Canada.

His debut studio album 'Kiss Land' peaked at number two on the U.S. 'Billboard' 200 chart. With a sale of 96,000 copies, it trailed the top ranking album by only two thousand copies.

'Beauty Behind the Madness' is his most successful album, earning him multiple awards and nominations. It became the tenth best-selling album of 2015, with 1.5 million copies sold worldwide, and has sold over two million copies in the United States so far.