Toronto fans meet the weekend his pop-up

Abél Makkonen Tesfaye (born 16 February 1990), known professionally as The Weeknd (pronounced “the weekend”), is a Canadian singer, songwriter and record producer. In late 2010, Tesfaye anonymously uploaded several songs to YouTube under the name “The Weeknd”. He released three nine-track mixtapes throughout 2011: House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence, which were critically acclaimed. The following year, he released a compilation album Trilogy, thirty tracks consisting of the remastered mixtapes and three additional songs. It was released under Republic Records and his own label XO.

In 2013, he released his debut studio album Kiss Land, which was supported by the singles “Kiss Land” and “Live For”. His second album, Beauty Behind the Madness, which became his first number one album on the US Billboard 200, included the top-five single “Earned It” and produced the number-one singles “The Hills” and “Can’t Feel My Face”. The songs have simultaneously held the top three spots on the Billboard Hot R&B Songs chart, making him the first artist in history to achieve this. The Weeknd has won two Grammy Awards and has been nominated for an Academy Award. In September 2016, the release of the third album, Starboy was announced, along with the release of the tracks “Starboy” and “False Alarm”. In early 2016, The Weeknd was featured on the song “FML” from Kanye West’s 2016 album, The Life of Pablo and appeared on Beyoncé’s song “6 Inch” from her album Lemonade.

On August 24, 2016, The Weeknd was reported working together with French electronic music duo Daft Punk, and was confirmed by Republic Records executive vice president Wendy Goldstei, while he was interviewed by Billboard. On 26 August 2016, Cashmere Cat released a single to his new album, “Wild Love”, and The Weeknd is featured on this track providing vocals.

On September 21, 2016, The Weeknd announced the name of his third studio album, Starboy. The 18 track album will be released through XO and Republic. The following day he released the title track, which features Daft Punk. Starboy is set to release on November 25. On October 1, 2016, The Weeknd was a musical guest on Saturday Night Live where he performed “Starboy” and “False Alarm”. On November 17, The Weeknd announced two new singles from Starboy titled “Party Monster” and another collaboration with Daft Punk called “I Feel It Coming” that same day.The Weeknd has won two Grammy Awards, eight Billboard Music Awards, nine Juno Awards, and has been nominated for one Academy Award.In November 2015, to further promote his album Beauty Behind the Madness during the “King of the Fall Madness 2015” Tour, the Weeknd collaborated with PAX Labs to release a limited edition version of the PAX 2 vaporizer. PAX was also an official sponsor for the “Madness” tour, which included presenting special backstage VIP activations. The limited edition vaporizer featured the Weeknd’s “xo” brand on the front, and plays “The Hills” when turned on. The original PAX 2 was priced $279.99, while the “Madness” Tour Limited Edition cost $324.99.

PAX Labs chief marketing officer Richard Mumby stated “Music and fashion have always been a natural fit for Pax…This was the perfect opportunity to bring together The Weeknd’s style with our technology.”

In 2016, The Weeknd announced a partnership with Puma, signing on to the company as the new Global Brand ambassador, and will represent the “Run the Streets” campaign. Puma released an official statement saying “His laidback, streetwise style and swagger make him the right fit to headline PUMA’s latest Sportstyle campaign, ‘Run The Streets’ which launches in November…” The Weeknd will also star in H&M’s Spring 2017 campaign, which would feature new collaborative pieces developed with the Weeknd’s XO brand. The menswear collection will be called “Spring Icons Selected by The Weeknd” and will be available on March 2nd, 2017.