Abel Tesfaye born February 16, 1990, known by his stage name The Weeknd (pronounced "week-end"), 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, consisting of remastered versions of the mixtape material 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 Billboard 200, produced top-five singles including: "Earned It", "The Hills", and the number-one single "Can't Feel My Face". The songs have held down all of 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 received praise from several music publications, including Pitchfork, MTV, BET, Rolling Stone, XXL and The Source.