Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He is known for his unconventional music production, artistic reinventions and use of falsetto. Tesfa…Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He is known for his unconventional music production, artistic reinventions and use of falsetto. Tesfaye began releasing music anonymously in 2009. After co-founding the record label XO, he released three mixtapes—House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence—in 2011, and gained recognition for his blend of contemporary and alternative R&B, as well as the mystery surrounding his identity. He signed with Republic Records in 2012 and reissued the mixtapes as part of the compilation album Trilogy, and released his debut studio album, Kiss Land the following year. After a string of collaborations and film soundtrack contributions between 2013 and 2014, Tesfaye transitioned from alternative R&B in favor of a pop sound with his second and third studio albums, Beauty Behind the Madness and Starboy, both of which debuted atop the US Billboard 200. The former yielded his first two Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, "Can't Feel My Face" and "The Hills", while Starboy spawned two more: its title track, and after a remix with Ariana Grande, "Die for You".