Nobody makes feeling bad sound as good as The Weeknd. Even the singer’s sunnies tracks (“Can’t Feel My Face,” “Starboy”) feel anchored by darkness—the sense that pleasure is pain and beauty decays and you can’t have the night without the morning after. The brainchild of Toronto singer Abel Tesfaye, the project took off in 2011 with a string of mixtapes (later collected as 2012’s Trilogy) that forged cavernous, falsetto-driven R&B with narratives drenched in drugs, sex, and other regrettable decisions—a sound both sensuous and detached, featherlight and dead heavy. One of the earliest musicians to find his footing on the internet, Tesfaye originally offered his music through YouTube and free downloads, a move that felt radical then but is common now. Ethiopian by heritage (his parents immigrated to Canada in the late ’80s, just before he was born), Tesfaye—out from behind the mask of making art online—has since come to represent the changing face of Toronto, rooting himself not just in an international musical community but in a specific diasporic experience. Tesfaye’s music has become a symbol of hedonism pushed to bleak excess, with a series of albums—including 2015’s Grammy-winning Beauty Behind the Madness, 2016’s multiplatinum Starboy, and 2020’s dense and atmospheric After Hours—whose narrators can’t seem to say no even if they hate themselves for it later. And though his music has gotten a little brighter over time, the prevailing mood remains heavy, even unsettling—the ride you want more of even when you’ve had too much. Speaking to Apple Music about the persona behind his songs, Tesfaye said, “I’m a chill person. That guy is who I am, but it is who I am to myself and in my writing. Sometimes you take him and then you create more, and then it becomes this beast. You add more to him, and then it’s uncontrollable—its own character. It’s like Scarface, the villain: It’s horrible, but you can’t stop looking at it.” Though he didn’t release a new album in 2021, he was a constant part of the cultural conversation, releasing a slew of singles, performing at the Super Bowl and on Saturday Night Live (think: “Ladies and gentlemen, The Weeknd”), and winning the Apple Music Award for Artist of the Year.
Popular
Die For You
Creepin'
Starboy
K-Pop
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Hi. We are Jay Siegan Presents. We are the talent liaisons that curate, ideate, and connect you to the right artists to transform special events into experiences of a lifetime. Our roots are those of musicologists and culture hawks, deeply embedded in the living performing arts. This is the foundation of our work, the soul of our business, and what we've been doing for over 25 years. We have the capacity and capability to bring any artist from anywhere in the world to your event.
We are the talent liaisons that curate, ideate, and connect you to the right artists to transform special events into experiences of a lifetime. Our roots are those of musicologists and culture hawks, deeply embedded in the living performing arts. This is the foundation of our work, the soul of our business, and what we've been doing for over 25 years. We have the capacity and capability to bring any artist from anywhere in the world to your event.
The cost associated with booking The Weeknd is influenced by several factors. These include the interest and availability of the talent, the date and location, the nature of the event, and the schedule of the talent involved. To receive an accurate quote to book The Weeknd for your event, we will need to gather some specific information. Reach out to us to dig in more and we can discuss an offer with the agent for The Weeknd.
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