The City of Toronto will honour one of its homegrown superstars, the mayor’s office announced Friday, declaring July 26 and 27 as “The Weeknd Weekend.”
The Scarborough-born R&B and pop singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, is set to perform two shows at Rogers Centre this Sunday and Monday, and again on Aug. 7 and Aug. 8.
“Tesfaye represents the best of our city,” said Mayor Olivia Chow in a statement. “From Scarborough to the global stage, he has reshaped modern R&B music as a multi-platinum, Diamond-certified artist while using his platform to create a lasting impact for Toronto and around the world. Today, we proclaim the ‘Weeknd Weekend’ to honour one of our city’s greatest artists.”
The Weeknd is currently on tour in support of his latest record, “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” which was released alongside a companion film of the same name in January. There have been rumours that this might be the final Weeknd tour. Tesfaye recently told the New York Times that he plans to bid farewell to his alter ego. Later, he told Entertainment Weekly that though the album and film feel like the death of his moniker, “It could also just be a rebirth.”
The only child of immigrants from Ethiopia, Tesfaye, 35, was born in Scarborough. He moved to Parkdale when he was 17, and started releasing music anonymously in 2009.
In 2011, after founding the record label XO, The Weeknd released three mixtapes, which became known as the “House of Balloons” trilogy. The trilogy — distinguished by sparse production and Tesfaye’s menacing charisma — were universally acclaimed, helping put Toronto R&B on the map and altering the trajectory of the genre for years to come.
Since then, The Weeknd has slowly drifted toward the centre, working with mainstream hitmakers like Max Martin, Frank Dukes and Daft Punk to establish himself as one of the biggest names in popular music.
Tesfaye has sold more than 75 million records, making him one of the world’s bestselling artists. His 2019 song “Blinding Lights” holds the record on Spotify for the most streamed song of all time, and the first song to surpass four billion streams.
