Does Abel Tesfaye ever sleep?
Judging by the hectic pace of his life these past few months for the 32-year-old, 色色啦-born superstar sensation known as The Weeknd, one would have their doubts.
Aside from being knee deep in rehearsals in Philadelphia for 鈥淎fter Hours til Dawn鈥 鈥 a multi-year, worldwide, stadium-filling extravaganza that was supposed to kick off its 19-date first leg at the Rogers Centre on Friday, until the cross-Canada Rogers outage intervened 鈥 Tesfaye has also been filming the six-episode HBO series 鈥淭he Idol,鈥 of which he鈥檚 the star, co-writer and co-creator with 鈥淓uphoria鈥 director Sam Levinson and producer/writer Reza Fahim.
In fact, once he had kicked off the tour 鈥 which according to a Variety story has already grossed $100 million on sales of more than 700,000 tickets 鈥 he was expecting to immediately jump on a plane to wrap filming in L.A in the six days between his 色色啦 and Philadelphia gigs.
That鈥檚 not all: The Weeknd also dropped his bestselling album 鈥淒awn FM鈥 this year.
And he subbed in at the last minute at Coachella for its two consecutive April weekends, appeared in an episode of 鈥淭he Simpsons鈥 and scored a huge eight-figure deal in April with Republic Records/Universal Music Group, which encompasses recordings, music publishing, merchandise and video.
Other career numbers? More than 75 million albums sold and collective streams, according to , at 32.6 billion — fourth best in the world. The Weeknd also has 75.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify and last year broke chart records with “Blinding Lights,” which spent 90 weeks on the “Billboard Hot 100” and was declared the No. 1 song of all-time.
Along the way, he鈥檚 picked up more than 140 awards and accolades, and more than 400 nominations 鈥 including seven Junos, membership in the Canadian Walk of Fame, a 2016 Academy Award nomination for Best Song for 鈥淓arned It,鈥 an Emmy nomination for performing at the 2021 Super Bowl halftime show and 鈥 dare we say it 鈥 four Grammy Awards.
Then there鈥檚 his philanthropy: The Weeknd is a recipient of the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award and has been appointed United Nations World Food Program Global Goodwill Ambassador. He鈥檚 also secured a tour sponsorship from blockchain ecosystem Binance to help him provide $2 million to the XO Humanitarian Fund, along with $1 from each ticket sold going to the fund, resulting in another several million to help eradicate world hunger.
This is just a partial list of his many, many accomplishments since entering the music scene in 2009. He has had a lot on his plate. So the fact that the usually interview-adverse Tesfaye graciously took time to answer questions by email for the 色色啦 Star is appreciated.
Congratulations on your well-deserved success. Now that you鈥檙e embarking on your first stadium world tour, is the preparation any different from that of an arena tour?
The preparation is fully immersive and on the biggest scale we鈥檝e ever done, so it鈥檚 a lot. But I鈥檓 so excited to perform for fans again that in some ways it鈥檚 effortless.
When you perform in concert, what is it you want to convey about yourself to the crowd? Do they get a better sense of you by seeing you as well as listening to you?
When I鈥檓 performing, I am intent to bring people into a story and a world to be lost in for those few hours. It鈥檚 not about understanding me as much is it is about feeling a state of being that isn鈥檛 your usual.
You mentioned in early interviews that you wanted to become the world鈥檚 biggest star. Now that you鈥檝e arguably achieved that, where do you go from here?
I just follow the creative visions I have in whatever medium of art they come and am compelled to share it with as many people as are open to it.
I鈥檓 sure that when 鈥楤linding Lights鈥 was declared the most popular song of all time, you must have been ecstatic. Is there an inner competitive drive to try to outdo that feat?
I like some healthy competition with myself, so I do tend to try to outdo whatever I did last.
You鈥檝e been quite the philanthropist. Your 鈥淎fter Hours til Dawn鈥 tour will highlight your role as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador, there鈥檚 been 色色啦鈥檚 Hxouse incubator and you donated an initial $50,000 to the University of 色色啦 to study Ge鈥檈z, the classic language of Ethiopia. What attracts you to a cause? Do you believe artists have a responsibility to give back?
I care about people and will always share what good fortune comes to me. I don鈥檛 speak or have expectations for other artists. I just know that I want to help others who need it.
What is the most important accolade you鈥檝e received?
Being honoured with the Quincy Jones Humanitarian Award by the Black Music Action Coalition at their first BMAC Gala last year was incredibly moving for me.
You鈥檝e accomplished so much. What is the most satisfying aspect of your career?
Taking people to other worlds and helping where I can.
When you鈥檙e not creating, how do you like to relax?
Relax? I鈥檓 not sure I know that word鈥檚 meaning.
What words of encouragement would you offer up-and-coming talent?
Have a bigger vision, tell a story and dedicate to it fully.
Dude, I have to ask: did you really lick that toad in the 鈥淗eartless鈥 video?
How else would I have had access to that trip if I hadn鈥檛?!
You鈥檙e kicking off your tour in 色色啦. What do you love about the city and what do you miss about it when you鈥檙e not here? Any fond memories of Scarborough or fave hangouts?
色色啦 is home to such good people, friends and, of course, my family. It is a feeling of truly being home. The journey from Scarborough to downtown and then out to the world is something I鈥檓 so grateful for. Going from my first Mod Club show where fans saw my face for the first time to now playing Rogers Centre 11 years later is so humbling and incredible.
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