By Izzy Becker ‘24, Feature Writer

You may know him as the celebrity who posted a botched selfie on Instagram, or the singer who created a creepy persona by arriving at events wrapped in bandages and bloody eye makeup, but Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd aims for much more than just eccentric internet appearances. Born in Toronto, Canada, Abel Makkonen Tesfaye developed his stage name because he disliked his real name and thought ‘The Weeknd’ “sounded cool,” as stated in a Reddit “ask me anything” interview in 2013. Since then, The Weeknd has made many significant strides in regards to his identity and image.

“After Hours,” the Weeknd’s most popular album, has broken numerous national records since its release on March 20, 2020. The day before it became available to the public, it broke Apple Music’s record for most global pre-orders of an album, racking up an impressive 1.02 million pre-orders. Additionally, “Blinding Lights”, a song featured on this album, broke Billboard Hot 100’s history being the first song to spend over a year in its Hot 100’s top 10 list of songs. It also earned the spot as the best-selling single of last year. 

Back in November of 2020, the Grammys Recording Academy released its finalized list of 2021 Grammy nominees, including artists such as Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift, and Justin Bieber. The Weeknd, however, was not included in this list of nominees for any of the various categories including Song of the Year, Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Pop Solo Performance, and Best R&B Song despite his incredibly successful album “After Hours” and record-breaking “Blinding Lights.”

Due to his recent rise in success, The Weeknd was understandably upset when he was not included as a nominee for the 2021 Grammy Awards. He took to Twitter to express his concerns with the Grammys, saying, “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency.” Although his tweet was retweeted by over 1.2 million users, many felt put off by The Weeknd’s attitude, feeling as though he was victimizing himself. Though, in an interview with Billboard, he elaborated on his initial reaction and feelings about the Grammys and their process, explaining that he considered race to have played a role in the decision. He said, “In the last 61 years of the Grammys, only 10 Black artists have won Album of the Year.” 

Amidst The Weeknd’s drama surrounding the Grammys, the artist also made some eye-catching publicity stunts that left everyone with questions. Beginning at the 2020 MTV Music Awards, the singer showed up with bloody and bruised eye makeup. A few months later, he appeared at the American Music Awards with the same gruesome face makeup and wrapped in bandages. During this period, he released various music videos for his recent album, each featuring the bruised or bandaged piece. Finally, he unveiled his greatly anticipated “Save Your Tears” music video in which he did not wear bloody makeup or bandages, but this time, he was presented in a disturbing plastic surgery look, distorting his facial features. 

Before his 2021 Super Bowl performance, The Weeknd decided to finally address his bizarre persona and the reasons behind it. The entire stunt represented the absurd Hollywood culture that celebrities feel they must live up to, and it manifested “people manipulating themselves for superficial reasons to please and be validated.” When asked about why he intentionally crafted an unrecognizable face when creating and promoting one of his biggest albums, The Weeknd stated, “I suppose you could take that being attractive isn’t important to me but a compelling narrative is.”  

Most recently, The Weeknd performed at this year’s 55th Super Bowl halftime show. This time, though, he performed in his normal face, surrounded by a choir of hundreds of people dressed in his iconic red suit and bandages. This choir represented the many distressed versions of himself that resulted from the toxicity in Hollywood. 

Over the past year, The Weeknd has made many purposeful artistic choices and should be commended for his passion and ability to articulate his creative visions while highlighting such important concepts. At the risk of his career and likeability, he called out the Grammys’ secrecy, demanding transparency and racial justice for all artists. The powerful guise that he’s created also calls out the harmful atmosphere of Hollywood and the media and aims to create a new dynamic in the music industry, one that is inclusive and accepting.