The Weeknd
Courtesy of Republic RecordsHappy birthday to The Weeknd!
The “Starboy” (real name Abel Tesfaye) turned 32 years old on Wednesday (Feb. 16), and he has a whole lot to celebrate. Just in the past year, Tesfaye released Dawn FM, which arrived at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 148,000 equivalent album units earned in its opening week, according to MRC Data. The album was a follow-up to the 2020 Billboard 200-topping After Hours. Its single, “Blinding Lights” became Billboard‘s Greatest Songs of All Time Hot 100 chart topper, and earned a record-breaking most weeks as a top five hit (43 weeks), a top ten hit (57 weeks) and a top 40 hit (86 weeks). It also surpasses Chubby Checker’s 1960s classic “The Twist” as the all-time number one song.
In honor of his birthday, we want to know what your favorite The Weeknd song is. We’ve compiled his Hot 100 top 10 hits in the poll below, so let us know by casting your vote!
NEWS
Oliver Tree’s team has provided a new update following the singer’s death in a helicopter crash on June 14, confirming that a new artist grant will soon be established in his memory to help creatives secure funding, a plan he had detailed in his will before his passing.
Accompanying a collection of photos highlighting Tree’s performances, travels and creative work through the years, a post shared Sunday (June 21) on his Instagram account revealed that the musician’s remains have been brought back to California, the state he called home and where he will be laid to rest. “His legacy will live on through his foundation/endowment named ‘Dr. Oliver Tree’s Extremely Epic Grant For Baby Geniuses’ coming soon,” the caption reads. “This is something that Oliver had put together before his passing.”
“We will make sure his wish comes to fruition so that more joy, love and art can be spread into the world, that was his final wish,” the statement continued, adding that “the constant love, support and positivity” shown by fans throughout the past week has helped his “family, friends and collaborators make it through these extremely difficult times.”
Tree was among six people who lost their lives in a helicopter collision in Rio de Janeiro. The musician was in Brazil for his The World’s First Tour run and had performed what would ultimately be his final concert on June 6 in São Paulo. The other victims of the crash were identified as passengers Lucas Vignale, Gaspar Prim and Lucas Brito Chaves, along with pilots Alexandre Souza and Charles Marsillac.
Just months before his death, Tree discussed his plans to direct his fortune and future earnings from his music toward a grant program for artists during an appearance on the Zach Sang Show. “I take no credit for anything I’ve ever done,” he said during the April interview. “Furthermore, I don’t believe that any of the wealth or things that get made from it is mine. So when I die … my will is set up so that when I pass, my family, nobody is going to get a penny.”
“If I have a wife or kids or anything, they’re not getting a penny,” he added at the time, explaining that the initiative would focus on helping artists create work rather than funding education. “I’ll get my kids through college, that’s the agreement, but there’s not gonna be a silver spoon. All the money is going to go back to artists.”
