Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, popularly known as The Weeknd, (born February 16, 1990 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian R&B/pop/hip-hop singer. He has been referred to as the songbird of his generation throughout his career.He chose his stage name in tribute to when he was 17 years old, when, along with his friend La Mar Taylor, he dropped out of high school, took his mattress, and “left one weekend and never came home”. However, his estranged former producer Jeremy Rose claims the name was his idea.