He started out as an anonymous songwriter and producer who heard his own r’n’b ballads about solitude and decadent parties on a brigade in a clothing store and watched customers react to them. A few records later, he is the author of the most listened song of all time from the 32-year-old Canadian Abel Tesfay, better known by the pseudonym The Weeknd. It’s called Blinding Lights and it comes from the album After Hours.
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The song, which has over two and a half billion plays on Spotify and surpassed Chubby Checker’s hit from the 1960s in just two years of existence, has not been heard by many people live yet.
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Due to the pandemic, The Weeknd had to cancel the world tour, and when he wanted to make it to the prestigious Superbowl Halftime Show, his performance from the stadium stands was watched by 20,000 cardboard shots. In addition, the album After Hours, one of the most successful records in recent years, did not earn a single Grammy nomination.
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Last Friday, The Weeknd came with a new album, Dawn FM, which attacks the same goals as After Hours and maybe even higher. Although the atmosphere remains where The Weeknd fans like it best – deep in nihilism.
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