Adult movies. Color TV. Waterbed. These are three amenities that the Harvard House, an hourly motel tucked away on Hollywood Boulevard, still proudly advertises in 2021. When a Yelp user wrote a one-star review that concluded with the line “Definitely AVOID this shithole,” I doubt they foresaw it being the temporary lair for one of the biggest global pop stars of our time. Show The Weeknd covers the September 2021 issue of GQ. To get a copy, subscribe to GQ.Blazer, $2,095, by Ralph Lauren. Turtleneck, $1,095, by Ralph Lauren. Pants, $695, by Ralph Lauren. Hat, $267, by Janessa Leone Sunglasses, $750, by Jacques Marie Mage. Ring (on ring finger), $530, by The Great Frog. Ring (on pinkie), $9,900, by Sarah-Jane Wilde. He’s leaning against a wall, wearing a pinstripe Louis Vuitton suit and Celine Cuban heels that are so tall they look like you need a safety permit to wear them. Styling assistants and groomers buzz around him, primping and tweaking. Today his hair, a celebrity in its own right, consists of tiny curls perfectly cascading out of an Afro. Each rogue coil attracts light from the sun, creating something like a halo. Despite the current heat advisory in L.A., there isn’t a single bead of sweat on his brow. No sheen. Nothing. Everyone crowding around the monitor looking at the incoming photos is thinking the same thing: It’s him. The Starboy. The architect of the sexiest music to ever chart. Sole winner of Super Bowl LV. Lover to some of the most desired women on earth. The Ethiopian kid who changed R&B with three twisted, druggy mixtapes and never showed his face. The one with the falsetto rivaled only by the GOAT. The pop star who was infamously nominated for an award at a kids’ show for singing about face numbing off a bag of blow. Sure, the Harvard House has seen some shit. But so has Abel Tesfaye—a.k.a. The Weeknd. The day before the photo shoot, I met that same guy at a recording studio in Century City. He was wearing a black Online Ceramics hoodie and sweatpants that were more function than fashion. I don’t remember his shoes, but they weren’t Cuban heels. A backpack weighed down his right shoulder. It was stuffed as if he had packed for a whole day of bouncing around in Ubers. There were no disco aviators. His ’fro wasn’t illuminated. We were supposed to meet at 6 p.m. He apologized, repeatedly, for being late. He arrived at 6:07 p.m. It’s clear that the rumors are true: Abel and The Weeknd are two very different beings. The Weeknd has the longest-charting song by a solo artist in history and billions of worldwide streams. The Weeknd spent his pandemic in a red blazer licking frogs dipped in LSD. Abel, meanwhile, was bingeing The X-Files. (“Everyone copied them, bro,” he told me. “Everyone.”) Abel talks about getting a good night’s sleep the way someone might talk about good MDMA. He has been rediscovering L.A.: Last year, when the streets emptied out, he started taking long walks. He exudes a type of politeness found only in the world capital of politeness (Ontario, Canada). The Weeknd is the guy who destroys the suite at Caesars Palace like in The Hangover. Abel is the sweet guy whom they lose in the first 30 minutes and spend the rest of the movie trying to find. Watch Now: The Weeknd Reads GQ Until The Lights Go Out GQ: What is the difference between Abel and The Weeknd? So am I interviewing The Weeknd or Abel? Which one’s Jekyll and which one’s Hyde? Jacket, price upon request, and turtleneck, $1,090, by Amiri. Sunglasses, $750, by Jacques Marie Mage. How do you feel about people thinking you’re a dark person? What was the original reason for your anonymity? When did you first hear your voice and know that it was special? Did you try to go on Canadian Idol? So where does the name The Weeknd come from? Do you still like the name The Weeknd as much as you did then? Yeah. Would you ever make music as Abel? Jacket, price upon request, and turtleneck, $1,090, by Amiri. Sunglasses, $750, by Jacques Marie Mage. In most of your videos, The Weeknd is murdered, beaten up, et cetera. What is your fascination with killing The Weeknd? Do you ever feel guilty, when you date someone who isn’t famous, for bringing so much attention and celebritydom into their life? There’s chatter on the internet that you’re sober or sober lite. Do you drink? Weed? Other drugs? Jacket, $4,000, shirt, $550, pants, $1,080, and tie, $220, by Louis Vuitton Men's. Boots, $1,050, by Celine Homme by Hedi Slimane. Sunglasses, $750, by Jacques Marie Mage. Ring (on ring finger), $530, by The Great Frog. Ring (on pinkie), $9,900, by Sarah-Jane Wilde. It’s tough to play the long game with drugs in the picture. Why do you say you don’t want children? Yeah. Is it a defense mechanism or something? That makes me think of the lyric from the “Hawái” remix with Maluma: “I’d rather go half on a baby / ’Cause at least I know that it’s not temporary / And at least we’ll share something that’s real.” Do you ever think about having to explain some of your more sexual lyrics to your future kids? It wasn’t prompted by genuine concern that maybe I needed to grab a notebook or a bottle of water. Concern is Abel stuff. This “Ready?” was condescending. Knowing. It had a certain arrogance someone could only conjure with 100 percent certainty that I was indeed not ready. And he was right. The music hit the studio like a Mack truck. The new project is packed with party records. Like real-deal, illuminated-white-tiles-on-the-floor party records. Quincy Jones meets Giorgio Moroder meets the best-night-of-your-fucking-life party records. Not anachronistic disco stuff. (Not “cosplay,” as Abel put it.) That sort of retro thing is having a moment right now in pop music, but these records are new. Sweaty. Hard. Drenched-suit, grinding-on-the-girl/boy-of-your-dreams party records. “It’s the album I’ve always wanted to make,” Abel said. That statement would linger in my brain for days. As did the music. It became nearly impossible to find something else to listen to. Everything else sounded soft. Or didn’t groove enough. Or felt too happy. Or too sad. It was clear to me that this isn’t just the album The Weeknd has always wanted to make; it’s the album we’ve always wanted him to make. The project wasn’t quite finished yet, but if he stays the course it’ll be the best project he’s ever put out. This, whatever it’ll be called—following ‘After Hours,’ following ‘Starboy,’ following ‘Beauty Behind the Madness’—will cement one of the most impressive choke holds on the radio we’ve ever seen. Which is why ‘Kiss Land,’ which came after the three mixtapes and is considered his first “studio” album, is so curious. It doesn’t hit the high standards of his other work—sonically, lyrically, visually. It has a few truly great songs on it—“Adaptation” and “Wanderlust,” for example. But it’s a jumble of what feels like an endless number of warring ideas. ‘Kiss Land’ is an odd fit in his catalog, considering that ever since he was a teenager, The Weeknd has had such a clear vision for his music. Why did Kiss Land fall short? Was it the label people pushing and pulling you in different directions or what? That’s an insane run. You did Coachella when you were around 21, right? “I like reviews, man. I like critics. Even the biased ones that are against me, I like reading it. I think it’s interesting. I think it’s humbling, which is always great.” What did you learn from it? Were you disappointed in the response and reviews? Did it discourage you at all? Did it hurt your feelings? Jacket, $6,490, and shirt, $830, by Tom Ford. Pants, $35, by Wrangler. Belt, $1,478, by Artemas Quibble. Boots, $1,050, by Celine Homme by Hedi Slimane. Sunglasses, $750, by Jacques Marie Mage. Ring, $650, by The Great Frog. So why read them? It feels like most people in your position never read the comments and reviews. Could you have made a fourth mixtape in the same vibe as the trilogy? What was the inspiration for your 2018 EP, My Dear Melancholy? When does the therapeutic healing begin—when you make the song or when people hear it? Feels like it would be the other way around, no? Really? You’ll never submit your music to the Grammys? How will you define success for the next project? See The Weeknd’s Global GQ Covers 1 / 16 Chevron Chevron GQ U.S. One admirable thing about Abel Tesfaye is he has no problem making fun of The Weeknd. Like all the other great pop stars, he never takes himself too seriously. In 2020, he cowrote and starred in an episode of ‘American Dad,’ in which The Weeknd was actually a closeted virgin and a light emanates from his underutilized crotch. Even though he’s never done an interview on a late-night talk show (The Weeknd, apparently, doesn’t speak much on camera), he did a very goofy—and very long—bit with James Corden in preparation for the Super Bowl. There’s dancing and an obstacle course and other James Corden–y gags. Even his part in ‘Uncut Gems,’ where The Weeknd tries to hook up with Adam Sandler’s girlfriend in the bathroom of 1 Oak, was a parody of The Weeknd. He wore a wig of his old unruly hair. For the entire year-plus promotional jag for ‘After Hours,’ The Weeknd appeared in character as an unnamed man in a red blazer and black tie, with a face full of bandages and clotting blood. How many of the red blazers from After Hours do you own? More than 10? Fifteen? R.I.P. to the blazers. Are you happy to be done with that character? There was so much detail in executing the character. What was the meaning behind it? But to an outsider looking in, it would appear that The Weeknd thrives off of the toxicity of Hollywood. Are you both into the same type of women? What’s the craziest moment you’ve had with someone fanning out to a song? What’s missing? Nothing at all? Were you able to celebrate your 30th, or did the pandemic ruin that? He came to the party? How did he get your address? Telescope bros! How do you feel about being compared to Michael Jackson? Mark Anthony Green is GQ’s special projects editor. A version of this story originally appeared in the September 2021 issue with the title "The Weeknd vs. Abel Tesfaye." Wie viel verdient the weekend?Platz 6: The Weeknd
Auch sein Verdienst im vergangenen Jahr kann sich sehen lassen: satte 92 Millionen US-Dollar sind mal eben auf seinem Konto gelandet!
Ist the weekends Gesicht echt?Jetzt zeigte sich der Musiker in seinem neuen Musikvideo zu „Save Your Tears“ wieder ohne Verband im Gesicht, aber siehe da: Das Ganze hat einen roten Faden. Denn The Weeknd präsentiert sich nun mit einem Fake-Botox-Gesicht.
Ist The Weeknd Michael Jackson?Die Verbindung zum 2009 gestorbenen „King of Pop“ Michael Jackson stellt The Weeknd nicht nur mit seinen Songs her, sondern auch mit einem Album-Auftritt von Musikproduzent Quincy Jones. Mit diesem nahm Jackson einst seine erfolgreichsten Alben auf („Thriller“, „Bad“).
Warum ist The Weeknd so erfolgreich?The Weeknds erster Nummer-eins-Hit schafft genau den Spagat, der große Pop-Hits ausmacht: Er ist extrem massentauglich, dabei aber gleichzeitig so gut produziert, dass er nicht nervt. Dieser Punkt unterscheidet The Weeknd von 90% der Musik, die normalerweise im Formatradio läuft.
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