Latest news with #AbelMakkonenTesfaye
Toronto Sun
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
The Weeknd and Shakira will headline Global Citizen Festival supporting energy access and the Amazon
Published Jul 22, 2025 • 2 minute read Canadian singer Abel Makkonen Tesfaye aka The Weeknd poses during a photocall for the film "The Idol" at the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, on May 23, 2023. Photo by Christophe Simon/AFP / Getty Images Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account NEW YORK — The Weeknd and Shakira — two of the world's biggest touring artists — will headline this fall's Global Citizen Festival in New York's Central Park, supporting campaigns to improve energy access across Africa and defend the Amazon against deforestation. Global Citizen announced Tuesday that the pop stars behind such hits as 'Blinding Lights' and 'Hips Don't Lie' will be joined by Tyla, Ayra Starr and Mariah the Scientist at the concert on Sept. 27. Hosted by actor Hugh Jackman, the annual event highlights the anti-poverty nonprofit's selected humanitarian priorities and urges attendees to collectively tackle those issues through direct support. 'The fact that these artists have immediate proximity to communities that have either recently emerged out of extreme poverty, or are emerging out of extreme poverty, gives them amazing perspective,' Global Citizen CEO Hugh Evans told The Associated Press. 'And they bring that perspective into Central Park at this moment where I think the world needs a moment of unity now more than ever.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The festival's goals involve securing commitments to bring clean, reliable energy to 1 million people in Africa; mobilizing $200 million for indigenous and local entrepreneurs to protect an Italy-sized chunk of the Amazon rainforest; and raising at least $30 million to help community-based education programs improve children's literacy. Tickets to the festival are free, but fans must earn them by taking actions through the Global Citizen app. Opportunities include uploading videos calling on German and French leaders to back the Amazon protection plan and volunteering to mentor young people worldwide in career development. This year's calls to action reflect the changing nature of online advocacy campaigns. Organizers find that social media posts and email-driven appeals don't carry the same weight as they did when Global Citizen first started rallying concertgoers. Evans said user-generated content such as a self-recorded clip creates 'quality engagement' and makes it almost impossible to game the system. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. In The Weeknd and Shakira, Global Citizen is reuniting with previous artistic supporters at a time when they are packing stadiums. The Weeknd, who this month wrapped a four-night run of sold-out performances at Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium, is donating $1 from every ticket sale to the FIFA Global Citizen Education Fund. Shakira, who recently completed seven consecutive sold-out shows in Mexico City, joined Coldplay onstage during a 2017 edition of the festival in Germany. 'Music has always been my way of connecting with people and leaving a mark on the world,' Shakira said in a statement. 'I can't wait to perform, unite, and inspire action.' Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances. Sunshine Girls Canada Television Toronto Blue Jays Sunshine Girls
The Province
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Province
Concert Review: The Weeknd brings After Hours Til Dawn tour to B.C. Place
Toronto-born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, has teased that this could be the final tour as his namesake alter ego The Weeknd performs at BC Place in Vancouver, July 15, 2025. (Arlen Redekop / Postmedi Photo by Arlen Redekop / PNG Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors The Weeknd is by far the most interesting Canadian global pop star of the past decade. The singer, born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, is also confusing. The first of two back-to-back B.C. Place dates on the After Hours Til Dawn tour made this crystal clear. It's unlikely that tonight's gig will change anything. In a marathon 40-tune show, the 35-year-old brought nothing less than an A-game to the arena-spanning set. From its veritable B.C. forest of flames, criss-crossing lasers, giant golden showpiece statue similar to the one seen in Fritz Lang's dystopian science fiction classic Metropolis, the design was all drama and flash. Add in masked, head scarf-wearing red-dressed dancers who mostly struck random poses and a kind of freaky mask with glowing eye orbs for the first few songs and it was a really big show designed to entrance. Essential reading for hockey fans who eat, sleep, Canucks, repeat. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. The nearly sold out stadium certainly let the singer know that they approved. This crowd was loud. But concerts are about music too and The Weeknd has always run into a bit of a problem with the whole 'filler versus killer' balance in his shows. For every perfect single such as Can't Feel My Face or Wake Me Up, there are also the tedious exercises in post-feminist manosphere romance poetry like Heartless or Timeless. While these plodding tracks did seem to have their fans, no amount of shots of The Weeknd's new Nespresso Samra Origins collaboration brew could stifle the yawns these songs generated. It felt like he was well aware of the moments when the material might need massaging to keep folks engaged and insisted on reminding everyone that the tour was in Vancouver at every imaginable opportunity. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. There may never have been another performer to grace B.C. Place that inserted the name of the city the concert was taking place in so many times. It wasn't necessary at all, even if it did keep the fans roaring approval. Their deafening choruses of boo following his mention of all the American cities the tour had recently been through said a great deal more about where people's minds are at these days. In other words, The Weeknd didn't need to be working so hard on selling his brand. People love the guy and yet here he was coming off like some well-worn Vegas strip hawker. It's somewhat possible that opener Playboi Carti not being able to make the show due to apparent border issues threw something of a wrench into the works. Carti has been joining The Weeknd during his performance on most of the tour which doubtlessly gives him a bit of a rest from carrying the entire load on his own. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. All he needed to do was keep dropping slamming funk-offs like Starboy and Faith into the set with those potent, spot-on vocals and flamepot flashes. His keyboard dropped an 80s-certified synth solo into the latter tune that took it completely next level. A few more moments like that wouldn't have hurt the flow one bit, as it gave the dancers a chance to flex and for The Weeknd to get up close to fans on one of the side runways. As noted, when the dude is hitting it right, he's awesome. The post-apocalyptic backdrop of a collapsed and destroyed cityscape and visuals of the artist trying to punch through a red wall suggested that there is a reincarnation coming from the musician and Tesfaye has repeatedly hinted that he might retire The Weeknd character after this tour finishes. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. If that is indeed the case, it will be interesting to see what Monday brings. Hopefully, he will find inspiration to craft more of the timeless ear worms he has locked into our heads forever and to dial back the repetitive sounding meandering midtempo duds. 5 Highlights in the After Hours Til Dawn set list When The Weeknd is on, he is like a force of pop perfection that nothing can stop. In his After Hours Til Dawn show, there are some spectacular examples of his pristine tune smithing. Here are the five highlights of the show. 1. Wake Me Up: From the poorly reviewed new album Hurry Up Tomorrow, this collab with French dance crew Justice proved itself as a live number. Its slow symphonic build up to a retro electrofunk vamp really got folks dancing in the bleachers. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 2. Take My Breath: A slamming upbeat boogie from Dawn FM that has an addictive falsetto chorus hook that would make Earth, Wind & Fire jealous. This may have been the booty-shaker of the night. 3. The Hills: One of the ballads that resonates with genuine testimonial pain that drips with genuine emotion. The crowd belted out the 'I only call you when it's half-past five' lyric like it came from personal experience. Plus, FIRE! 4. Less Than Zero: An upbeat, bouncy tune that does that sounds like it could have been written by Orchestral Manouvers in the Dark in the eighties. Pairs melancholy lyricism with pure pop hooks. 5. Blinding Lights: Well, duh. Arguably the best-known song by someone who has written his share of classics, this driving hit is an absolute banger in concert. It's a timeless toe-tapper that will likely keep sounding as fresh as it does today in another 10 years. sderdeyn@ Read More Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances. 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Vancouver Sun
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Concert Review: The Weeknd brings After Hours Til Dawn tour to B.C. Place
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. The Weeknd is by far the most interesting Canadian global pop star of the past decade. The singer, born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, is also confusing. The first of two back-to-back B.C. Place dates on the After Hours Til Dawn tour made this crystal clear. It's unlikely that tonight's gig will change anything. In a marathon 40 tune show, the 35 year-old brought nothing less than an A-game to the arena-spanning set. From its veritable B.C. forest of flames, criss-crossing lasers, giant golden showpiece statue similar to the one seen in Fritz Lang's dystopian science fiction classic Metropolis, the design was all drama and flash. Get top headlines and gossip from the world of celebrity and entertainment. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sun Spots will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Add in masked, head scarf-wearing red-dressed dancers who mostly struck random poses and a kind of freaky mask with glowing eye orbs for the first few songs and it was a really big show designed to entrance. The nearly sold out stadium certainly let the singer know that they approved. This crowd was loud. But concerts are about music too and The Weeknd has always run into a bit of a problem with the whole 'filler versus killer' balance in his shows. For every perfect single such as Can't Feel My Face or Wake Me Up, there are also the tedious exercises in post-feminist manosphere romance poetry like Heartless or Timeless. While these plodding tracks did seem to have their fans, no amount of shots of The Weeknd's new Nespresso Samra Origins collaboration brew could stifle the yawns these songs generated. It felt like he was well aware of the moments when the material might need massaging to keep folks engaged and insisted on reminding everyone that the tour was in Vancouver at every imaginable opportunity. There may never have been another performer to grace B.C. Place that inserted the name of the city the concert was taking place in so many times. It wasn't necessary at all, even if it did keep the fans roaring approval. Their deafening choruses of boo following his mention of all the American cities the tour had recently been through said a great deal more about where people's minds are at these days. In other words, The Weeknd didn't need to be working so hard on selling his brand. People love the guy and yet here he was coming off like some well-worn Vegas strip hawker. It's somewhat possible that opener Playboi Carti not being able to make the show due to apparent border issues threw something of a wrench into the works. Carti has been joining The Weeknd during his performance on most of the tour which doubtlessly gives him a bit of a rest from carrying the entire load on his own. All he needed to do was keep dropping slamming funk-offs like Starboy and Faith into the set with those potent, spot-on vocals and flamepot flashes. His keyboard drop an 80s-certified synth solo into the latter tune that took it completely next level. A few more moments like that wouldn't have hurt the flow one bit, as it gave the dancers a chance to flex and for The Weeknd to get up closer to fans on one of the side runways. As noted, when the dude is hitting it right, he's awesome. The post-apocalyptic backdrop of a collapsed and destroyed cityscape and visuals of the artist trying to punch through a red wall suggested that there is a reincarnation coming from the musician and Tesfaye has repeatedly hinted that he might retire The Weeknd character after this tour finishes. If that is indeed the case, it will be interesting to see what Monday brings. Hopefully, he will find inspiration to craft more of the timeless ear worms he has locked into our heads forever and to dial back the repetitive sounding meandering midtempo duds. When The Weeknd is on, he is like a force of pop perfection that nothing can stop. In his After Hours Til Dawn show, there are some spectacular examples of his pristine tune smithing. Here are the five highlights of the show. 1. Wake Me Up : From the poorly reviewed new album Hurry Up Tomorrow, this collab with French dance crew Justice proved itself as a live number. Its slow symphonic build up to a retro electrofunk vamp really got folks dancing in the bleachers. 2. Take My Breath : A slamming upbeat boogie from Dawn FM that has an addictive falsetto chorus hook that would make Earth, Wind & Fire jealous. This may have been the booty-shaker of the night. 3. The Hills : One of the ballads that resonates with genuine testimonial pain that drips with genuine emotion. The crowd belted out the 'I only call you when it's half-past five' lyric like it came from personal experience. Plus, FIRE! 4. Less Than Zero : An upbeat, bouncy tune that does that sounds like it could have been written by Orchestral Manouvers in the Dark in the eighties. Pairs melancholy lyricism with pure pop hooks. 5. Blinding Lights : Well, duh. Arguably the best-known song by someone who has written his share of classics, this driving hit is an absolute banger in concert. It's a timeless toe-tapper that will likely keep sounding as fresh as it does today in another 10 years. sderdeyn@ Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances.
Vancouver Sun
14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
The Weeknd plays two shows in Vancouver this week: Here's what to know before you go
Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. The Weeknd brings his After Hours 'til. Dawn tour to Vancouver's B.C. Place on July 15 and 16. Tickets to the concert, set to start at 7 p.m., are at . Here's what you need to know about the concerts: Get top headlines and gossip from the world of celebrity and entertainment. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sun Spots will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Hurry Up Tomorrow was released on Jan. 31, 2025. The album is considered the final instalment in a trilogy that began with 2020's After Hours and 2022's Dawn FM. The Weeknd, Toronto-born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, has teased that this could be the final tour as his namesake alter ego. Hurry Up Tomorrow is the artist's sixth full-length album and was accompanied by a companion film of the same title. Directed by Trey Edward Shults, the movie starring The Weeknd, Jenny Ortega (Wednesday) and Barry Keoghan (Saltburn) was poorly reviewed, with a 15 per cent rating on Rotten Tomatoes . (Tomatometer ratings of less than 60 per cent are considered 'rotten.') The Weeknd's set list is averaging 35 songs on the After Hours 'til. Dawn tour and features a selection of songs drawn from across his multiplatinum career. How Do I Make You Love Me? from Dawn FM is the most-performed song on the tour so far. The artist is also dropping a number of covers in the show, including Future's Low Life, Rosalía's La Fama and the Kendrick Lamar collaboration Pray for Me. To keep things on equal footing, he is also performing Drake's Crew Love. Whether he is continuing to include Ye's Hurricane and Diddy's Another One of Me will remain to be heard at the B.C. Place shows. The After Hours 'til. Dawn tour has been going since 2022. The Aug. 23, 2022, concert at B.C. Place was well-reviewed in The Vancouver Sun, noting the following: 'It's a big jump from Rogers Arena to B.C. Place and The Weeknd is one of those rare artists to make it. There isn't another Canadian act of the moment touring playing 50,000-plus seat arenas. 'The Toronto singer's mix of futuristic R&B, pure new wave and dance pop has completely captured contemporary music at the moment and last night the artist born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye showed off his Grammy-winning live chops to an adoring audience. 'Naturally, the stage set up for the After Hours 'til. Dawn Tour is a lavish one with no shortage of bells, whistles, explosions and more.' Expect more of the same from this edition of the tour. American rapper Playboi Carti, who has collaborated with The Weeknd on the tune Timeless, is one of the opening acts on the tour. The song is sitting around the No. 3 spot in the artist's eight-song warm-up sets. Houston rapper Mike Dean is also opening on The Weeknd's tour. Dean has co-written a number of popular tracks by The Weeknd, including Double Fantasy, Popular, Jealous Guy and others. His set is averaging 112 songs from across his career. Dean appeared with The Weeknd at his headlining set at Coachella in 2022. Expect The Weeknd to sell out both of the Vancouver concerts, which means more than 50,000 people attending each night. Be sure to give yourself ample time to get into the venue, find you seating and so on. Read our guide on what to know about B.C. Place. sderdeyn@ Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances.
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Weeknd Says ‘The Idol' Failed Due to ‘Too Many Cooks' Behind the Show: ‘You Can't Force Something'
The Weeknd, born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, believes his 2023 series'The Idol' failed primarily due to 'too many cooks' in production. 'The best films have as much of a singular voice as possible, and everybody working on it cares about it just as much as the director and the actors,' he told the Guardian in an interview published Saturday. 'With 'Idol,' our instincts were 'This isn't right,' but we wanted it to work. … Too many cooks in the kitchen.' Though 'people cared about' the limited TV series, he continued, 'I think it got to a point where everyone was trying to get to the finish line. You can't force something, you've just got to let it be whatever it is, even if it's half-baked.' When he tried to push back, the Weeknd added, 'I become 'difficult', and the worst thing you can be called in Hollywood is difficult. 'Difficult' spreads!' 'The Idol' was panned by critics and canceled after one season on HBO. 'The Idol was one of HBO's most provocative original programs, and we're pleased by the strong audience response,' a spokesperson for HBO said in a statement at the time. 'After much thought and consideration, HBO, as well as the creators and producers, have decided not to move forward with a second season. We're grateful to the creators, cast and crew for their incredible work.' The singer also examined his own relationship with emotions and vulnerability in the 2025 thriller 'Hurry Up Tomorrow,' which he co-wrote with Shults and Reza Fahim. 'Men have this forcefield – it's like we want to come off as invincible, and vulnerability is something you run away from.' The singer included himself in that characterization. 'I was able to be vulnerable in my music, but I was able to hide behind music,' he continued. 'For me to trust someone like Trey to allow myself to be vulnerable, that was new for me. It felt like a therapy session for all of us. I was able to face my child self. We go through so much that we don't even remember as children, we just suppress everything. If you don't deal with it, it comes out.' His latest album, also titled 'Hurry Up Tomorrow,' deals in the same themes. The Weeknd explained many of the songs acknowledge the fact that his fans expect a certain kind of music from him, but also that it's not something he wants to do forever. 'I was being tongue-in-cheek about it: this is what you guys love me for,' he said. 'But it can't just be debauchery. You don't want to stay at the party too long – the next thing you know you're 40 years old and you're … I don't want to do that. We all want to age gracefully.' And though he may eventually hang up his identity as The Weeknd ('I haven't thought that out. It's not this calculated vision,' he said), the singer wants to continue to produce creative work. 'As an artist, you have duties, and you also have dreams. The key to my longevity is to continue dreaming. There is definitely something that isn't fulfilled for me, and the only way you can go there is if you close a chapter somewhere else,' he said. The Weeknd, whose parents are Ethiopian, continued, 'I want to tap into a different part of my life: my heritage. I've never been to Ethiopia – I can't imagine what going back to Africa is going to do for me, spiritually, emotionally, creatively. You need to reconnect with everything about yourself.' Read the interview at The Guardian. The post The Weeknd Says 'The Idol' Failed Due to 'Too Many Cooks' Behind the Show: 'You Can't Force Something' appeared first on TheWrap.
