Born in Toronto, Ontario, to Ethiopian immigrant parents, Tesfaye had a difficult upbringing and dropped out of high school, later adopting his stage name (leaving out the "e" to avoid copyright issues with a Canadian band) and releasing a series of highly praised, anonymous mixtapes—House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence—in 2011. This "Trilogy" completely shifted modern R&B toward a dark, moody, and drug-addled soundscape.He seamlessly pivoted into global pop superstardom with his massive albums Beauty Behind the Madness (2015) and Starboy (2016). His 2020 single "Blinding Lights" became the longest-charting song on the Billboard Hot 100 of all time, anchoring his cinematic masterpiece After Hours. Known for his high-concept musical eras, immersive storytelling, and angelic falsetto, he completed a defining conceptual album trilogy with Dawn FM and Hurry Up Tomorrow, cementing his legacy while breaking all-time records for global stadium tour attendance.