The Weeknd is a Canadian singer, songwriter and producer who sings the smash-hit duet "Love Me Harder" with Ariana Grande. The 24-year-old artist's real name is Abel Tesfaye, and he grew up in Toronto, Ontario.

1. He used to be camera shy
"In the beginning, I was very insecure. I hated how I looked in pictures," The Weeknd told Complex. "Like, crop me out of this picture right now. I was very camera shy ...
The whole 'enigmatic artist' thing, I just ran with it. No one could find pictures of me. It reminded me of some villain s---. But you can't escape the internet."

2. He had never left Canada before the age of 21
The Weeknd never left Toronto until he was 21, calling himself a "city cat." He had never been on a plane until then, either.

3. He is of Ethiopian heritage and speaks Amharic fluently
The artist revealed in a Reddit q&a with fans that his dad wasn't around growing up, and his mother had to work constantly, therefore he was raised by his Ethiopian grandmother until he was 5 years old. Amharic, the language spoken in Ethiopia, was his first language.

4. His stage name was inspired by him leaving home at 17
One weekend, he decided to drop out of high school, grab his things and hop into a friend's van. He never went back.
Because of a Canadian band already named The Weekend, he had to change the spelling to avoid copyright issues.

5. He doesn't consider himself a true R&B artist.
"The only thing R&B about my s--- is the style of singing," he said. "My inspiration is R. Kelly, Michael Jackson and Prince, for the vocals anyway. My production and songwriting and the environment around those vocals are not inspired by R&B at all."

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