18 Facts About The Weeknd That Are Guaranteed to Surprise You

He was born in Scarborough, Toronto, and his birthday is on Februrary 16, 1990.

The Weeknd was raised by his mother, Samra, and his grandmother, both of whom emigrated from Ethiopia in the '80s. He grew up as an only child, but always wanted a brother, so sometimes he would lie to people and tell them he had brothers. He doesn't remember much about his father, who left him and his mom when he was about 1 or 2 years old, other than his name: Makkonen, which is also The Weeknd's middle name.

After delivering a supersultry performance at the Grammys, the singer took home two Grammy awards for best R&B performance and best urban contemporary album.

The two have been dating since April 2015. In an interview with Rolling Stone, The Weeknd revealed, "I actually asked her to be on the artwork for Beauty Behind the Madness. My motive was literally to work with her," but when she declined, he decided to meet with her face-to-face, adding, "It just kind of fell into my lap. If this had happened two years ago — well, she couldn't." (Bella was 16 years old then.) "But if I'd met someone two years ago, I probably would've f*cked it up. But I'm more — how do I say it? — clear-thinking now."

It seems as though The Weeknd finally got his wish — Bella plays the role of a stripper assassin in his steamy music video for "In the Night," and most recently, the two made their red carpet debut at the Grammys.

Aside from the fact that his voice and dance moves remind us so much of Michael Jackson, The Weeknd credits Michael for being an important part of his childhood, dishing to Rolling Stone, "People forget, 'We Are the World' is for Ethiopia. At home, if it wasn't Ethiopian music, it was Michael. He was our icon."

Before learning English, The Weeknd only knew how to speak Amharic, a language spoken in Ethiopia, and says his vocals are influenced by Ethiopian singers like Aster Aweke. He also speaks French.

The Weeknd and his friends uploaded three songs on YouTube, which then found their way to Drake's manager, Oliver El-Khatib, who shared them on the OVO blog where they quickly gained momentum. The Weeknd told Rolling Stone, "Drake wasn't even f*cking with it at first. Oliver was the one vouching for me."

In 2011, Drake gave The Weeknd a big break when he featured a ton of his songs on his album, Take Care, which The Weeknd had originally written for his first album, House of Balloons.

Nowadays, The Weeknd refers to Drake as "my closest friend in the industry at that time" and thanks him for his success, adding, "I gave up almost half of my album. It's hard. I will always be thankful — if it wasn't for the light he shined on me, who knows where I'd be. And everything happens for a reason."

The Weeknd grew up during the time when Missy Elliot, Timbaland, and Aaliyah ruled the music world. It wasn't until middle school that he started smoking weed and got into 50 Cent, Jimi Hendrix, and Led Zeppelin.

When he was 17, he got kicked out of school and was transferred to another school across town, where he only lasted six months before dropping out and moving into a house with his friends.

Because he was a high school dropout, The Weeknd was worried he wasn't well-spoken, so he chose to keep his identity anonymous and did not do interviews. He revealed that he used to do crossword puzzles to better his vocabulary and confessed to still feeling insecure when he speaks to someone educated.

In 2011, The Weeknd released three free mixtapes, House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence, which he later repackaged and sold as one album, Trilogy, in 2012.

The Weeknd first met Taylor at a party for Sam Smith after the 2015 Grammys. He recalls her raving about listening to "The Morning" for years and that it was one of her favorite songs. He also said that Taylor and him spoke for about 15 minutes, saying, "She was kind of, like, petting my hair? I think she was just drawn to it. She must have been a little gone off a few drinks. And of course I'm not going to be like, 'Hey, can you stop?' I mean, it felt good! But when she started petting my hair, that's when I was like, 'I definitely need a drink.'"

The Weeknd teamed up with fashion designer Alexander Wang in 2015 and designed a four-piece collection known as WangXO, which included a graphic gray sweatshirt and a sleek pair of high-top leather sneakers.

In a 2015 interview with Rolling Stone, The Weeknd admitted to meeting a lot of celebrities lately, but the one that got him starstruck was Leonardo DiCaprio. "I don't get star-struck, but I get star-struck when I see someone like that. Our tables were beside each other, and the owner of the club knew how important he was to me, so he introduced me," he said.

In 2012, he performed at the desert bash, revealing, "Coachella was the first show I did in the States, and I hated my performance," he said, adding, "I was scared shitless. I got offstage and thought I did pretty good, then I watched the tape, and it was a nightmare. I saw all the comments, and I wanted to kill myself. I remember telling my agent, 'You need to book me as many shows as possible. That guy onstage is not a star. That's not a legend.'"

In 2015, The Weeknd told Details magazine his house in the Hollywood Hills is haunted, saying, "I've had sleep paralysis. I hear voices sometimes. I heard the Hills are over Indian burial ground. But maybe it's just the wind."