The Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd has released material for five studio albums, one live album, three compilation albums (including two greatest hits albums), three mixtapes, nine extended plays, 79 single releases (including 21 as a featured artist) and seven promotional singles (including two as a featured artist), as well as contribute to other artist's respective albums.
He began his recording career in 2009 by anonymously releasing music on YouTube. Two years later, he co-founded the XO record label and released his first three mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday and Echoes of Silence.[1] He collaborated with different songwriters and producers, primarily Doc McKinney and Illangelo. The alternative R&B projects were met with widespread acclaim for its dark lyrical content that explored the Weeknd's drug usage and romantic experiences.[2] They were also praised for its diverse musical styles, which incorporated elements of soul, trip hop, hip hop, dream pop, indie rock, downtempo and post-punk.[3] [4] After signing with Republic Records in 2012, the Weeknd re-released his three mixtapes in the compilation album Trilogy.[5] Preceding the album was the release of his debut single "Wicked Games", an alternative R&B and quiet storm track that he co-wrote with McKinney and Illangelo.[6] Follow-up singles included "Twenty Eight" and "The Zone" featuring Drake.[7]
The Weeknd's debut studio album Kiss Land was released in September 2013. It was supported by six singles, including the lead single of the same name and "Belong to the World".[8] Primarily a R&B and dark wave album, the Weeknd worked with new collaborators for Kiss Land such as DaHeala, DannyBoyStyles and Belly.[9]
The Weeknd's second studio album Beauty Behind the Madness was released in August 2015.[10] He reunited with Belly, DaHeala, DannyBoyStyles and Illangelo, and worked with new collaborators such as Max Martin, Kanye West and Ed Sheeran. The album was supported by five singles, including "The Hills", an alternative R&B and trap song that incorporates Amharic lyricism,[11] and "Can't Feel My Face", a pop, disco and funk track.[12] Both singles reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.[13] Beauty Behind the Madness featured guest appearances from Ed Sheeran, Labrinth and Lana Del Rey.
In November 2016, the Weeknd released Starboy,[14] a R&B, pop and trap record that included the lead single of the same name and "I Feel It Coming", with both singles featuring first-time collaborators Daft Punk.[15] [16] The album featured guest appearances from Kendrick Lamar, Future and Lana Del Rey. The Weeknd reunited with Doc McKinney and Belly, while working with new collaborators such as Cirkut.
In March 2018, the Weeknd released his first EP My Dear Melancholy, which combined contemporary and alternative R&B with electropop.[17] Primarily produced by and written with Frank Dukes, the EP contained contributions from Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, Mike Will Made It, Starrah and Skrillex.[18] It was supported by one single, "Call Out My Name",[19] and featured a guest appearance from Gesaffelstein.
In March 2020, the Weeknd released his fourth studio album After Hours, which served as a re-introduction of new wave and dream pop sounds combined with electropop and synth-pop sounds.[20] The album was supported by four singles, including "Heartless" and "Blinding Lights". Both singles reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, with the latter becoming the longest-charting single in the chart's history at the time of its release.[21] [22] Lyrically, After Hours contains themes of promiscuity, overindulgence and self-loathing. The Weeknd reunited with former collaborators DaHeala, Belly, Illangelo and Max Martin.
In January 2022, the Weeknd released his dance-pop inspired fifth studio album Dawn FM,[23] having OPN, Max Martin and Oscar Holter as prominent collaborators.
From June to July 2023, the Weeknd released six EPs for the HBO drama television series The Idol (which he also created and starred in), primarily collaborating with Mike Dean.
The Weeknd's sixth studio album Hurry Up Tomorrow is due to release in January 2025.
In addition to his studio work, the Weeknd has recorded songs for film soundtracks, including featuring on Sia's single "Elastic Heart" from (2013),[24] "Earned It", a chamber pop and R&B track from Fifty Shades of Grey (2015),[25], "Pray For Me", a pop-rap track with Kendrick Lamar for Black Panther (2018).[26], and "Nothing Is Lost (You Give Me Strength)", a synth-pop and electro-R&B track from (2022).
| Commercial releases - credited | Songs | |
|---|---|---|
| artist | ||
| non-artist | ||
| Total | ||
For this article, a song is considered released commercially if it was released under a record label.
The following table lists all commercially released works by or with The Weeknd, where he is credited as an artist. For the original versions of the songs, the songwriter(s), performer(s) and parent album(s) are mentioned. The mentioned release date is of the first release where the song was part of (single, album or non-album release). The "other releases" mentioned do only mention other versions of that song, also released commercially by the artist. New versions of re-released songs on other (compilation) albums are left out on purpose. As of October 30, 2024, The Weeknd is a credited artist on 190 different song titles: 107 solo songs and 83 collaborations (including 36 as a featured artist), encompassing a total of 308 commercially released versions. He has writing credits on almost all of his songs.
| Indicates song released as single | ||
| Indicates song released as promotional single | ||
| Indicates co-producer | ||
| Indicates additional producer |
As of October 30, 2024, The Weeknd was part of 23 commercially released songs, where he was not credited as artist but is credited in other ways. This encompasses (background) vocals, writing, producing or remixing credits.
As of October 30, 2024, The Weeknd was part of 16 non-commercially released songs under his name. This thus includes songs that were not released under a record label, but were officially put out by the (lead) artist. The following table mentions the other credits Tesfaye has for the songs as well.
| Original | Ref(s) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Performer(s) | Album(s) | Release date | Credits | |||
| "Drunk in Love" (Remix) | The Weeknd | - | artist writer producer | |||
| "Enemy" | The Weeknd | - | artist writer producer | |||
| "How You Do It" | Speed Gang The Weeknd | - | artist | |||
| "King of the Fall" (Remix) | The Weeknd Ty Dolla Sign Belly | - | artist | |||
| "Make It" (DJAmg remixer) | AtariJones The Weeknd | Early Catch EP | artist | |||
| "Might Not" (Remix) | Belly Yo Gotti The Weeknd 2 Chainz | - | artist | |||
| "Nomads" | Ricky Hil The Weeknd | Support Your Local Drug Dealer | artist writer | |||
| "On the Couch" | Saturday Night Live The Weeknd | - | artist | |||
| "Pass Dat" (Remix) | The Weeknd Starrah Jeremih | - | artist writer | |||
| "Royals" (Remix) | Lorde | - | producer | |||
| "Secrets" | Jr. Hi | Virtual Lover EP | artist | [30] | ||
| "Secrets" (GXNXVS Remix) | Jr. Hi | Virtual Lover EP | artist | |||
| "Tell Your Friends" (Remix) | The Weeknd Drake | - | artist writer | |||
| "The Source" | The Weeknd | - | artist writer producer | |||
| "Trust Issues" (Remix) | The Weeknd | - | artist writer | |||
| "Try Me" (Remix) | The Weeknd Trouble Swae Lee Quavo | - | artist |