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Abel Tesfaye is the Weeknd, a revelatory R&B singer and a narrative conceit, a persona with a high and lovely ballad-voice about his self-absorbed hedonism. He started in 2010 through a mysterious Internet presence, then some mixtapes, and finally a career: negotiating with record labels, getting onstage, going on the road.

Until recently he was what Jon Caramanica, in his recent New York Times Magazine profile of Mr. Tesfaye, a “no-hit wonder.” He could amass a large audience with slow songs that didn’t have particularly strong choruses; he could fill arenas, building a communion of goth-y atmospherics and amoral lyrics. And he might have been able to do that for a long time: been an exception to pop’s laws, like the Grateful Dead or Maze. But on the Weeknd’s new album, “Beauty Behind the Madness,” he’s stepped further into the hit-making machine, collaborating with producers and songwriters including Max Martin, Ed Sheeran and Stephan Moccio, finding some new directions for his conceit, some of them swifter and lighter (and with a clearer Michael Jackson influence.)

On this week’s Popcast, we discuss the origin of the Weeknd persona, how he built his career in the way he did, why he sings the way he does, the degree of risk he’s taking on the new record, and why falling in love may be dangerous for him.

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SPOTIFY PLAYLIST

Tracks by artists discussed this week. Spotify users can also find it here.



