The Weeknd reveals his job before fame — and how he still works with his old boss

Singer-songwriter The Weeknd made his maiden appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, May 15. While he was there to promote his film Hurry Up Tomorrow, in which he plays a starring role and which releases in theatres on May 16, the multifarious artist revealed that he used to work at American Apparel before he made it big in the music industry.

The R&B star also revealed during the talk show that his boss at American Apparel still works with him. However, the nature of their professional relationship has changed.

 

 

 

 

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The Weeknd’s former boss at American Apparel, according to musician, now works as one of his creative directors, and does typography for his music albums.

The Weeknd, who counts Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise as being one of his great admirers, nostalgically spoke at length about his stint at American Apparel when he appeared on the late night show. He said,

“I was working at American Apparel…I was like 19, I was trying to fold clothes…it is interesting because the guy who was my boss is actually one of my creative directors.”

The singer revealed that even when he started releasing music, he continued to work at the store. While speaking to Jimmy Fallon, he shared,

“But at the time, nobody knew what I looked like because I was, you know, I did not show my face…just my music was out, and I had, like, local, a little bit of local clout…People working at the American Apparel started playing my music…and that was the validation I needed.”

The artist revealed it was the validation that he got from his colleagues at the store that gave him the required confidence to quit his job and focus on music as a full time career.

The Weeknd’s early career, explored

The Weeknd revealed during The Tonight Show that his love for music made him quit school. Describing the moment in his early life when he became aware of his vocal and singing capabilities, the artist shared,

“Well, I used to get penalized as a kid for singing in class too much…So I didn't think I had a good voice for a while until a close friend of mine told me that, you know, I had an okay voice…I was singing in the hallway. He's like, ‘You should try out Canadian Idol.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, okay.Well, that's the validation I need for that.’ So I dropped out of high school and, went for it. And then I wouldn't shut the f*ck up.”

As per his biography on Britannica, the singer was born in Canada in 1990. His mother, who hailed from Ethiopia, immigrated to Canada a few years before The Weeknd was born.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Abel (@theweeknd)

The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, began releasing his music on the video sharing website YouTube in 2010. As per Britannica, the popularity that the young musician received on social media made the popular rapper Drake feature him on his 2011 album, Take Care. While the collaboration with Drake was his first studio release, the budding musician continued to work as an underground mixtape artist, and released a 9 track mixtape album in the same year.

Eventually, The Weeknd signed a contract with the record label, Republic Records, which released his mixtapes as a trilogy album in 2012, as per Line of Best Fit. This marked the singer’s transition from an underground artist to one of the most successful studio artists of our times.