The weeknd’s personality (A Complete Guide)

In this article, we will discuss The weeknd’s personality. We will do that in the context of enneagram type 4, as voted by people in the personality database.

The weeknd’s personality 

The weeknd is most likely to have an enneagram type 4w3 personality. This is apparent by his drive to be unique and original. Along with that, he may have a fear of being unauthentic and insignificant. He can be described as a shy and reserved person who keeps to himself. For him, unleashing his creativity through music appears to be the top priority.  

Overview of The weeknd

Disclaimer: The following article contains information from external sources whose accuracy and reliability is not guaranteed. Moreover, the content may be subjective and prone to error. It cannot be substituted for a professional opinion or a proper personality analysis. The intention of the article is to entertain only. In no way, it is intended to defame or pass off false information about the said person. 

Abel Makkonen Tesfaye is a Canadian born singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is 30 years old and goes by the name ‘The weeknd’ in his professional life. He is popular for his R&B and contemporary type of music along with a dark and mysterious side to his personality. His most popular singles include ‘Can’t feel my face’, ‘Blinding lights’, and ‘Starboy’ among others.

The weeknd: Type 4 Personality 

In the personality database, the weeknd has been voted by the majority of people to be a type 4w3 enneagram personality. So, the following discussion of his personality is in light of that. 

Fears of Type 4

People with type 4 personalities are fearful of being ordinary and forgotten. They want to have an impact on the world and feel like they are significant. They try to be creative and expressive in order to achieve that. The weeknd expresses this aspect since he chose the name ‘The weeknd’ for himself because he thought it sounded unique and different. He adopted a different approach, unlike other artists who go into the music business with their real name. He says:

“I left home when I was about 17 dropped out of high school and convinced Lamar to do the same lol. We grabbed our mattresses from our parents threw it in our friend’s s****y van and left one weekend and never came back home… I hated my name at the time though so I tried it as a stage name. It sounded cool. I took out the “e” because there was already a Canadian band named the weeknd.”

The desire of Type 4

Type 4s are driven to be unique and to do something meaningful. Their life revolves around being original and finding out their individuality. They may adopt characteristics of people around them in order to find their uniqueness. With the weeknd, this applies since his appearance revolves around being eye-catching and different. He chose an original getup and hairstyle to make self stand out. He says that his look was inspired by Jean Michel Basquiat. 

Regarding his hairstyle, he says ‘I want to be remembered as iconic and different. So I was like, ‘leave it — I’m gonna let my hair just be what it wants.’ I’ll probably cut it if it starts interfering with my sight. I can kind of see it right now. But if I cut it, I’d look like everyone else. And that’s just so boring to me.”

Type 4s are driven to be original and authentic in life. The weeknd may also be like that since he says, “We live in an era when everything is so excessive, I think it’s refreshing for everybody to be like, ‘Who is this guy?. I think that’s why my career is going to be so long: Because I haven’t given people everything.”

Childhood

During childhood, type 4s feel a disconnection from their parents. It can either be due to neglect or feeling misunderstood. With the weeknd, this might apply since his father was absent from his life. He could connect with his mother as he describes himself as ‘a mama’s boy’, but it is possible that he lacked the guidance one gets from the paternal figure. Despite everything, he adopts a non-judgmental approach towards his family. Regarding his father he says,  I’m sure he’s a great guy. I never judged him. He wasn’t abusive, he wasn’t an alcoholic, he wasn’t an asshole. He just wasn’t there.”

Type 4s also experience problems connecting to their family. Sometimes, they experience feeling like an outcast and want to go on a journey of self-discovery. The weeknd may have this aspect especially since he was an only child. He says that he was a quiet kid, and a little lonely sometimes. “I always wanted a brother so I’d have somebody to play with. I remember lying to people that I had brothers — that’s how much I wanted one.”

When the weeknd was 17, he experienced trouble with school and dropped out. He moved out and got a place with his friends. He says, “It was amazing. No parents, we can do what we want, stay up as late as we want — like, literally for days.”  

The weeknd had a tough youth and included a period of homelessness. He may have chosen drugs as an outlet to release his stress. Similarly, he also engaged in risky activities in search of new experiences. Regarding such aspects, he says, “I never needed detox or anything. But I was addicted in the sense of ‘F–k, I don’t want to spend this day without getting high.’”

Apart from this, music helped him a lot in this period. He says ‘Music was very direct therapy; it was immediate and people liked it. It definitely saved my life.”

Relationships 

People with type 4 personality dislike engaging in meaningless conversations. They want to be able to connect to others at a deeper level. For the weeknd this applies to some level. He declined to do interviews when he started out because he was concerned that he was not well-spoken. Later on, he decided that it added to his enigmatic image and let it continue. Today he says, ‘If it backfired, I probably would have been doing interviews. But people were kind of liking me being unusual.”

It is hard for type 4 to be among a lot of unfamiliar people. Similarly, they dislike being in arguments and conflicts. They may feel like an outcast at times and find it difficult to relate to people. The weeknd also appears to have issues with forming a lot of relationships. However, he is surrounded by people that he feels close to. About working with others, he says “Max and I have become literally the best of friends, but I don’t do that with many people, It’s not that I can’t, but collaboration is a relationship, it’s like a marriage, you’ve gotta build-up to it..”

When people actually spend time getting to know them, it can be quite energizing for them. Likewise, if they are criticized or not taken seriously, they can get stressed. Type 4 get motivated by being able to connect with others and building their social network. They also need time away from others to connect to themselves. When they are able to express their emotions through any medium, they feel energized e.g singing, dancing, and acting. They like being accepted for who they are. 

If we apply the same to the weeknd, he can be described as someone who is private and keeps his guards up. He dislikes opening up and being prodded with a lot of questions. He retains an easygoing approach and can express himself quite easily. If he doesn’t want to say anything or keep something to himself, he lets them know. He says “It’s easier to talk about songs that are just about me; I don’t like to talk about what I’m going through with other people.”. For him, music is a way to express and channel out his creativity.

Work

Type 4s like to work in environments that allow them to be creative, authentic, and autonomous. The weeknd may have this quality since he suggests that he has a similar experience, especially while working in quarantine. He says “I’m always sitting inside working, so it’s not that different from any other day. Although I am a contrarian, and I don’t like being told what to do, so not being able to go out is tough. But music is therapy, thank God I’ve got that.”

He retains an approach where he does not care about the opinions of others rather prioritizes being original. About music, he says ‘“You could hear the vulnerability in the music before but there was such a shield, such a f–k-you to the world, and now I’m very comfortable with letting the world know that I can be that way.”

The weeknd is often seen to be expressing the idea that music is a means for him to channel his emotions and express his experiences through the lyrics. In a few songs, he expresses his opinions about religion and drugs. He also adds personal experiences in the music videos that he is not proud of e.g. the time he got arrested due to conflict with a police officer. 

For him, his music is his passion and he does not let anyone disrupt that. He also strives to be a better musician every day. He says that he was afraid of not being a big star despite having potential. He added that he was fearful of someone telling him they were better than him. He also explained that he felt insecure while talking to someone more educated than him and wished that he was more articulate.

Apart from that, the weeknd is not afraid of failure, rather he says that he knows whats its like to be on the ground. This explains his drive to grow professionally and personally.   

Self-growth

The weeknd also admits mistakes and realizes areas he needs to work on. ‘People spend their entire lives trying to escape their demons; not many decide to revisit them.I didn’t want to. But Sometimes you try to run away from who you are, and you always get back to that place.  By the end of this album, you realize, ‘I’m not that person.’ I was, but I’m growing and wiser, and I’m gonna have children someday, and I’m going to tell them they don’t have to be that person.”

He also seems to be a person who is in search of self-discovery and trying to grow as a person. After turning 30, he says that it makes him feel that he is finally getting closer to who is supposed to be. 

The weeknd appears to be a humble and shy person. He does not boast too much about his achievements. As a child, h was complimented on having a good voice, which made him realize he had potential. People describe him to be witty, charismatic, hardworking, earnest, shy, and completely unlike his music. He created an R&B wave and rose to fame with a lot of effort on making his professional growth happen. Initially, he disliked who he was as an artist but with time, he has gotten quite confident about his music and image. 

FAQs: The weeknd’s personality

Conclusion

In this article, we discussed The weeknd’s personality. We discussed his personality in the context of enneagram type 4. 

 I hope you found this article interesting. If you have any queries or comments, please state them in the comment section 😊

Citations

https://variety.com/2020/music/news/the-weeknd-exclusive-interview-after-hours-1234573754/

https://www.capitalxtra.com/features/lists/the-weeknd-facts/age/

https://www.personality-database.com/profile/7554/the-weeknd-musicians-canada-mbti-personality-type

https://www.crystalknows.com/enneagram/type-4-wing-3

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weeknd#Personal_life