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With dark tales of sex and drugs, is the Weeknd the next face of R&B?

Edward Helmore, The Observer, 2 August 2015

FOR SEVERAL YEARS, an introverted Canadian singer of Ethiopian descent, known to R&B lovers for his plaintive voice and atmospheric, after-party, comedown groove, has been on the cusp of becoming music's next big thing. But each time stardom beckoned, Abel Tesfaye – a native of the dreary Toronto suburb of Scarborough, who sings, writes and produces as the Weeknd – seemed to demur.

Total word count of piece: 1357

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