The Weeknd, most famous for 2016’s hit album, Starboy, is a Grammy Award-winning singer, known for his collaboration with other distinguished artists, and his distinctive sound. While everyone knows that The Weeknd can carry a tune, many might be wondering whether or not the Canadian musician plays any instruments.

The Weeknd can play the piano. Though he does not usually play the piano during his live performances, there are multiple snaps of The Weeknd using a piano or a keyboard at home or in the studio while he’s working.

Read more below about The Weeknd’s childhood and musical background, what a record producer has to say about The Weeknd’s instrumental skills, and why we might not see the artist play piano on stage anytime soon.

Family Folk Music and Canadian Chords

The Weeknd was born Abel Makkonen Tesfaye on February 16, 1990. His parents were Ethipoian immigrants who had fled to Canada to escape the tumultuous political climate and the famine threatening their home country.

The family resided in the Scarborough area of Toronto, known for its diverse culture and large immigrant population. The Weeknd grew up engaged in studying his Ethiopian heritage, even learning to speak the native language, Amharic, and playing traditional African music along with his relatives, noting, “My mother, my grandmother, my uncles would play Ethiopian artists like Aster Aweke and Mulatu Astatke all the time in the house. They would drink coffee, eat popcorn, and listen to the music. It’s such beautiful music, but I didn’t realize how beautiful it was until I left that head space.”

He credits the African folk music of his family’s home country as one of the main reasons his music sounds so different compared to others in the music business, saying, “That’s why I feel like my singing is not conventional. The feeling in my music and in my voice is very Ethiopian and very African and much more powerful than anything, technically.”

On the Brink of Superstardom

Though The Weeknd’s rise to the top was not quick, it was less than two years from the time he uploaded his free mixtape, House of Balloons, which caught the attention of Drake, to when The Weeknd released his debut album, Kiss Land, in 2013. The singer became a household name in 2016 when he released the hit single, “Starboy,” which ultimately snagged the top spot on Billboard.