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The Weeknd is set to make his feature acting debut alongside Wednesday star Jenna Ortega in a mysterious new project, reports Deadline.
The musician, 33, will star alongside Ortega, 20 and The Banshees of Inisherin star Barry Keoghan, 30, on the new film which will be directed by Trey Edward Shults, from a script co-written with the singer and Reza Fahim.
The Weeknd – real name Abel Tesfaye – has been working on the film for months, with Ortega and Keoghan said to have signed on after being ‘blown away’ by the script.
Tesfaye, Fahim, Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss are producing with Shultz and Ortega executive producing.
The Weekend and composer and producer OPN will score the film.
Teaming up: The Weeknd is set to make his feature acting debut alongside Wednesday star Jenna Ortega in a mysterious new project, reports Deadline
The Weeknd is also gearing up for the release of his upcoming HBO miniseries The Idol, which he co-created alongside former nightlife entrepreneur Reza Fahim as well as Sam Levinson, the writer behind Euphoria.
With a cast that includes Lily-Rose Depp, the show follows a pop star who falls for a cult-leading nightclub owner, according to Deadline.
Schitt’s Creek actor Dan Levy, The Simpsons icon Hank Azaria, pop act Troye Sivan and Inglourious Basterds beefcake Eli Roth are all in The Idol.
Anne Heche also plays a supporting role, in what will be her final TV appearance after her fiery car crash death last August.
This comes after the Weeknd made history as the first artist to surpass 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify, days after releasing a remix of his track Die for You with Ariana Grande.
The news was confirmed by the digital music service on Monday, which puts him way ahead of his peers, like Miley Cyrus, who has 82.5 million listeners, Taylor Swift with 80.3 million and rapper Drake, who has 68.6 million, according to Billboard.
His latest collaboration, which was an instant hit with fans, marks the fourth time that he joined forces with Grande.
Man of the hour: The Weeknd – real name Abel Tesfaye – has been working on the film for months, with Ortega and Keoghan (above last week) said to have signed on after being ‘blown away’ by the script
Netflix sensation: Ortega is pictured as Wednesday Addams
His latest milestone also comes days after releasing his televised concert, Live at SoFi Stadium, which documented one of his sold-out shows in Los Angeles.
Over his career, the performer has taken home four Grammy Awards, 20 Billboard Music Awards and been nominated for an Oscar and an Emmy.
Back in 2021, the Toronto-based musician’s hit Blinding Lights became the first song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to remain in the Top 10 for an entire year.
The upbeat track from the artist, whose full name is Abel Tesfaye, previously set a record by remaining in the Top 5 for 43 weeks.
The previous Top 10 record was held by Post Malone, whose Circles spent 39 weeks in the upper part of the charts.
The impressive feat came after the song and his album After Hours were snubbed in Grammy nominations, that year, following his incredible Super Bowl performance.
At the time, the Can’t Feel My Face artist told Billboard that the lack of nominations felt like ‘an attack’ on him professionally.
‘We did everything right, I think. I’m not a cocky person. I’m not arrogant. People told me I was going to get nominated. The world told me.
‘Like, “This is it; this is your year.” We were all very confused.’
Since the snub, he has refused to submit his music for consideration at the Grammy Awards.
Tesfaye first publicly indicated his displeasure with the Recording Academy in November 2021 after the Grammy nominations were announced.
On a roll: The Weeknd made history as the first artist to surpass 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify, days after releasing a remix of his track Die for You with Ariana Grande
He tweeted, ‘The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency…’
The singer reiterated his ‘boycott’ months later while telling The New York Times, ‘Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys.’
The ‘secret committees’ he referred to were nominee review committees, who go through the nominees selected by Recording Academy members and have final say in the nominees, in what was described as a, ‘complicated and obscure nomination process.’
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