The Weeknd’s Surprising First Job Before The Fame

Before packing stadiums and topping charts, The Weeknd had a very different gig — one that involved folding shirts instead of dropping hits.

The artist recently shared his humble beginnings while making his late-night TV debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, May 15.

Believe it or not, his dream back then was super simple. “My biggest goal before making it big was ‘to quit my job,’” he said.

So, what job are we talking about? “I was working at American Apparel,” he explained. “I was like 19; I was trying to fold clothes.”

Back in those days, hardly anyone knew what The Weeknd even looked like — his mysterious vibe meant no face, no fame (yet). Funny enough, that actually helped him. “People working at American Apparel started playing the music. And that was the validation I needed. I was like, ‘I'm quitting this job, and this is mine. Yeah, it's my full-time life,’” he remembered.

He might’ve walked away from retail, but guess what? He didn’t leave everyone behind. In a twist no one saw coming, “My boss is actually one of my creative directors. He does all my typography for my albums now,” he said.

Even though this was The Weeknd’s first time sitting on a late-night couch, he’s got a fun history with The Tonight Show. He reminded host Jimmy Fallon of a moment that helped skyrocket his career: when Tom Cruise lip-synched “Can’t Feel My Face” on the show back in 2015. The clip went viral — and his song took off.

Now, ten years later, The Weeknd returned the favor by reading a special shout-out to Cruise’s new movie, Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning, which hits theaters May 23.

Of course, The Weeknd — aka Abel Tesfaye — had his own movie to talk about, too. Hurry Up Tomorrow, starring Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan, opened in theaters on May 16.