The first time I heard a Weeknd song was on Tumblr in the summer of 2011. It was right before the release of his Thursday mixtape and everyone on my dashboard was highly anticipating it. From the first song, I absolutely fell in love.
Fast forward a few years to the release of "Kiss Land." I was part of the official Weeknd fan club (I know, I know) and as a promotion for the album's release, if you bought a copy of the album through his official site you had the opportunity to go to a meet and greet in select cities. Although I had already pre-ordered a copy of the album I bought a second one because there was no way I was going to let an opportunity to meet The Weeknd pass me by. After receiving the album in September, it was around November when I got the email confirming that I would be meeting The Weeknd in January.
Jan. 16, 2014, my mom drove me to Infusion Lounge in San Francisco. I was living in Sacramento at the time and the whole two-hour drive my mom and I talked about how excited we (yes we), were to meet him. I have a huge fear of bridges and usually fall asleep before we would get to the Bay Bridge but this time, I was way too excited.
After three hours of sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic, we finally made it.
My mom and I got there only a few minutes before the event started, so we ended up standing in line for hours. Inch by inch, I snaked my way through the night club and I was able to keep my composure up until I was about 10 people away from meeting him. Once I finally fully took in what was going to be happening in a few short minutes, I instantly started panicking. Anyone who knows me knows I stan the hardest for Drake and The Weeknd, so this was a pretty big deal. When I got closer, a security guard gave a briefing of the rules, and although we weren't allowed to take pictures, I got a personally signed poster and were able to talk to him for as long as we pleased.
When I finally got to the front, I completely blanked. I didn't know my name, where I was or anything, but I didn't care because I was looking dead into the eyes of Abel Tesfaye himself.
The first word to come out his mouth were "What's your name baby?" in the softest, gentlest voice I've heard. Even though I knew he probably called every girl baby, HE called ME baby. I spelled out my name for him, as we expected to do and he signed my poster. He repeated my name back to me and honestly hearing him say my name directly to me was better than any song he's ever released to date. I went on to tell him how much I loved his music and how I had been listening to the beginning. The entire time I was talking he looked me directly in the eye, really listening to every word I was saying. He responded to me by saying he appreciated all the support and it really meant a lot to him that I followed his music for song long. Again, another answer I knew was generic but it still meant a lot. Before parting, I wished him luck in the rest of his career and also a happy early birthday, as it was exactly a month from that day. He laughed, thanked me again, and wished me a safe drive home.
While the entire interaction probably lasted two minutes at most, it meant the world to me. Considering I was at the end of the line, it had been probably three hours since the meet and greet began and he was still as nice as could be. Despite having a nightclub filled beyond capacity with fans who were obsessed with him, you could tell that he was so appreciative for every last person that met him. My mom got a poster herself, and she told me that he even thanked my mom for driving out to San Francisco during the week so I could meet him.
Meeting The Weeknd is something I will never forget. Not only because how big of a fan I am, but because I wasn't expecting him to be as sweet and as humble as he was. I mean, my signed poster (a.k.a. my most cherished possession) is a good reminder too but hey, The Weeknd calling me baby was pretty cool, too.
