The Weeknd x MementoMoriXO
Follow The Weeknd: Instagram | Twitter
Follow MementoMoriXO: Twitter
‘Fan Account of the Month’ (#FAOTM) is a fan-appreciation series on UMUSIC!
At UMUSIC, we acknowledge and value the efforts of fans from around the world. The passion, dedication and love fans have for their favourite artists is something the team at UMUSIC has admired for a long time. For this reason, UMUSIC has decided to feature a fan account every month. This will give our UMUSIC community the opportunity to learn about different fandoms, their hardworking members and more about the artists!
Fan account: A social media account created by a fan dedicated to a particular piece of pop culture. This series will focus on fan accounts dedicated to artists.
Update account: A fan-run social media source for fan accounts. An update account serves as the main source of updates on a specific artist. An update account will gather all media, promotional items, and information on an artist and share the information with other fans. Think of update accounts as a constantly updated Wikipedia for fans. This series will also focus on update accounts, which are simply larger fan accounts.
Read our October #FAOTM post here!
Read our September #FAOTM post here!
Read our August #FAOTM post here!
November’s fan account of the month features The Weeknd fan account, @MementoMoriXO, that has been updating fans on all things The Weeknd. Based all over the world, meet the account’s administrators who have been part of the fandom since as far back as 2011! From posting all the best pictures, videos, updates and highlights from Abel’s radio station and much more, you’ll never miss out on anything!
The team at UMUSIC interviewed the admins about what makes them love Abel, their favourite tracks, moments and more! Below is a collection of their answers…
1. Why are you a fan of The Weeknd?
I think we can collectively answer this one in the same way, because he’s the only artist that has been able to touch our souls in a way that no other artist has been able to do. Ever since we heard his voice for the first time, we knew this would be a journey we wouldn’t be able to stop taking. He’s come very far & we’re all super proud of how humble and grounded he’s stayed. If you really love music & you start to hear his voice, there’s no turning back… you get obsessed & you fall in love every single time, all over again. That’s something not many artists do to us. He is an artist with such an amazing heart who always goes above and beyond not only for his fans, but his team and the community. It’s truly a blessing being a part of his journey. An unbreakable bond for life.
2. What makes The Weeknd so unique?
His ability to make you feel as though he’s there for you through his songs. Even if you haven’t been through what he’s singing about, there will be at least one line in every song that you can relate to. Also the way he doesn’t fit under any one category/genre of music. He’s so versatile, never afraid to try something new.
The connection Abel (The Weeknd) has to his fans, is very rare and we appreciate that a lot. It makes being a fan of him feel like we’re family. That’s why it’s normal to us to call him “Abel”.
The way his music heals our souls. His vision goes above & beyond every single time.
3. What about him resonates with you?
Definitely his uniqueness & the way he changes characters for each era. The dedication he puts into each era is crazy. You don’t see that often. A lot of artists just drop quick singles & repeat that process once the previous one burns out. With him it’s different…he and his team put everything into the body of work they’re working on. His album rollouts get better with every album! S/O to his amazing team for all of that, nothing they do remains unseen.
4. How would you describe the fandom?
Crazy, dedicated & passionate…like any fandom, you get the absolutely amazing people who have lovely personalities and will welcome everybody, and then you have the small amount of toxic ones that will bash others for trivial things and will try to prove they’re the biggest/realest fan etc. I believe whether you’re a fan from the start or you’ve just became one today, you’re a part of the XO Fam. As long as you’re supporting and repping in any way you can, that’s all that matters. XOTWOD
5. When and how did you first discover The Weeknd? What was the first song you heard?
Admin 1: I discovered him in 2011 shortly after House Of Balloons had dropped via his YouTube channel. I was looking for some new music and a friend had mentioned “TheWeeknd” so I searched for him, played “High For This”, and that was it from that moment. I was halfway through the song and I had already downloaded the whole mixtape.
Admin 2: It was kind of the same way for me as Admin 1.
Admin 3: I first discovered Abel back in 2012 through YouTube. First song I heard was “The Morning”.
6. What is your favourite track that he has dropped this year?
Admin 1: I would have to say “Take My Breath” (his own song), and “Moth To A Flame” (collaboration song).
Admin 2: “Hurricane”, it was a surprise that we never knew we needed & we definitely need more of that!
Admin 3: Definitely “Moth To A Flame” with Swedish House Mafia.
7. How would you describe ‘The Dawn’ era? What do you think is next?
‘The Dawn’ era has been exciting – it’s the era where Abel mentioned our account on the introduction of Memento Mori Episode 14 & then followed us on Twitter a month after!! He also mentioned that he wants us to get verified, which was absolutely crazy to us. It still feels like a dream to be honest. We’d describe this era as growth. It’s as though he’s put the After Hours character to bed and he’s rising to step into the next chapter of his life. We honestly don’t know what is next, this man continues to surprise the world. Even though he’s no longer a mystery, he still remains a mystery, he knows how to keep us guessing. All we know is, that he’ll definitely raise the bar & it’ll be even bigger than the last one. As La Mar C Taylor, his best friend & creative director already hinted…“see you at the next rollout” 🌅
8. Who would you like to see Abel collaborate with in the future? What’s your favourite collab so far?
Admin 1: TBH there are so many people I’d love to see him collaborate with, this has always been a difficult question for me to answer personally…we as team definitely would love for him to work with more female artists. I have to say Britney Spears, but definitely when she is ready to of course.
I definitely want him to work with XO’s very own Black Atlass more than anything! I’d love for him to be featured on a track in a genre such as Afrobeats, I think that would be cool. He could possibly work with someone like Tems, Wizkid or Burna Boy. My fav collab so far, that’s another difficult one. I would probably have to say Ricky Hil on the track Nomads. That one is very special to me.
Admin 2: I really love Prince’s Protégé, Snoh Aalegra. Her voice just does something to me. She’s just amazing…she had a Q&A on Twitter for her latest album & I asked her if we’ll ever get a collab with The Weeknd because I think their voices would compliment each other so well – she replied: “I would love to. I love his voice. That made me so happy lol. Abel also recently shared her song “Neon Peach” with Tyler, The Creator. And him sharing it, kinda made me go crazy because I been requesting in several tweets for him to play it on Memento Mori.
Tyler is also one of the artists I’d love to see him collaborate with. Abel himself mentioned that too. He’s very unique, creative and funny. I’d love to see what a music video of them together would look like. Last person I wanna mention is Jay-Z. That has always been one of my dreams & I think I don’t even have to explain why. I have a few collabs that I really love but they are pretty known now…so I think I’ll say Nocturnal with Disclosure because I think the song is amazing and very underrated.
Admin 3: I love “Moth To A Flame” with Swedish House Mafia so much I’ve heard it over a million times no lie! I would love for Abel to collab with Swedish House Mafia again, an artist like Giveon and also Majid Jordan!!!
9. Do you own any merch? If not, is there anything you want to get?
Admin 1: I actually do own a lot of XO merch, however, it’s mostly the older merch, from the days of Official Issue XO. There are a lot of pieces of merch that I want to get, but most of all, it’s the Thursday x Mr. X Graffiti Tee and the The Weeknd x Rhuigi After Hours Disguise Hoodie.
Admin 2: So do I. One of my favorite merch pieces is the MDM Vinyl. I got all copies I could get lol. I love collecting LP’s & have multiple copies of each body of work. The only item I sadly couldn’t get was the Daniel Arsham x The Weeknd HOB Anniversary LP.
Admin 3: Yes, I own quite a lot of merch including limited edition items. One piece of merch I wasn’t able to get and I really want is the Black XO Jersey with Mitchell & Ness x After Hours
10. Have you ever met Abel? If not, what would you say if you got to meet him?
Admin 1: No, I’ve never met Abel. TBH I don’t think I’d want to meet him, I’m very socially awkward and I definitely wouldn’t know what to say to him. I’d have a million things running through my head and the one thing that I’d probably end up saying would be something that wasn’t even on my mind, and I would probably end up stuttering or slurring my words.
Admin 2: Sadly no. I thought about what I’d say if I ever did, very often tho. I came to the conclusion that there is no answer to that. I think it would be a mix of feelings and emotions, and I just don’t know how I’d react because I never experienced it. I’m an extrovert but I can also be very shy, and that’s probably one of the situations where I’d be shy. I’d probably cry and smile at the same time. I’d be starstruck for sure.
Admin 3: No I have never met Abel and of course I would love to meet him! I’d probably stutter and forget what I would want to tell him, but I’d love to tell him what a blessing he is to my life, how much I love him, his music and what a blessing being a part of his journey has been.
11. Finally, are there any other Weeknd fan accounts you recommend?
There are many XO accounts out there… It’s not just a few like in the past. But we want to give a special thanks to the following Twitter accounts: @xoasacartoon (also on Instagram), @FeknowlesXo, @xo_jess23, @emaanxo, @dreamcrewovoxo (also on Instagram) & @abelxlamarxo (Instagram) because they are very precious people to us. These accounts have helped us grow and have always remained humble and loyal, not only to us, but to Abel and the XO Fam too.
We also want to give a big shout out to @reBELLYus (episode 17) @lamarXO (episode 19) @swedishousemfia (episode 20) & @therealmikedean (episode 21) for being hosts of Memento Mori episodes after we had suggested them to be guest hosts to Abel.
If & when you have a moment, please feel free to click on our LinkTree link which is in our bio. This takes you to our other accounts on other social media platforms & also provides the Apple Music station link for the live stream & the past episodes of Memento Mori too. Also if you’re on FB, join the group dedicated fully to The Weeknd & the XO Fam: TheWeeknd XO Fans & The Weeknd XO Fans
From all of us at UMUSIC, we would like to thank the admins of MementoMoriXO. We applaud you and all The Weeknd stans for your time, effort and dedication to supporting Abel.
Keep checking our social media for our next fan account of the month!
If you know a fan account that deserves to be nominated for this series, don’t hesitate to tweet us: @umusic #FAOTM