The Weeknd is a Grammy Award-winning music artist, famous for 2016’s hit album (and title track), Starboy, and his collaboration with other high-profile artists. Known for his definitive sound that traverses multiple genres and his eclectic style, the singer’s dazzling creativity may leave people wondering if The Weeknd is left handed.
The Weeknd is not left-handed. Dozens of photos and videos can be found of the Canadian singer signing autographs for adoring fans using his right hand.
Read more below about The Weeknd, what scientific research says about left-handed people, and whether or not creativity is actually tied into handedness.
Experimental Music
The Weeknd’s seemingly meteoric rise to superstardom was actually anything but quick and easy. Though he’s stayed at the top of the music charts since his first studio album, Kiss Land debuted in 2013, The Weeknd’s road to stardom started nearly a decade earlier.
The Weeknd dropped out of high school at 17 on a whim and proceeded to be homeless for most of the next six years, living out of a van and crashing on friend’s couches when he was able.
He also heavily took up drugs, which he thought helped his creative process at the time, saying, “When I had nothing to do but make music, it was very heavy. Drugs were a crutch for me. There were songs on my first record that were seven minutes long, rambling — whatever thoughts I was having when I was under the influence at the time. I can’t see myself doing that now.”
Though The Weeknd eventually cleaned up his act and scored a record deal, it’s clear that the musician has been creatively inclined since he was much younger. It’s often thought that left-handed people are more artistic, which is why many might have incorrectly assumed The Weeknd was left-handed, but what does actual scientific research say about left or right hand dominance?
You can watch a video of The Weeknd signing autographs for fans in the YouTube video below.
The Imperfect Science of Handedness
Given the social stigma surrounding being right hand or left hand dominant, scientists have started to research the many ways in which right handed and left handed people differ. Right or left hand dominance is thought to begin in the womb, when a fetus will show a preference for one or the other, though most children don’t regulate their dominance in one hand until they are toddlers.
Since right handedness is so prevalent around the world, some people often wonder why left handedness has not died out among the population, as have so many other evolutionary disadvantages. The likely answer is that being left-handed is an advantage in combat and that the disadvantages to being left-handed don’t cause death before breeding age, which is what causes many evolutionary changes.
Regardless of the reasons left handedness has stuck around, there are still many prevalent myths about left handed people.Being left handed is associated with early death and the onset of poor mental health, but on a positive note, it’s also associated with being more creative.
Creativity is for Everyone
Despite multiple studies into left and right handedness, science has not come up with a definitive answer as to whether or not left hand dominance is actually indicative of these things and vice versa. Steve Jobs, the late co-founder of Apple, once spoke on the creative process, saying, “Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.”
It’s clear that right-handed people such as The Weeknd can be incredibly talented and creative in the arts, regardless of the rumors of handedness.