XO (also known as XO Records) is a Canadian record label founded by singer

the Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

, his managers Wassim Slaiby and Amir "Cash" Esmailian, and his creative director La Mar Taylor. Slaiby also is the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

. As of 2012, it operates as a subsidiary of

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

, and is distributed through

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

. The label's current acts include

, Belly, Nav and Chxrry22. The label has had seven projects debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200: ''

Beauty Behind the Madness ''Beauty Behind the Madness'' is the second studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on August 28, 2015, through XO and Republic Records. It features guest appearances from Labrinth, Ed Sheeran and Lana Del Rey. T ...

'', '' Starboy'', ''

My Dear Melancholy ''My Dear Melancholy'' (stylized as ''My Dear Melancholy,'') is the debut extended play by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on March 30, 2018, through XO and Republic Records. Primarily produced by Frank Dukes, who serves a ...

'', '' Bad Habits'', '' After Hours'', '' Good Intentions'' and '' Hurry Up Tomorrow''.

History

In 2011,

, Wassim Slaiby, Amir Esmailian and La Mar Taylor founded XO as an unofficial imprint to release the Weeknd's three mixtapes; ''

House of Balloons ''House of Balloons'' is the debut mixtape by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on March 21, 2011, by the artist's own record label XO (record label), XO. The mixtape was released for free on the Weeknd's website and wa ...

'', ''

Thursday Thursday is the day of the week between Wednesday and Friday. According to the ISO 8601 international standard, it is the fourth day of the week. In countries which adopt the "Sunday-first" convention, it is the fifth day of the week. Name Th ...

'', and ''

Echoes of Silence ''Echoes of Silence'' is the third mixtape by the Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd, released on December 21, 2011, by XO. Like his debut mixtape '' House of Balloons'' and his second mixtape ''Thursday'', the Weeknd collaborated with musi ...

''. The mixtapes earned the Weeknd a following and recognition from mainstream publications, and helped grow the record label's reputation through various performances, song references and business ventures. The meaning of "XO" stands for ecstasy and

oxycontin Oxycodone, sold under the brand name Roxicodone and OxyContin (which is the extended-release form) among others, is a semi-synthetic opioid used medically for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. It is highly addictive and is a commonly ...

. During the Weeknd's early uprising of his career, he would occasionally record music under the influence of drugs, stating, "There were songs on my first record that were seven minutes long." When the Weeknd signed with

in 2012, XO was assumed as a subsidiary label. In 2015, rappers Belly and Derek Wise were signed to XO. In 2016, rapper Nav joined the label's roster. XO signed hip hop duo

88Glam 88Glam was a Canadian hip hop duo that formed in 2017 by Shakqueel "88Camino" Burthwright and Derek "Wise" Bissue. They were formerly signed to XO and Republic Records before getting dropped in 2020 and frequently collaborated with Nav (rapp ...

in 2017, following the independent release of their mixtape ''88Glam''. The duo left the label in 2020. Singer

Black Atlass Alexander Fleming (born March 19, 1994), professionally known as Black Atlass, is a Canadian singer, songwriter and model. His song, Paris, debuted in a Louis Vuitton campaign, and was also featured in a Saint Laurent fragrance ad. He was previou ...

joined in 2018, he left the label in 2022. Singer Chxrry22 joined in 2022, becoming the first female artist signed to XO. On June 6, 2018, the Weeknd announced his new radio show ''

Memento Mori (Latin for "remember (that you have) to die")

'' run by the label on

Apple Music 1 Apple Music 1, previously branded as Beats 1, is a 24/7 music radio station owned and operated by Apple Inc. It is accessible through iTunes or the Apple Music app on a computer, smartphone or tablet, smart speaker (such as the Apple HomePod), a ...

. The first show aired on June 8, 2018, where the Weeknd would play a mixture of songs that have influenced him in the music scene. Often, he would invite his fellow XO members as well for other musicians as guests to host their own episodes in the scene to share their own taste in music. Each episode is run in the span of 2–3 hours.

Roster

Current acts

Former acts

In-house producers

Discography

XO has officially released thirteen

studio albums An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century a ...

, four

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

, and four

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

s (including two

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

s). Unofficially, the label has released thirteen

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

Studio albums

EPs

Compilation albums

Mixtapes

References

{{Authority control Companies based in Toronto Record labels established in 2012 Vanity record labels Republic Records Canadian hip-hop record labels Contemporary R&B record labels