Soul singer The Weeknd was reportedly arrested on Saturday in Las Vegas. He has been accused of punching a police officer. The Weeknd was allegedly involved in an incident inside the Cromwell Hotel. Reports haven’t indicated whether he was involved in a verbal or physical fight. When law enforcement arrived on the scene, they attempted to break up the altercation. One of the police officers pulled the singer into an elevator, in an effort to diffuse the situation. Ultimately, The Weeknd punched the police officer in the head with a closed fist. The singer was immediately arrested for misdemeanor battery of a protected person. Weeknd was taken to jail, but he was eventually bailed out. Following the incident, the singer posted a photo on social media of him boarding a private jet with a caption that read, “Escaped from Las Vegas.”
The Weeknd’s first taste of mainstream fame came in 2011 when he released his trio of self-released mixtapes. These three mixtapes include House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence. His House of Balloons project received high praise from music critics. In 2011, Metacritic deemed House of Balloons the third best-reviewed project of the year. The R&B singer’s first debut effort, Kiss Land, was supported by six singles including “Kiss Land,” “Belong to the World,” “Love in the Sky,” “Live For,” “Pretty,” and “Wanderlust.” The album was deemed the fifth best album of 2013 by an Entertainment Weekly music critic. Kiss Land peaked at Number 1 on the US Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart and the UK R&B Albums chart. It also peaked at Number 2 on the Billboard 200 charts.
The singer’s most successful song, so far, is his duet, “Love Me Harder” with pop star Ariana Grande. The song peaked at Number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The two singers performed the hit record on Saturday Night Live and The American Music Awards last year. In 2014, he headlined the King of the Fall Tour which featured Schoolboy Q and Jhene Aiko. The Weeknd has not announced a 2015 tour yet, but he has been named as one of the performers at this year’s Coachella music festival.