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By 4PM on Sunday, July 31, the day of Drake's second annual October's Very Own (OVO) Festival at the Molson Amphitheatre in his hometown of Toronto, Twitter was a flutter with the rumor that Stevie Wonder was currently soundchecking at the venue. At last year's inaugural event, Drake proved his growing clout and procured two of rap's biggest stars: Jay-Z and Eminem. Building momentum for the release of his second album, 'Take Care,' and making the festival an international draw means that, of course, he would try to one up himself this year.
But at 8PM, when local golden boy Abel Tesfaye -- otherwise known as the R&B-loving act the Weeknd -- took the stage, Wonder was still a secret tucked away for when things possibly couldn't get any more incredible.
Just one week ago, a bunch of lucky Torontonians got a first glimpse of the mysterious, press-avoiding singer at his very first show -- a warm-up for Sunday night's 15,000-strong crowd. In the short time between the gigs, Tesfaye's onstage confidence has grown, though he still managed to partly obscure his face under a low-pulled hat. Singing along to songs from Tesfaye's much-hyped 'House of Balloons' mixtape (tracks like 'Glass Table Girls' and 'The Morning,' as well as new one 'The Birds, Pt. 1'), a large portion of the crowd was visibly excited by this still officially unsigned, local, opening act.
Watch the Weeknd Perform at OVO Fest
Miami czar Rick Ross stalked the stage for the next 30 minutes like, well, a boss. Earlier this year, Ross filmed a short video, set in Toronto, for his verse on Kanye West's 'Devil in a New
