Photo Credit: Salandco / CC by 4.0
The Weeknd has bought a massive $70 million Bel-Air mansion in an off-market deal.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the real estate deal is one of the largest in Los Angeles so far. The R&B singer struck a deal with Dutch media entrepreneur Reinout Oerlemans and his wife, Danielle Oerlemans. The couple says they had no plans to sell the recently renovated mansion, but a real estate agent approached them about showing it to the musician.
The property itself sits on 1.6 acres overlooking the Bel-Air Country Club. It’s a roughly 33,000 square-foot mansion with nine bedrooms and several amenities. These include a sports court, a spa with a sauna, a hammam, an indoor pool, an outdoor infinity pool, a movie theater, a gym, and a music studio.
The Dutch couple spent three years renovating the mansion after purchasing it for $21.44 million in 2015. Mr. Oerlemans commented that the home was horrendous in the interior design, but the couple felt it had good bones. Ms. Oerlemans redesigned the interior, and nearly 13,000 square feet of space was added to house the various amenities.
The Weeknd was looking for new digs after selling his old mansion in the Hidden Hills area of Los Angeles. Madonna bought that property from the Canadian singer for nearly $20 million.
The Weeknd is best known for his hits “I Can’t Feel My Face” and “Blinding Lights.” But he’s also known for putting the spotlight on corruption at the Grammys last year. “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans, and the industry transparency,” the singer tweeted in November 2020. That tweet references the organization firing Deborah Dugan after her statements.
In March 2021, The Weeknd announced he would boycott the Grammys. “Because of the secret committees, I will no longer allow my label to submit my music to the Grammys.” He’s joined a growing list of stars who have given the Grammys a tongue-lashing for secretive and discriminatory behavior.
That criticism revolves around the nomination review committees. The Grammys maintains that they were established in 1989 to eliminate the potential for general awareness bias that might favor artists with greater name recognition over emerging artists.
The Grammy maintained that its voting process is “100% peer-driven.” Those committees reviewed a music shortlist and choose the names for the final ballot. Committee members could add names not selected by voters in all but the top four categories. But by May 2021, that secret committee structure was removed.
