‘The Weeknd’ has officially retired his stage name.
On Monday, the singer’s Twitter and Instagram accounts had updated to display his birth name, Abel Makkonen Tesfaye.
The change is part of a wider plan to “kill The Weeknd.” Tesfaye told W Magazine earlier this month, “I’m going through a cathartic path right now. It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter. I’ll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd. And I will. Eventually. I’m definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn.”
He added: “The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd. This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.”
@theweeknd for 12 years has watered us,nourished copiously with perfect and timeless productions. the sum of the masterpieces is incalculable.Whatever the reason for his "disappearance" for Abel Tesfaye, I respect it, support him but above all, hope that it's a desired choice🐈🥹 pic.twitter.com/s804dMCvWz
— وليد🐈 (@flaanw) May 14, 2023