The Weeknd Hints At Retiring Stage Name After Next Album

The Weeknd has hinted at retiring his stage name after his next project, admitting that he wants to “kill” off his musical persona.

Abel Tesfaye dropped the bombshell in an interview with W Magazine, where he and his Idol co-star Lily Rose-Depp sat down to speak about their upcoming HBO series, which airs on June 4.

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“I’m going through a cathartic path right now,” the Canadian crooner said. “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.”

Elsewhere, 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.”

The statement comes after The Weeknd confirmed fans were witnessing the birth of a new trilogy shortly after the release of his last album Dawn FM in January 2022. The XO hitmaker seemed to imply that the new trilogy had begun with After Hours back in 2020.

“I wonder… did you know you’re experiencing a new trilogy,” he tweeted at the time.

Fans began to scramble for more answers online, with one Reddit page theorizing that Dawn FM‘s track “Every Angel is Terrifying” hints that The Weeknd’s next album could be titled After Life.

In the meantime, The Weeknd is currently in the midst of rolling out new music in support of The Idol. He recently dropped the single “Double Fantasy” with Future and announced during a surprise Coachella performance that more music would appear on a companion project titled The Idol Vol. 1.

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The Weeknd also co-executive produced and made multiple appearances on Mike Dean’s latest album ” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>4:23, which dropped in April. He appeared on the tracks “Artificial Intelligence,” “Defame Moi,” “More Coke!!” and “Emotionless.”