Canadian artist The Weeknd, real name Abel Makonnen Tesfaye, has changed his artist name on social media and suggested that his upcoming album may be his last under the moniker. The change to his birth name is part of a wider desire to “kill The Weeknd,” according to an interview with W Magazine. Tesfaye said he’s going through a “cathartic path” and wants to “shed that skin and be reborn.” Guinness World Records announced in March that the 33-year-old singer is the most popular musician in the world with a record 111.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify at the time.
The Weeknd’s swansong?
The change of artist name on Tesfaye’s social media accounts confirms an interview he gave W Magazine in which he said he was “getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter.” Tesfaye revealed that his upcoming album might well be The Weeknd’s swansong. He said in the interview, “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 Weeknd has released six studio albums to date.
The Weeknd’s meteoric rise
In March, Guinness World Records (GWR) announced that The Weeknd is statistically the most popular musician on the planet. He had the most monthly listeners on Spotify with 111.4 million as of March 20. His success has also been attributed to his ability to break streaming records across platforms. He’s an “unprecedented phenomenon” GWR said. A remix of “Die for You” featuring Ariana Grande went viral on TikTok, and according to GWR, fuelled a surge in listens sending the track to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 – The Weeknd’s seventh time atop the chart. The original “Die for You” was released in 2016 on his album “Starboy.”
“I’m definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn.”
Tesfaye’s desired transformation of image and music is something we’ve seen in many other artists over the years from David Bowie to Madonna. His rise to fame with The Weeknd has been nothing short of phenomenal, but like many artists, there comes a time for change, self-expression and creativity. In Tesfaye’s words, “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.”
