The Weeknd will now go by a different name after the Canadian singer made a major change on social media. Updating his social media platforms, the artist has confirmed he will now go by his real name, Abel Makkonen Tesfaye.
In a recent interview with W Magazine, the artist first announced he wants to get rid of his stage name. "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." He said.
"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.”
Tesfaye has revealed that his upcoming album might well be The Weeknd's swansong: "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 news comes off the back of Guinness World Records announcing that the singer-songwriter is currently the most popular musician on the planet. As of March 20 this year, he became the first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners.
This is part thanks to the surge in streams of the "Die for You" featuring Ariana Grande, becoming wildly popular on TikTok. Tesfaye previously released music under the aliases The Noise and Kin Kane before adopting his most well known stage name.
'The Weeknd' is in reference to when he dropped out of college, took his mattress, left one weekend and never came back. Tesfaye is preparing for the release of the controversial series The Idol on HBO and Sky Atlantic on June 5.
Co-created by the singer, it sees Tesfaye take a starring role alongside Johnny Depp's daughter, Lily-Rose. The drama has been plagued by shocking production revelations in a viral Rolling Stone article.
