The Weeknd says he’s considering going by his real name

The Weekndsixth album Hurry up tomorrowmay be the last he releases under his stage name.

The singer, whose real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, said he was considering leaving the personality that helped define his music and acting career after the album’s release on January 25.

The Weeknd, 34, opened up about the next chapter in his life in a cover story for Variety Posted on Friday, January 10th.

“It’s a space I have to get into and I don’t want to leave.” I feel like there’s so much coming,” he explained. “You have the personality, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race: more awards, more hits, more concerts, more albums, more awards and more number one hits. It’s never over until you do.”

This idea partly comes from an incident on stage at SoFi Stadium during his After Hours Til Dawn tour in 2022. The Weeknd’s voice was breaking at the start of his show and he couldn’t recover. In the end, he had to offer viewers a refund and promise a rescheduled date.

“Part of me actually thought, ‘You’ve lost your voice because it’s done; you said what you had to say. Don’t stay at the party – you can end it now and live a happy life,” he continued. “You know? Put a bow on it: Hurry up tomorrow. We’re here now. When is the right time to leave if not at the top? Once you understand too much of who I am, then it’s time to turn.”

That doesn’t mean The Weeknd is done with music. Although he also delved deeper into acting, including sidekicks Hurry up tomorrow a film in which he also stars Jenna Ortegahe admitted that music will probably be a part of his life forever.

“I don’t think I can stop it. But everything has to look like a challenge,” he said. “And for me right now, The Weeknd, whatever it is, it’s done. No one is going to do The Weeknd better than me and I’m not going to do it better than what it is right now. I think I’ve overcome every challenge as this character, and that’s why I’m really excited about this film because I love the challenge.”

The Weeknd doesn’t want to satisfy anyone else. For example, he admitted that it was “unfortunate” that his short-lived HBO show, Idolmet with so much criticism, but that’s not why he did it. It was about his expression as an artist. That’s why he’s looking forward to his next challenge, whatever it may be.

“I just want to know what comes next,” he said. “I want to know how tomorrow will be.