Rebirth: Tesfaye wants to "kill The Weeknd," reverts to birth name

Canadian pop star Abel Tesfaye, better known by his stage name The Weeknd, has made a significant change on his social media accounts by reverting to his birth name.

The decision follows a tweet in April where the singer asked his fans if he should make the change, receiving overwhelming support. "Abel, formally known as The Weeknd?' he asked his fans.

This move comes as Tesfaye expressed his desire to "kill The Weeknd" in an interview with W Magazine. “I’m going through a cathartic path right now,” said the celebrated singer. “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.”

The Weeknd moniker originated from a time when he dropped out of school, leaving with his mattress over a weekend and never returning home, as reported by the Daily Mail. However, Tesfaye feels he has said everything he can say under that name and believes his next album will likely be his final project as The Weeknd.

Hailing from Toronto to Ethiopian immigrants, Tesfaye gained prominence after uploading his early songs to YouTube in 2010, showcasing a distinct brand of dark and explicit R&B that explored taboo themes. With the support of Canadian rapper Drake, who shared Tesfaye's early demos on his blog, the artist released a nine-song mixtape called House of Balloons as a free download.

Throughout his music career, Tesfaye has achieved numerous accolades, including four Grammy Awards, over 45 platinum singles and albums, and multiple music records. In March 2023, he was officially recognized by the Guinness World Records as the most popular artist in the world, thanks to his remarkable number of monthly listeners on Spotify.

By that time, Tesfaye had amassed 111.4 million monthly listeners, making him the first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners on the streaming platform. Miley Cyrus, with 82.4 million monthly listeners, trailed behind him in second place.

Despite his calm demeanour and polite nature, Tesfaye possesses a resolute determination. He embraces his underdog status, having faced initial struggles in the music industry on his path to success. “I like when all the odds are against me,” he said to W Magazine. “I’ve always been an underdog—in the beginning, the music business was not easy. I had to fight to get to the top of the mountain.”

In the early stages of his career, Tesfaye remained anonymous, intentionally keeping his identity concealed for the first two years. When he finally revealed himself as The Weeknd, his music resonated with audiences, and his distinctive hairstyle, reminiscent of Frank Gehry's architectural style, became an iconic symbol. However, Tesfaye eventually decided to cut his hair, challenging the association between his identity and physical appearance.

Talking about the same, he stated, “The hair became an obstacle for me! I went from ‘No one knows who I am’ to ‘Nobody has that hair except The Weeknd.’ I was always trying to hide it. When I finally decided to cut it, everybody said, ‘Don’t do it!’ That gave me more reasons to do it. I was so identified with that hair that I had to cut it. I didn’t want to be known for just this or just that.”

In his pursuit of artistic growth, Tesfaye remains committed to overcoming obstacles and transcending expectations. As he closes the chapter on The Weeknd, he prepares to embark on a new phase as Abel Tesfaye, promising to continue creating music while exploring other artistic endeavours. However, he maintained, "As The Weeknd, I've said everything I can say."

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