The Weeknd Seemingly Backpedals On Retiring Beloved Stage Name

Abel Tesfaye has been telling the world about his plans to kill off "The Weeknd" for well over a year, but he might be having second thoughts.

The multihyphenated artist is preparing to release his long-awaited film Hurry Up Tomorrow, which accompanies his "final" album as The Weeknd. The film, starring Tesfaye, Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan, tells the story of a musician who undergoes an existential crisis after he falls in love with a mysterious woman. Tesfaye's film was supposed to mark the end of his era as "The Weeknd." However, he told Entertainment Weekly it may just be a "rebirth."

"It feels like [the death of 'The Weeknd']," he said. "I mean, I've kind of toyed with the idea in the past with albums. But it could also just be a rebirth. Who knows?"

Tesfaye has recorded and released music as "The Weeknd" since his debut over 15 years ago. He first signaled the end of his longtime stage name in 2023 after he ditched his moniker on social media. In an interview with W Magazine, the singer said he was "getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter." Fast-forward to 2025, Tesfaye told The New York Times that the album and accompanying film would most likely be his final act as The Weeknd. He explained how losing his voice during his After Hours tour stop in Los Angeles in 2022 helped inspire his desire to retire his beloved moniker.

“My voice failing me, or me failing my voice, however you want to look at it — I really felt like I went up there and my body was telling me to sit down, it was telling me, you have nothing else to say,” Tesfaye said at the time.

Is this truly the end of The Weeknd? Only time will tell. Hurry Up Tomorrow debuts in theaters May 14.