According to NME.com, The Weeknd has gone back on his plans to retire the moniker by telling fans at recent show that he will “never disappear”. The artist, whose real name Abel Tesfaye, has been releasing music as The Weeknd since 2011 and dropped his sixth album under the name ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow back in January 2025. While discussing his plans to retire his stage name, the singer and actor previously explained why he was ready to move on from that chapter.
“It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for,” he said at the time. “I feel like it comes with so much. You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race… It never ends until you end it.” The singer went on to reference his 2022 performance at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, where he abruptly cancelled the show halfway through, having lost his voice in the middle of a performance of “Can’t Feel My Face” and saying that he wanted to end things while it felt like he was at his peak.
And mow, while on his latest tour, Tesfaye has seemingly changed his stance on “retiring” by saying that he will not be mixing things up anytime soon regarding the name and live performances. “I’ll never disappear. I love this too much to ever disappear. I tested retirement a little bit, and I don’t like the way it feels. Imma be here forever with you,” The Weeknd said in Stockholm. The Weeknd kicked off the European leg of his After Hours Til Dawn Tour in Copenhagen last month, shortly after playing two dates at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium.
Photo Credit: Colin Hancock
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