Like a professional boxer who just can’t quit the ring, Abel Tesfaye has realized he cannot simply walk away from his musical identity. The artist, known globally as The Weeknd, revealed over the weekend that he has reconsidered his previous plans to retire his stage persona, a move he had teased extensively last year.
Reflecting on his past mindset, Tesfaye explained that the pressure of the industry had become overwhelming. “It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for,” he noted. “You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race: more accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards and more No. 1s. It never ends until you end it.”
Tesfaye has been releasing music under The Weeknd moniker since 2011. Last year, while discussing his album Hurry Up Tomorrow, he suggested that the “end was near” for the persona. However, during the kickoff of his recent three-show run in Stockholm, he shared a different perspective with his fans. “I’ll never disappear. I love this too much to ever disappear,” he told the crowd. “I tested retirement a little bit, and I don’t like the way it feels. I said, ‘I’m gonna be here forever with you,’ I’ll never disappear.”
The singer, who has successfully expanded his career into acting and production with projects like The Idol and Uncut Gems, clarified that he never intended to quit music entirely. Instead, he was grappling with the limitations of his established brand. “I don’t think I can stop doing that,” he said of his creative process. “But everything needs to feel like a challenge. And for me right now, The Weeknd, whatever that is, it’s been mastered. No one’s gonna do the Weeknd better than me, and I’m not gonna do it better than what it is right now.”
The initial desire to pivot came following a difficult performance at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium in 2022, where he lost his voice mid-show. At the time, he interpreted the physical setback as a sign that his journey as this specific persona had reached its natural conclusion. “Part of me actually was thinking, ‘You lost your voice because it’s done; you said what you had to say. Don’t overstay at the party — you can end it now and live a happy life,'” he recalled. Now, it appears the artist has found a renewed sense of purpose, ensuring that his musical evolution will continue under the name his fans know and love.