Abel Tesfaye aka the Weeknd is arguably one of the most influential artists of the past decade. Over the course of his swift and steady come-up, the Canadian singer-songwriter has won awards, topped charts and headlined festivals consistently.
His journey as the Weekend, however, is now approaching its end. In a recent interview with W Magazine, he discussed taking his artistry in a different direction and shedding the alias that shot him into space.
Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye Reflects on Career
“I’m going through a cathartic path right now,” he said. “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 good news is that this will most likely only be a nominal change. Though he might not market himself as the Weeknd anymore, we’ll still get music from the same mind. As of now, it appears that Tesfaye is still active in the music space.
“The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd,” he explained. “This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.”
His upcoming album will be the third and final installment in the trilogy that began with After Hours, and maybe even his final act as the Weeknd.
As of now, he remains active under that alias — he recently collaborated with Future on “Double Fantasy” and even contributed to multiple cuts on Mike Dean’s latest body of work.
Tesfaye’s next big project is the HBO series, The Idol, which is scheduled to go live on June 4. Fans are anticipating music by Tesfaye to accompany the show.
