The Weeknd isn’t going anywhere.
During his performance at the Strawberry Arena in Stockholm, Sweden on Saturday (August 8), the Toronto-born singer (real name Abel Tesfaye) admitted he no longer plans to leave behind his moniker of The Weeknd.
“I’ll never disappear. I love this too much to ever disappear,” he told the crowd (in a video captured by a fan). “I tested retirement a little bit, and I don’t like the way it feels. Imma be here forever with you.”
Tesfaye, who is currently on the European leg of his After Hours Til Dawn Tour, appears to have changed his mind about his future as The Weeknd.
Last year he told Variety he was looking to “close the chapter” on his “existence as The Weeknd.”
“It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for,” he continued. ”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: more accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards and more No. 1s. It never ends until you end it.”
This is an ongoing narrative with Tesfaye he seems to keep coming back to.
In 2022, on Twitter he posted, “I feel like i should change my stage name to ABEL at this point lol... maybe pull a YE and just legally change my name to ABEL. no last name. Like Madonna or Cher or Prince.”