iHeartRadio

Fans React As The Weeknd Adds Real Name To Social Media Profiles


theweeknd

Much is being made this week about The Weeknd suddenly using his real name on his social media accounts.

Although his Twitter and Instagram account names remain @theweeknd, the profiles have been changed to display “Abel Tesfaye.”

As of Tuesday morning, the 33-year-old Canadian singer remains The Weeknd on TikTok and Facebook.

The Weeknd added his birth name to Twitter and Instagram ahead of the June 4 premiere of his series The Idol, in which he is credited as Abel “The Weeknd” Tesfaye.

Earlier this month, he told W Magazine that he is ready to make music under another name. 

“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.”

The star added that he is on “a cathartic path right now” that is taking him closer to “a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter.”

He explained: “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 Idol is on Crave, which is part of Bell Media, parent company of this website.

Artist Radio

Listen to music from The Weeknd

12