The Weeknd has been one of the most successful pop stars of the past decade-plus, but at some point soon, The Weeknd may be no more.
In a new feature for W, the singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, said, “I’m going through a cathartic path right now. 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.”
He also noted, “The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd. This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.”
In their searing new show, #THEIDOL, #LilyRoseDepp and @theweeknd go deep into the turmoil of superstardom. For our Pop Issue, the cover stars discuss their highly anticipated project: https://t.co/oZ3El6r1yZ pic.twitter.com/E73rU9eG3G
— W Magazine (@wmag) May 8, 2023
Elsewhere, he spoke about letting his home be used for filming The Idol, saying, “The bedrooms were now greenrooms; the bathrooms were for hair and makeup. We built a music studio in the basement so Mike Dean, who helped compose, and I could score the show while we were filming. I had to stay in character, so I took my dog and we lived in another house. My home belonged to the show; it was a hub of activity. We were trying to blur the line between fiction and reality. We had cameras going all the time. It was weird when they all left. I changed all the furniture. I replastered the walls. But the soul of Jocelyn’s house is still in there.”
Check out the full feature here.