Canadian pop star The Weeknd changed his name on social media to Abel Tesfaye, his birth name.
It’s not clear why Tesfaye, 33, made the change. In an interview with W Magazine this month, he said he’s preparing to reinvent himself as a musician.
In his recent W magazine cover story, the Canadian superstar shared plans to enter the next phase in his musical career. Noting that the move would include him leaving his āThe Weekndā persona behind and moving forth as āAbel Tesfaye.ā
“Iām going through a cathartic path right now,ā he told the magazine. āItās getting to a place and a time where Iām getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter. Iāll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd. And I will. Eventually. Iām definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn.ā
Tesfaye said the album he’s working on might be his “last hurrah as The Weeknd.”
“This is something that I have to do,” he said. “As The Weeknd, Iāve said everything I can say.”
Earlier this year Mr Tesfaye was named the most popular artist in the world by Guinness World Records following an analysis of Spotify data.
It said he set two records: the most monthly listeners on Spotify – 111.4m as of 20 March, and the first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify.