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The Weeknd’s Next Album Might Be His ‘Last Hurrah’

Author Laila Abuelhawa
The Weeknd receives the 2022 Allan Slaight Humanitarian Award backstage during the "After Hours Til Dawn" Tour at SoFi Stadium on November 27, 2022 in Inglewood, California.

The Weeknd might be over soon. He revealed that his next album could be his final one under his long-running moniker. The musician, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, told W Magazine for their new cover story that his “last hurrah” is approaching.

Speaking to the publication to promote his upcoming HBO drama The Idol with Lily-Rose Depp, Tesfaye, 33, shared that the album he’s working on will “probably” be his last. “This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.” As Tesfaye explained in his latest interview, he’s on a “cathartic path right now.”

Kill The Weeknd

“It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter,” he added. “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.”

While he’s now branching out into his “new creative muscle” of film and television work, The Weeknd has been releasing music under his stage name since his House of Balloons days in the early 2010s. At first, the artist didn’t want to be known, but as he’s become a global phenomenon, it makes sense that he has no more need for the moniker.

However, balancing the stage persona with his character on the new show came with challenges, he told W. “I had to take off the Weeknd outfit, put on Tedros’s wig, shoot with Jocelyn (Depp), then go back to being The Weeknd…Then, after the concert, I lost my voice. No voice came out at all. That’s never happened before.”

RELATED: The Weeknd and Ariana Grande Release ‘Die For You’ Remix

The Grammy-winning artist was terrified that he had forgotten how to sing because as The Weeknd, he’s “never skipped a concert. I’ve performed with the flu. I’ll die on that stage. But there was something very complicated going on with my mind at that moment.”

“I realized that I need to know that I’ve made the best version of whatever I’m making. It was a challenge to redo The Idol, and, in truth, I sacrificed my health and home to make it work. So, let’s say it comes out and it’s f—ing horrible,” The Weeknd told the publication. “I still know I did my absolute best. From what I’ve seen, the show is great.”

Tesfaye also may be headed to the big screen soon enough, as he is set to star in his first lead movie role in a feature film he also wrote — which is currently untitled and will star Wednesday actress Jenna Ortega and Dunkirk‘s Barry Keoghan. Per Deadline, the film will be directed by Trey Edwards Shults, who directed 2017’s It Comes at Night.

The Weeknd’s Most Cinematic Music Videos

Abel Tesfaye, AKA The Weeknd, was born on February 16, 1990. The Canadian crooner celebrates his birthday just two days after Valentine’s Day, which seems fitting: his music has romance, sure, but it’s a dark romance. It’s definitely not the stuff of Hallmark cards. Born and raised in Toronto, Tesfaye began his career in 2009 by anonymously releasing music on YouTube. The following year, he met producer Jeremy Rose, who had an idea for a dark contemporary R&B project. Rose produced songs “What You Need,” “Loft Music,” and “The Party & The After Party,” but they were scrapped. The producer let Abel keep the tracks he produced for him under the condition that he would be credited for them. In December 2010, Tesfaye uploaded “What You Need,” “Loft Music,” and “The Morning” to YouTube under the username xoxxxoooxo.

The songs began drawing attention, including that of Drake. He has collaborated with his fellow Canadian on five songs of Drake’s sophomore album, Take Care. Abel gained further recognition when his song “Earned It” was featured in 2015’s Fifty Shades of Grey.

Before adopting the stage name The Weeknd, Tesfaye released music under the aliases the Noise and Kin Kane. His current stage name was chosen in tribute to when he dropped out of school, took his mattress, “left one weekend and never came home.” The dropping of the second “e” was to avoid trademark problems with the pop-rock band The Weekend. Tesfaye released his three mixtapes in 2011: House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence.

To commemorate the award-winning artist’s birthday, we’ve compiled our favorite music videos that took us to another place.

  • Secrets

    The Weeknd plays around with mirroring images and a red color palette for the music video for “Secrets.”

  • Blinding Lights

    Filmed like a mini movie, “Blinding Lights” takes inspiration from films Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Joker and Casino.

  • Sacrifice

    The Weeknd’s music videos for Dawn FM are some of his best to date, with “Sacrifice” being one of the coolest. Surrounded by cloaked figures dancing in a style reminiscent of Michael Jackson, with music to match, The Weeknd is offered sacrifice. At the end of the video, it is portrayed that his soul is being sucked out from above, much like a Dementor from Harry Potter.

  • Save Your Tears (Remix) feat. Ariana Grande

    The animated music video for “Save Your Tears” is stylized like animated series Rick and Morty, showing us the construction of an Ariana Grande robot.

  • You Right

    Doja Cat and The Weeknd dive into the horoscope realm for this ethereal music video for “You Right.” Doja Cat is a Libra and wore a hairpiece that mimicked her astrology sign, while The Weeknd evoked his Aquarius persona by pouring water (the “water-carrier”).

  • In Your Eyes

    Clearly inspired by classic horror films from the ’70s and ’80s (specifically, A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), the music video for “In Your Eyes” follows a woman who is being chased down by The Weeknd but manages to get to him first.

  • Take My Breath

    Walking towards a rising sun on the horizon, The Weeknd’s music video for “Take My Breath” takes our breath away. For Dawn FM, the singer perfectly coordinated the music to visuals that further tell a story. Like a scene from Blade, party-goers are dressed in leather and chains at this underground rave.

  • Gasoline

    As disturbing as it is to see ants being that close to someone’s ear, The Weeknd went all out to create a storyline for “Gasoline.” As an old Abel’s hearing aid goes wonky while driving, he crashes his car and stumbles in a desolate place that transports him to a hellish club.

Laila Abuelhawa is the Top 40 and Hip-Hop pop culture writer for Beasley Media Group. Being with the company for over three years, Laila's fierce and fabulous red-carpet rankings have earned her a feature on 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert!' Her favorite stories are those surrounding the latest in celebrity fashion, television and film rankings, and how the world reacts to major celebrity news. With a background in journalism, Laila's stories ensure accuracy and offer background information on stars that you wouldn't have otherwise known. She prides herself in covering stories that inform the public about what is currently happening and what is to come in the ever-changing, ever-evolving media landscape.

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Author Laila Abuelhawa
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