The Weeknd reveals new album 'is probably my last hurrah as the Weeknd'

Call out his name, just don't call him the Weeknd.

In a new interview with W Magazine, the musician and actor, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, opened up about his desire to officially rid himself of his stage name.

"I'm going through a cathartic path right now," he told the outlet. "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."

While he didn't provide specifics, the Weeknd did reveal that he thought his upcoming record would be his last using the moniker. "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," he said.

This isn't the first time the Weeknd has publicly toyed with the idea of changing his stage name. Last year, while chatting with fans on Twitter prior to the release of his "Out of Time" music video, the singer tweeted, "You guys are hilarious. i feel like i should change my stage name to ABEL at this point lol." He then added that he'll "maybe pull a YE and just legally change my name to ABEL. no last name. Like Madonna or Cher or Prince. I don't know it seems like a lot."

Whether he goes by the Weeknd or Abel or something else, the singer has previously suggested that his new album is part of a trilogy, one that fans have speculated includes his 2020 album After Hours, 2022's Dawn FM, and his yet-to-be-titled upcoming record.

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