After pledging to “kill off” his stage name, The Weeknd has returned to using his own name on social media.
This comes after he made the announcement that his final album will be his last.
This marks the end of a whopping 12 years that he’s been known as The Weeknd.
Fans are feeling emotional about his decision.
“John Weekday just doesn’t have the same ring to it,” one fan wrote.
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Now, The Weeknd is an icon…
The Canadian-born singer-songwriter, whose real name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, is one of the leading figures in the music industry.
He began his journey onto the music scene in August 2009, by anonymously releasing music on YouTube.
He later met up with producer Jeremy Rose and together they made 3 songs, titled: What You Need, Loft Music, and The Morning.
Later that same year, Tesfaye uploaded the tracks to YouTube under the username xoxxxoooxo.
The songs quickly piqued interest and were even discussed in a blog post at the time by Drake.
This was only the beginning, and in 2011 things began to kick off…
Tesfaye founded the XO record label with several music executives.
And the star broke into the music scene that same year with his mixtape, House of Balloons.
Even in the early days, he managed to work with some pretty high-profile artists including Drake and Wiz Khalifa, while still finding his feet within the industry.
But, his musical success skyrocketed with his 2015 album, Beauty Behind the Madness.
The album brought us the global hit single ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ which has drawn in comparison to the likes of Michael Jackson, hit No.1 on the Billboard chart, and went on to rank as the best song of the year.
His follow-up album, Starboy, also enjoyed critical success.
In late November 2016, the Weeknd released his third album, Starboy, featuring star-studded guest appearances from the likes of Lana Del Rey, Future, and Kendrick Lamar.
Throughout his career, the star has racked up several Grammy nominations and awards for his work…
And has even gone on to headline the infamous Coachella Festival, alongside Beyonce and Eminem.
As well as being in the spotlight for his music…
The singer has also turned heads when it comes his high-profile romantic partners.
The star has been in an on-off relationship with model, Bella Hadid, since the pair linked up in 2015.
According to E! News, the pair made it official in May 2015 after hanging out together at Coachella the previous month.
She starred in the music video for his single ‘In the Night’ in December of the same year.
The pair were snapped holding hands at New York Fashion Week and were spotted several times after on dates and family engagements.
Things seemed to be going pretty well for the couple.
He even bought her a puppy for her nineteenth birthday.
However, it didn’t last long…
The same year, they made it official, they reportedly took a break due to their busy schedules and opted to celebrate Christmas separately. Yikes.
In February 2016, the couple appeared to be back on when they hit the Grammys red carpet together.
And then the following month, looked extremely loved-up as they posed for snaps at the Daily Front Row’s Fashion Los Angeles Awards.
For quite a few months, the couple was going strong.
They attended the 2016 Met Gala looking like full-blown couple goals, dressed head-to-toe in his-and-hers Givenchy, went on a very Instagram-worthy vacation to Tokyo, and celebrated Bella’s twentieth birthday together.
But sadly, once again, work commitments got in the way.
In late 2016, PEOPLE magazine reported that the couple had split for the second time, with their hectic A-lister schedules being the main culprit.
However, just 2 weeks after their breakup, The Weeknd released his highly acclaimed album, Starboy, and took to the stage at the annual Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, where his ex happened to be strutting her stuff.
When asked about the reunion, Hadid claimed that it wasn’t awkward at all: “He is my best friend, and I am excited because I am walking during his performance.”
After his second split with Hadid, Tesfaye moved on with another well known celebrity…
Coupling up with Singer, Selena Gomez. But it didn’t take long for the R&B star and Hadid to get on friendly terms again when in late 2017, the singer was pictured leaving her apartment.
The pair were spotted kissing on various occasions and were even spotted going on a date.
The couple then appeared to confirm their rekindled romance after they were snapped walking arm in arm through the streets in Paris, and, to celebrate the supermodel’s birthday, The Weeknd took to social media to share cute snaps of the pair.
We don’t know about you, but this is starting to get a little exhausting.
After a number of strong months, the couple called it quits… again.
All went quiet on the love scene with the pair, and fans’ suspicions were confirmed when E! reported the couple had once again gone their separate ways. And you’ve probably guessed the reason: distance and very separate schedules, so nothing new on that front.
It seems after the split this time around, Tesfaye decided to turn his focus on his career…
In a rare red carpet appearance in 2019, the R&B powerhouse attended the premiere of his feature film debut, Uncut Gems, at the Toronto International Film Festival.
He looked totally different…
The singer made quite a few changes to his signature look, which has hardly changed over the years — opting to trade his usual full-grown beard for a mustache and swapping out his hairdo completely.
Many took to Twitter to comment on his new look at the time…
Which many said channeled a ’70s aesthetic.
One user wrote: “my brain literally won’t accept that’s The Weekend.”
While another pointed out the striking similarity between the singer and Nacho Libre.
We have to say, we do see the resemblance.
Since then Tesfaye has gone on to create his fourth and fifth studio albums: After Hours (2020) and Dawn FM (2022).
And finally took on his After Hours til Dawn Tour which had previously been postponed 3 times due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first stop on the tour in The Weeknd’s hometown of Toronto on July 8, 2022, was postponed last minute due to the network outage affecting the venue’s electrical output.
And it seems as though things were set to go from bad to worse for the star.
During the show on September 3 at SoFi Stadium, The Weeknd walked off in the middle of ‘Can’t Feel My Face’.
“I don’t know what just happened, but I just lost my voice,” he said after leaving the stage mid-performance.
“This is killing me, I don’t want to stop the show but I can’t give you the concert I want to give you right now.”
“I’m gonna make sure everybody’s good; you’ll get your money back, I’ll do a show real soon for you guys. But I wanted to come out and personally apologize,” he told the crowd according to fan videos on Twitter.
Fans were left shocked following his announcement, with many taking to Twitter to express their outrage.
“Im bout to jump off the roof of SoFi after all the money I spent on drinks and for The Weeknd to walk off……………” one Twitter user wrote.
While another commented: “Dude legit looks upset.”
“His music and fans mean the world to him. Can’t imagine what he’s going through.”
He later announced the following message on his social media: “My voice went out during the first song and I’m devastated. Felt it go and my heart dropped. My deepest apologies to my fans here. I promise I’ll make it up to you with a new date.”
You can see his apology on stage here.
And recently, The Weeknd has revealed some more bad news to fans.
He’s planning for his next album to be his last.
In an interview with W Magazine, he said: “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.”
“The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd.”
”This is something I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.”
However, he is set to flex his creative muscles elsewhere.
As he is set to star alongside Lily-Rose Depp in upcoming HBO MAx drama The Idol.
In the show, The Weeknd stars as a charismatic cult leader called Tedros.
Tedros b begins a complicated relationship with an aspiring musician, played by Depp.
“Film and TV is a new creative muscle for me,” The Weeknd continued.
“I don’t release my music until I think it is great. Why would this be any different?”
The star has changed his name on his socials back to Abel Tesfaye.
The change got a mixed reaction from fans online.
“John Weekday just doesn’t have the same ring to it,” one fan joked.
“The Weeknd is over,” another said.
While a third chimed: “Good he should go back to creating the music he did back in 2011 too.”
What do you think?