The Weeknd has not only walked back his plans of retirement, but will not be changing his stage name.
The pop singer discussed his refusal to leave music in a new GQ Hong Kong interview, where he expressed feeling heightened inspiration over the last year. For the last several years, The Weeknd has been on the After Hours ‘til Dawn Tour, which wraps in November.
“I had a glimpse of what retirement looks like, and it isn’t for me,” said the Hurry Up Tomorrow artist. “It’s a real privilege to do what I do. There’s nothing else like this job. The gratitude I’ve felt over the last year has been overwhelming. I’m going to keep doing this for as long as I possibly can. The Weeknd isn’t going anywhere.”
The “Cry for Me” vocalist also declared that he will not abandon his stage name, a change of plans from what he described in a 2023 interview with W Magazine.
“The Weeknd was never a mask I wore to hide from myself, Abel was always there. It was simply a lens I chose to tell certain stories through,” The Weeknd explained at the time. “If I create under my own name one day, it won’t be about leaving anything behind. It’ll just be another evolution.”
The singer hinted at entering a new phase in that interview, telling the publication that he intended to “kill The Weeknd” to “be reborn.”
Last year, while promoting his companion movie to Hurry Up Tomorrow in a Variety feature, the hitmaker expressed his lack of “desire” to continue the constant music industry cycle.
“It never ends until you end it. … When is the right time to leave, if not at your peak? Once you understand who I am too much, then it’s time to pivot,” he said.
