The Weeknd just recently announced that he will be going on tour after the release of his album, Hurry Up Tomorrow.
After the release of his much-awaited album, The Weeknd will be going on tour once again. However, this will be his last tour as “The Weeknd” as he will be retiring this persona and beginning to make music under his given name, Abel Tesfaye.
This has caused immense sadness amongst fans because after this tour, he will likely no longer perform his older music. This has created an uproar on social media with one TikTok user simply commenting, “SCREAMING AND CRYING” on a video discussing his departure.
This news has really hit hard for me personally because I have been a Weeknd fan for as long as I can remember. And as someone who was able to see him during his last tour in 2022, his separation from his persona has really caused mixed feelings for me.
Although I am excited to see his upcoming projects, I fear that it will not be able to compare to his The Weeknd era. This is partly because his earliest music as The Weeknd was very important to me. Specifically, his album comprised of his first three EP’s titled Trilogy really shaped my taste in music. Tesfaye’s ability to sing about deep emotional concepts over slow melodies while still maintaining soul and depth in his r&b style voice really stuck with me as a listener. I’ve always admired how he is able to take these difficult concepts and communicate them so beautifully through song.
As of late, The Weeknd has focused on ending his career the same way it was started, with a trilogy. He began in 2020 releasing his album After Hours in which he took on a villainous, joker-esque persona often appearing at events with blood and bandages on his face. And of course, the signature red suit.
He then moved on with the album Dawn F.M in which he took on an elderly persona in order to symbolize the afterlife.
The last album of the three Hurry Up Tomorrow symbolizes redemption and offers a farewell to his persona.
Although it is sad to see him retire his name, he has garnered many accomplishments as The Weeknd such as selling over 75 million records, several number one songs, performing at the Superbowl halftime show, and having 25 songs with over 1 billion streams. With over a decade in the industry it is safe to say that Abel Tesfaye has really left his mark on the world of music and his true fans will be happy to see what else he has in store for the future.