The Weeknd is thinking about retiring his on-stage "persona"
The 34-year-old music star - whose real name is Abel Tesfaye - admits he could soon walk away from his stage name and move on to a new phase of his career.
14 January 2025
The 'Can't Feel My Face' hitmaker told Variety: "It's a headspace I've gotta get into that I just don't have any more desire for.
"I feel like it comes with so much ... You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race: more accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards and more number ones. It never ends until you end it."
The singer has no intention of actually walking away from the music business - but he feels he's already "mastered" the Weeknd persona.
The award-winning musician appears alongside Jenna Ortega, Barry Keoghan, and Gabby Barrett in 'Hurry Up Tomorrow', the upcoming psychological thriller film, and he's admitted to relishing the challenge of making the movie.
The Weeknd - who also co-wrote the project - reflected: "I don't think I can stop doing that. But everything needs to feel like a challenge. And for me right now, the Weeknd, whatever that is, it's been mastered. No one's gonna do the Weeknd better than me, and I'm not gonna do it better than what it is right now.
"I think I've overcome every challenge as this persona, and that's why I'm really excited about this film, because I love this challenge. But I just want to know what comes after. I want to know what tomorrow looks like."
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