Abel Tesfaye

The Weeknd On “Blinding Lights”: “I Thought It Was Gonna Be A Flop”

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Abel Tesfaye is going through major changes, and the world is certainly taking notice. As the 33-year-old continues to distance himself from his long-time stage name, The Weeknd, he appears to be moving away from the world of music and instead, expanding his acting and producing resume. Fans have been tirelessly waiting for the quickly approaching premiere of HBO’s The Idol, in which Tesfaye stars alongside Lily-Rose Depp. In addition to that, he reportedly wrapped filming on another project – this one opposite Jenna Ortega – over the weekend, though few details regarding that have been shared at this time.

Somewhere in the midst of his busy schedule, the After Hours artist found time to sit down with Vanity Fair for their annual TV issue. The Weeknd posed for the magazine’s cover. He also spoke with them about his Sam Levinson-directed series, his music career, and plans for the future, among other things. Perhaps the most surprising issue from Tesfaye in his interview was an admission that he wasn’t confident in one of his biggest songs in recent memory, “Blinding Lights” before releasing it.

Read More: The Weeknd & Jenna Ortega Reportedly Wrap Filming On Forthcoming Movie

The Weeknd Lacked Confidence in “Blinding Lights”

“I thought [that song] was gonna be a flop,” the Canadian confessed. Thanks to a boost from platforms like TikTok, however, “Blinding Lights” went on to find massive success. It’s since been certified diamond by the RIAA with 10 million copies sold. Reflecting on how social media influences music today, Tesfaye explained, “It’s a new generation of angsty teens discovering all the dark music like when I was 14. Kurt Cobain, Wu-Tang, and all these songs that, as a kid, I probably shouldn’t be listening to, and 50 Cent. This f*cking dark and amazing escape.”

Elsewhere, the genre-bending vocalist recalls some of his earlier releases, admitting that, in the beginning, his music was “very cult-y.” Interestingly, The Idol sees him take on the role of a Hollywood cult leader. He lures Depp’s young pop star character into living a wild and salacious life in the name of fame and fortune.

Read More: The Weeknd’s Biggest Hits, From “Losers” To “Blinding Lights”

More from Abel Tesfaye’s Vanity Fair Cover Story

Keep scrolling to see more photos and quotes from The Weeknd’s Vanity Fair cover story. Are you looking forward to the multi-talent’s various upcoming projects over the next few months? Let us know in the comments, and tap back in with HNHH later for more pop culture news updates.

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The Weeknd Was Undoubtedly Surprised By The Success Of ‘Blinding Lights’ Because He Thought ‘It Was Gonna Be A Flop’

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The Weeknd 2021 iHeartRadio Music Awards
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Abel Tesfaye said that he plans to kill off his musical persona, The Weeknd, to venture into other creative realms. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to graciously bow out on top after becoming the first artist to cross 100 million monthly listeners on Spotify. However, despite the milestones he’s reached, there are still some accomplishments that even shocked him.

During an interview with Vanity Fair, the musician confessed that he was undoubtedly surprised by the success of one of his biggest songs. “I thought ‘Blinding Lights’ was gonna be a flop,” Tesfaye said.

Co-produced by Max Martin and Oscar Holter, “Blinding Lights” was the second single released off The Weeknd’s After Hours album. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the song is now certified diamond after selling 10 million copies.

With an unpredictable boost from TikTok, the entertainer is excited to see how the younger demographic has latched onto his work and the music he was inspired by.

“It’s a new generation of angsty teens discovering all the dark music like when I was 14,” he said. “Kurt Cobain, Wu-Tang, and all these songs that, as a kid, I probably shouldn’t be listening to, and 50 Cent. This f*cking dark and amazing escape.”

Only time will tell if The Weeknd truly retires from music.

The Weeknd Slammed A ‘Ridiculous’ ‘Rolling Stone’ Article About Alleged Issues With His HBO Show, ‘The Idol’

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The Weeknd (aka Abel Tesfaye) did a new interview with Vanity Fair, ahead of his upcoming HBO show, The Idol, premiering at Cannes this week. However, the series, which Tesfaye stars in, has encountered some controversy along the way.

A few months ago, Rolling Stone came out with an article that alleged it had gone “wildly, disgustingly off the rails.” Sources also claimed that there were tons of rewrites and reshoots from showrunner Sam Levinson (Euphoria) that turned it into “twisted torture porn.”

“It was like any rape fantasy that any toxic man would have in the show, and then the woman comes back for more because it makes her music better,” one source claimed.

Just a few hours after the piece gained traction, Tesfaye pushed back on social media, using a clip from The Idol where his character calls the publication irrelevant. During his Coachella appearance at Metro Boomin’s set, he skipped over the Rolling Stone lyric of “Heartless.” Now, he’s continuing to make his thoughts clear.

“I thought the article was ridiculous,” Tesfaye said in the Vanity Fair interview. “I wanted to give a ridiculous response to it.”

“I actually really loved working with Amy [Seimetz],” he added, touching upon a claim about tensions with Seimetz, who departed the show during the early production process, “and I’m sure she’s reading all this being like, ‘Why am I being thrown into this?’”

Tesfaye’s The Idol is set to begin airing on Max starting June 4.

It Looks Like Abel Tesfaye Really Is ‘Killing’ The Weeknd After His Latest Social Media Update

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Last week, macabre singer The Weeknd announced his intention to “kill” The Weeknd persona in favor of performing under his real name, Abel Tesfaye. “I’m going through a cathartic path right now,” 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.”

Over the weekend — you know, the one on the calendar — he took steps to further that plan on social media. Fans on Twitter noticed that he’d adjusted his handle on the platform; while he can still be found at @TheWeeknd (for now), the name above that reads Abel Tesfaye.

The change is just in time for Abel’s television acting debut in The Idol, which premieres on HBO in just a few weeks. The show has proven to be controversial for behind-the-scenes reports of production difficulties and sexualized, violent content, but Tesfaye hopes to silence his critics when it releases. It’ll also feature brand-new music from the evolving artist, who says that his next album as The Weeknd will be his last.

The Weeknd Updates Social Media To Display His Real Name

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Given recent statements and interviews, we all knew that The Weeknd will soon be no more, and instead Abel Makkonen Tesfaye will continue his career. However, we’re sure that many out there didn’t expect it to manifest so soon, albeit in a small way. Moreover, the Canadian superstar recently changed his social media handles to display his real name instead of his stage name. With that, he seems to hav begun the process of shedding his persona’s skin in favor of his birth name, which makes sense considering his future endeavors. After all, his series “The Idol” will premiere on HBO soon.

“I’m going through a cathartic path right now,” the 33-year-old remarked. “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.” In addition to his media ventures, he also reportedly became part of a bidding war for the Ottawa Senators hockey team.

Read More: The Weeknd’s Biggest Hits: From “Losers” To “Blinding Lights”

The Weeknd Becomes Abel Tesfaye On Social Media

Regardless, this is kind of sad news for longtime fans of The Weeknd, but only because of the nostalgic factor. While his career will continue to flourish, fans will never forget just how impactful, influential, and groundbreaking those first few projects were. Still, Abel is arguably at his artistic peak right now, with critical acclaim catching up to his gargantuan commercial success and popularity. For example, he recently provided executive production on Mike Dean’s latest album, a role that one would expect them to swap. But to box the “Double Fantasy” star in like that would be a travesty.

Meanwhile, we still have that third album in the After Hours and Dawn FM trilogy to look forward to. Given those albums’ themes, sonic fusions of all his past styles, and their astonishing presence in pop culture when they dropped, its final installment would be a fitting send-off. It’ll be bittersweet, but all great things must come to an end, even The Weeknd. The truly important thing here is that there’s only more greatness on the way after that. For more news and the latest updates on Abel Tesfaye, check back in with HNHH.

Read More: The Weeknd Didn’t Think He Had The Right Look For R&B

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The Weeknd Wants To ‘Kill The Weeknd’

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The Weeknd has been one of the most successful pop stars of the past decade-plus, but at some point soon, The Weeknd may be no more.

In a new feature for W, the singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, said, “I’m going through a cathartic path right now. 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.”

He also noted, “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.”

Elsewhere, he spoke about letting his home be used for filming The Idol, saying, “The bedrooms were now greenrooms; the bathrooms were for hair and makeup. We built a music studio in the basement so Mike Dean, who helped compose, and I could score the show while we were filming. I had to stay in character, so I took my dog and we lived in another house. My home belonged to the show; it was a hub of activity. We were trying to blur the line between fiction and reality. We had cameras going all the time. It was weird when they all left. I changed all the furniture. I replastered the walls. But the soul of Jocelyn’s house is still in there.”

Check out the full feature here.

The Weeknd Expanded His Partnership With UMG To Include Publishing, Merchandise And Audiovisual Releases

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Fresh off a massive headlining performance at Coachella, in which he was basically the only artist who could replace Kanye West after a last-minute cancelation, The Weeknd no longer has to prove his star power. The self-proclaimed Starboy (sorry, had to) is locked into a massive deal with Universal Music Group, who have doubled down on their partnership with the artist. Given his excellent new album, Dawn FM, and 2020’s massive release, After Hours, it’s not surprising that UMG now wants to partner with Abel Tesfaye on all “recorded music, publishing, merchandise and video.”

According to Variety, UMG will remain The Weeknd’s home for all things label-related, and take over his future music publishing rights once a deal with Kobalt expires. Universal’s merchandising arm, Bravado, will work with XO on “global merchandising, branding, ecommerce and retail licensing opportunities around future projects and releases.” Also, Republic and UMG will handle all future audiovisual projects. So basically, everything he might get into over the future course of his career.

UMG chairman and CEO Lucian Grainge said the following about the partnership: “Over the past decade, we have been honored to work so closely with Abel, who has quickly become one of music’s most creative and important artists—a once-in-a-generation talent. With Sal and the XO team as our incredible partners, we’ve developed a deep trust and respect that has enabled us to successfully execute Abel’s brilliant vision.”

The Weeknd Hints That He Might Change His Stage Name To Just ‘Abel’

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Canadian pop star The Weeknd has probably heard every iteration of every possible joke about his stage name by this point. After all, when you name yourself something as common as a pair of days on a calendar, there’s bound to be a little confusion if the context isn’t set up just so. I mean, word processors were red-lining his name for something like a year after he initially debuted. So it makes sense that he’d want to change it up after a little over a decade, as he hinted recently on Twitter.

It seems he was at least partially prompted by his fans on Twitter, who have taken to addressing him by his first name, Abel. And while his government name, Abel Tesfaye, would be more than serviceable in the search engine optimization department, he joked that he wanted to take it even further, removing his last name entirely. “You guys are hilarious,” he wrote. ” I feel like i should change my stage name to ABEL at this point lol. Maybe pull a YE and just legally change my name to ABEL. no last name. Like Madonna or Cher or Prince.”

However, he didn’t seem completely sold on the idea, either. “I don’t know it seems like a lot,” he noted. He did get a vote of confidence from noted fantastic stage name bearer John Legend, though. “ABEL is dope,” said the crooner, prompting The Weeknd to reply, “I’m tempted…”

Let’s face it, though: If he does change his name to just Abel, it’ll almost certainly take a while to get the masses to connect the old identity with the new one. Even Prince had trouble getting people to accept “The Artist” during his rights war with Warner Bros. Records in the ’90s. On the other hand, Mr. Tesfaye has blossomed into a big enough star that he’s one of the few folks who might be able to get away with it. After all, he’s appeared in animation multiple times, most recently on The Simpsons, and his After Hours Tour with Doja Cat will play stadiums instead of arenas. He’s about as big as a star can get — maybe even mononymously so.