“The Weeknd isn’t going anywhere,” Abel Tesfaye doubles down

The Weeknd has doubled down and announced that he “isn’t going anywhere”.

Previously, the popstar (real name Abel Tesfaye) has contemplated plans to retire his stage name , explaining last year: “It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for”. He jokingly told fans he might pull a “YE” and change his name to “ABEL” and was “brainstorming” his nex move following the name drop – but he seemingly retracted his retirement plans last August, telling fans at a recent show that he will “never disappear”.

Now, The Weeknd has doubled down on his claims in a new interview with GQ Hong Kong . He reiterated that he was “not stepping away from anything”, but simply “hibernating”.

“My fans know I’ve shed my skin multiple times throughout my career,” he reasoned. “I was telling one story from 2020 until now, and that story has reached its conclusion. But that’s only the 2020 story.”

He did profess that “at one point I thought, ‘What if I just stopped?’ But then I realized what a waste all of that inspiration would be. I can’t let that happen.

“I had a glimpse of what retirement looks like, and it isn’t for me,” he concluded. “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.”

“I had a glimpse of what retirement looks like, and it isn’t for me. 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… pic.twitter.com/prNrV6QfDT

The Weeknd planned to retire his name following the last release of his trilogy, 2025’s ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’ .