Days before he hits the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival, international pop star The Weeknd returns to his roots by reclaiming his true identity, Abel Tesfaye, and promising to finally “kill” his stage name.
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On social networks, such as Twitter, where he has 17 million subscribers, and Instagram (55.6 million), the accounts of the “Blinding Lights” translator made the two identities coexist on Monday.
It’s an evolution that owes nothing to chance, the 33-year-old artist, born in Canada to Ethiopian parents, explained in a recent interview with fashion magazine W, where he spoke of a “cathartic experience.”
“I come at a time when I’m getting ready to close class for the weekend. I’m going to keep making music, maybe like Abel, maybe like The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd. And I will. One day or another. Really trying to shed that skin and be reborn .
However, he indicates that he will be using his stage name one last time for his next album, which he is currently working on. Like The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.
With his stage name, the Toronto-born artist, who began performing on YouTube, has established himself as one of the big names in music in 2010 and 2020, between pop and dark R&B.
In the midst of a pandemic in 2020, his fourth studio album, “After Hours,” became a worldwide hit, and “Blinding Lights” became the most streamed song on Spotify in 2020.
After several performances in the cinema, Abel Tesfaye will hold one of the main roles, alongside Lily-Rose Depp, in the highly anticipated HBO series, “The Idol” which will premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival, which opens on Tuesday.
The series, which was produced and written by the singer, with Sam Levinson (“Euphoria”), tells the story of a pop singer who meets a cult guru after a nervous breakdown.
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