The Weeknd is apparently no longer known by his iconic moniker, mere weeks after first announcing he wanted to change his stage name.
The 33-year-old - whose legal name is Abel Makkonen Tesfaye - has been toying with the idea of altering his identity by switching up his name.
In fact, the Canadian singer discussed this in a recent interview with W Magazine for their Pop Issue, speaking candidly about why he feels it's time to get rid of his stage name.
"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," the 'Blinding Lights' singer revealed.
While Tesfaye didn't provide specifics, he did reveal that he thought his upcoming record would be his last using the moniker, adding: "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."
Last year, he took to Twitter to write: "You guys are hilarious. 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. I don't know it seems like a lot," he then added in a separate tweet.
Well, it seems like the tweets were foreshadowing an event that took place this weekend, with The Weeknd changing his name on Instagram to his birth name (while still keeping his handle @theweeknd).
Tesfaye - who has previously been romantically linked to Bella Hadid and Selena Gomez - has won numerous accolades and broken many records during the span of his career, with the Guinness World Records announcing this year the the musician is officially the world's most popular artist.
As such, he's been bestowed with two Guinness World Records - the first being the artist with the most monthly listeners on Spotify (at 111.4 million as at March 20), and the second being the first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners. According to the world record reference company, a surge in listens was triggered by the fact that a remix of 'Die for You' (which also features pop sensation Ariana Grande) went viral on TikTok.
The song eventually shot to the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, which is The Weeknd's seventh time in the highly coveted position. The original 'Die for You' was released in 2016 on his album 'Starboy.'
Perhaps the change has something to do with Tesfaye's transition into taking more acting roles. Having had a cameo in Uncut Gems in 2019, the musician is starring alongside Lily-Rose Depp in HBO Max's upcoming series The Idol - which follows the story of an aspiring pop idol (Depp) and her complex relationship with a self-help guru and cult leader (Tesfaye).
The drama series will premiere at the Cannes Film Festival later this month, and will hit the streaming site on June 4.