By: Andres Luis Makilan, Staff Writer
After 15 years of a long and storied musical career, Abel Tesfaye, popularly known as The Weeknd, is retiring the alias after releasing his long-awaited album ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’.
The decision comes from a multitude of factors, ranging from burnout to complete mental exhaustion. In an interview with the trade magazine Variety, Tesfaye states that it’s “a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for.” He continues, “I feel like it comes with so much.” The wear and tear it caused his voice didn’t help either; as in 2022, he unexpectedly lost his voice while performing at a concert in SoFi Stadium.
Just four songs in, Tesfaye’s voice started fizzling out to the point where he had to cancel the remainder of the gig in concerns for his health, and not to disappoint the audience with a sub-par performance. In the same interview with Variety, Tesfaye says that the incident partially influenced the decision to hang it up. “Part of me was actually thinking, ‘You lost your voice because it’s done; you said what you had to say. Don’t overstay at the party – you can end it now and live a happy life.’ You know?”
He also feels that everything should feel like a challenge and that for him, the Weeknd, whatever it is, has been mastered. “No one’s gonna do the Weeknd better than me,” he explains, “and I’m not gonna do it better than what it is right now.”
The album itself is not something to be glossed over either: 22 songs with a runtime of eighty-four minutes with each song bringing a unique style not always staying within the R&B/Soul label the album originally came with. Currently, its most played song is Timeless, which features Atlanta-based rapper Playboi Carti. Its second most-played song is São Paolo, a Brazilian funk-style song featuring Brazilian singer Anitta. On a more personal note, my favorite song from the album is Open Hearts. Its Electropop style just hits the right bells in my head, and the themes of struggle and self-confrontation the song brings give it weight bigger than the high-octane club beat it comes with.
So, what’s next for Tesfaye? A movie, that’s what. On May 16th of this year, a movie of the same name as the album is slated to be released. A musical psychological thriller with Tesfaye as the leading star, with Barry Keoghan and Jenna Ortega starring. It serves as something of an extension for the album, tackling the same issues and expanding more on the story of the album itself.
Tesfaye is very excited about the film, because as previously mentioned, he feels like he has overcome every challenge as the Weeknd, and that’s why he feels excited about it. It’s a new challenge that promises a new beginning as the life of the alter-ego known as the Weeknd comes to a close.
