The Weeknd has appeared to back away from his previous plans to retire the stage name, telling fans in Stockholm that he intends to continue performing as The Weeknd.
The Canadian singer, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, made the comments during his After Hours Til Dawn Tour show in Stockholm, Sweden, on Saturday, saying he had “tested retirement” and did not like the experience.
The Weeknd says he will keep performing
Fan-shot footage from the Stockholm concert shows Tesfaye addressing the audience about his future as The Weeknd.
“I’ll never disappear. I love this too much to ever disappear. I tested retirement a little bit, and I don’t like the way it feels. Imma be here forever with you.”
The comments appear to mark a change from statements Tesfaye made last year, when he suggested he was considering bringing his long-running stage persona to an end.
His representatives have not yet publicly commented on the Stockholm remarks.
The Weeknd previously considered retiring his stage name
In an interview with Variety published in January 2025, Tesfaye said he was considering “closing this chapter” after spending more than a decade building The Weeknd into one of the world’s biggest pop acts.
He explained that the constant pressure surrounding the persona had become increasingly difficult to sustain.
“It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for. You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race: more accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards and more No. 1s. It never ends until you end it.”
Tesfaye made clear at the time that retirement would not necessarily mean walking away from music altogether.
“I don’t think I can stop doing that. But everything needs to feel like a challenge. And for me right now, The Weeknd, whatever that is, it’s been mastered. No one’s gonna do The Weeknd better than me, and I’m not gonna do it better than what it is right now.”
The Weeknd’s After Hours Til Dawn tour continues
Despite the uncertainty over his future as The Weeknd, Tesfaye has continued touring under the name.
His After Hours Til Dawn Tour is scheduled to reach Wembley Stadium in London on Friday 14 August 2026, continuing a global live campaign built around material from his recent albums.
The tour follows the release of Hurry Up Tomorrow, Tesfaye’s sixth studio album, which arrived in early 2025.
The album completed a trilogy that began with 2020’s After Hours and continued with 2022’s Dawn FM, while also providing the basis for the latest chapter of The Weeknd’s touring career.
Is The Weeknd stage name staying?
For now, Tesfaye’s comments in Stockholm suggest that The Weeknd is not going anywhere.
His previous comments about retirement were framed around the desire to move beyond a persona he felt he had taken as far as possible. His latest remarks indicate that stepping away from the character has not been as appealing as he once imagined.
There has been no formal announcement outlining a permanent change to his plans, meaning the Stockholm comments are currently the clearest indication of his thinking.
For fans, however, the message was straightforward: The Weeknd intends to keep going.
