I disagree with the sentiment that the name change is bad for him. It’s a character about the weekend he left home. He started making music (trilogy), went on tour (kissland), made it big (BBTM), became a pop star making music in his own unapologetic style not just simply being known as ‘that dude with the hair’ (starboy), was toxic along the way but had that heartbreak and betrayal catch up to him (MDM), encapsulated the buttoned up fake and plastic nature of getting big and the west coast and media culture (After Hours) and reflected on his past using retro vibes like the radio setting and 80s synths (Dawn fm), and is likely transitioning away from that original person who left home that one weekend which will be capped by this project. The Weeknd is Abel, but The Weeknd is a character, has been the entire time and has put on many hats each album cycle. The Weeknd is who he was, so at this point, he seems like he is leaving it in the past and is starting new. If you don’t think he can do it, you don’t realize that he transcends the symbols and branding that represent him. He was that dude with the hair, and cut it off, now he could change his name, but he’ll succeed because it isn’t The Weeknd that is the talent, it’s Abel.
I think he will let in more Ethiopian influences, I wouldn't be surprised if he started singing in Amharic more, especially when he's going under his original name now.
(imagines Abel Tesfaye's music being deliriously happy with Abel wall-to-wall grinning unironically in every single offering smelling flowers and dancing everywhere a la Pharrell Williams in "Happy" with every lyric being G-rated), hahahahahaha!
The Weeknd was promoting/teasing his upcoming album that time named "After Hours". which talks about his sins, pain, regrets, long story short, he's pertaining to hell. the album dropped on 2020. two years later, he released "Dawn FM". a conceptual album that primarily talks about the lessons that he learned (character development) and the pain, guilt and shame that he has experienced. long story short, it is purgatory and it is about his self reflection, self realization, self forgiveness, and about finding God. and lastly, this year, 2024, he's been teasing about the last album which will be the last part of his trilogy. based on his ig stories/posts, the upcoming album is about the after life, rebirth or paradise or (heaven), where he will be resurrected as a new being because he found God. i also think his trilogy is based on "The Divine Comedy" by Dante Alighieri, which tells a story about a character named "Dante" and his journey from hell to purgatory and to paradise. i think in The Weeknd's upcoming trilogy, After Hours is hell, Dawn FM is purgatory, and the upcoming album which is the last installment of the trilogy, will be heaven or paradise. (he teased this on his ig post). those were just my theories as a fan that are based on his teasers, and here are some facts. "The Weeknd" is just a character that Abel (The Weeknd's real name) portrays. it's a character that he created to connect with people. The Weeknd is not Abel. it's just a character. he said in an interview that the upcoming album will be his last album as "The Weeknd". he said that he'll still make songs, but as Abel, not as The Weeknd. the last album will be his last hurrah as The Weeknd. i hope this somehow gave answers to your questions and confusions. have a good day, and God bless us all! 🙏✨
I hope he drops it next year and not now because i want him to take his time since this is his most important project so far, it's like a break it or make it moment for him to climb over the bar he set for himself.
Cinema Paradiso , Everthing fades , Everything Will Fade Abel will go back into his past his childhood , and explore the places that made him who he is and that is truly what paradise is, going to be fun, paradise is heaven . Get ready🚗
I honestly think the reason why he’s touring so much compared to the average superstar is because he want this last album to be a big bang and need the budget to do it
Damn bro we getting old. Kendrick released his last album with TDE. J Cole’s last album is on the way. Eminem just dropped his last album. Ye apparently just retired but he’s Kanye so anything is up in the air. The Weeknd era is ending. No more daft punk. It’s like when our parents talk about the 70s or the 80s and when we were young we were like yeah yeah whatever. But now when we get a little older and have kids we’ll be talking about the 10’s and the 20’s and it’ll all mean so much to us but our kids won’t ever fully understand it. Damn man
I remember when I first listened to Dawn FM, and it was such an immersive and transcending experience, so my expectations for the third album is really high!! can’t wait!!
I think that maybe since The Weeknd is going to be closing out, he may start doing more interviews, fun stuff like GQ my essentials and things like that, The Weeknd is a mystery maybe Able won’t be,what do you think?
I hope he goes full circle and gives us some songs that pay homage to his earlier albums! Those dark tunes like The Birds Part 1 were amazing and unique!
I despise boring stage names, no one has exciting names anymore its just their birth names so im kinda sad with the name change but i support abel no matter what
Interesting thread, Abel covered a famous song in the form of Dirty Diana for Echoes of Silence which was the third chapter in the original Trilogy, so its not unimaginable that In Heaven could appear on this new Trilogy's third act.
Its been a phenomenal ride! Cant wait to see how he ends this trilogy! Im also excited to see how he debuts Abel Tesfaye to us. Also can't wait till the American tour dates drop. Im telling yall!! If u have never saw the weeknd live GO TO HIS NEXT SHOW IN YOUR CITY!! Its well worth it ive never been let down from his concerts and the last one was one of the best concerts ive ever seen in my life it was a magical night. I went to the show in jersey at metlife stadium i habe a video from that concert on my page the crowd was amazing 90 percent of the crowd sang along all night. A great crowd makes a concert so much better and it rained that night but it was perfect rain and with weed being legal in jersey they let us smoke in there which made the vibe even better! Night was so great he Abel even said. Ive performed all over but this night I will always remember you couldn't pay for shit like this. The rain, the energy from you guys, the good smelling weed in the air, this night has been magical i love you guys thank you new jersey and new york you guys always show so much love to me. Lol sorry for long message i got caught up lol that night was so fuckin great shit he gave me an alleyopp to my girl that was our 3rd date night lmao i got the yams for the first time that night and got asked to be her man a week and a half later ctfu now we just bought a condo together lol appreciate the lob Abel
It is important to note that in that statement he made about his forthcoming album being his "last hurrah".............that he still said he was unsure whether he'd release music after the fact as Abel or as The Weeknd: before adding that he thinks the reason he wants to "kill" The Weeknd is because he's "said everything I can say". So there's still some ambiguity and open-endedness there. That suggests that if Abel suddenly got some inspiration for how to broaden the story of The Weeknd without cheapening it or making it run stale..............he'd still be open to embracing it. Heck: he promised very recently to retire features on other artists' tracks, but rescinded on that vow earlier this year JUST so he could diss Drake and OVO on Metro Boomin's album. So the point here is: take everything he says with a grain of salt. That said: as far as albums are concerned, I'm pretty sure this will be the last The Weeknd album for a long time, if not necessarily forever, period.
I hope it has the same success as after hours.album roll out story telling and character appearing in shows , concerts anthology stuff like that Also Take me back to La was meant to be on After Hours but got scrapped and then many leaks of it appeared then they all recently got taken down. Which means it’s coming on the new album
Interesting about Saint Paul post is that now he posted about his show in Brazil that is going to be in São Paulo (which translates to Saint Paul). The pic on min 13:00 also has the Brazilian flag at the end of the quote
I hope it has a futuristic sound, similar sounding to his verse on Future and Metro’s “Always be my Fault”. I would love Yeat, Lil Uzi Vert, Travis Scott, Future, and Kid Cudi as features
