The Weeknd has suggested that he might “pull a YE” and officially change his stage name to ABEL.
The Canadian singer-songwriter – real name Abel Tesfaye – took to Twitter last night (April 3) to write: “You guys are hilarious. I feel like I should change my stage name to ABEL at this point lol.”
In a follow-up tweet, the ‘Dawn FM’ star referenced Kanye West‘s recent decision to change his legal name to ‘Ye’ (he appears on the Coachella 2022 line-up under the new moniker) while mentioning other huge acts that go by a single name.
“Maybe [I’ll] pull a YE and just legally change my name to ABEL,” The Weekend said. “No last name. Like Madonna or Cher or Prince. I don’t know it seems like a lot.”
Later, he asked his followers: “ABEL formally [sic] known as The Weeknd?” John Legend subsequently replied, saying that “ABEL is dope” to which Tesfaye responded: “I’m tempted …”.
You can see those tweets below.
you guys are hilarious. i feel like i should change my stage name to ABEL at this point lol.
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) April 3, 2022
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.
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) April 3, 2022
ABEL formally known as The Weeknd ?
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) April 3, 2022
formerly ***** see this is what i’m talking about @Twitter
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) April 3, 2022
i’m tempted … https://t.co/1aKSsA6Tud
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) April 3, 2022
As Complex notes, The Weeknd revealed in an ‘Ask Me Anything’ session on Reddit almost a decade ago that “The Weekend” was originally going to be the title of his 2011 debut mixtape, ‘House Of Balloons’.
“I hated my name at the time though so I tried it as a stage name,” he explained. “It sounded cool. I took out the ‘e’ because there was already a Canadian band named The Weekend (copyright issues).”
During an interview with GQ last summer, Tesfaye was asked to speak about the differences between Abel and The Weeknd. “The lines were blurry at the beginning,” he replied.
“And as my career developed—as I developed as a man—it’s become very clear that Abel is someone I go home to every night. And The Weeknd is someone I go to work as.”
The Weeknd is due to embark on the North American leg of his ‘After Hours Til Dawn’ headline tour this July. See the full schedule and find any remaining tickets here.
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