The Weeknd has seemingly gone back on his plans to retire the moniker, telling fans at a recent show that he will “never disappear”.
The artist, real name Abel Tesfaye, has been releasing music as The Weeknd since 2011, and dropped his sixth album under the name, ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’, in January 2025.
That record was the final instalment in his ‘Blinding Lights’ album trilogy – following 2020’s ‘After Hours‘ and ‘Dawn FM‘ – and planned to be his last LP under the moniker.
Discussing his plans to retire his stage name, the singer and actor previously explained why he was ready to move on from that chapter.
“It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for,” he said at the time. “I feel like it comes with so much. You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race… It never ends until you end it.”
He went on to reference his 2022 performance at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles – where he abruptly cancelled the show halfway through, having lost his voice in the middle of a performance of ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ – saying that he wanted to end things while it felt like he was at his peak.
“Don’t overstay at the party – you can end it now and live a happy life,” he added, clarifying that he wasn’t quitting music altogether. “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.”
Now, while on his latest tour, Tesfaye has seemingly changed his stance on “retiring”, and said that he won’t be mixing things up anytime soon regarding the name and live performances.
“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 Weeknd said in Stockholm.
The Weeknd kicked off the European leg of his ‘After Hours Til Dawn’ tour in Copenhagen last month, shortly after playing two dates at Manchester’s Etihad Stadium.
NEVER! The Weeknd said he took a break but didn’t like the feeling. And that it will never disappear again. 🇸🇪 pic.twitter.com/qsqqvWm9ul
— QG The Weeknd (@QGTheWeeknd) August 8, 2026
The run has become the highest-grossing tour ever by a male solo artist since its launch in 2022, surpassing $1billion (£740million) in gross revenue and selling more than 7.5million tickets.
Production at the show includes a 40-foot gold sculpture created by Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama, the largest fine-art commission ever created for a live concert production, and the staging also features sprawling golden ruins, immersive visuals, lasers and flames.
The Weeknd will return to the UK later this month for five nights at Wembley Stadium on August 14, 15, 16, 18 and 19, before heading to Ireland for two shows at Dublin’s Croke Park on August 22 and 23. Find any remaining tickets here.
After the European run, the tour will continue into Asia, with the final dates scheduled in Tokyo, Jakarta, Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.
The dates continue The Weeknd’s partnership with Global Citizen, with a portion of every ticket sold going towards education access for underprivileged children and food relief. To date, he has donated more than $8.5million to the XO Humanitarian Fund and Global Citizen through the tour.
