The Weeknd is putting retirement plans on hold. During a concert in Stockholm on Saturday, Aug. 8, the R&B superstar — born Abel Tesfaye — revealed that he had experimented with stepping away from his stage persona, but the experience didn't sit well with him.

“I tested retirement a little bit, and I don’t like the way it feels. Imma be here forever with you,” The Weeknd, 36, told the crowd in fan-captured footage shared on social media.

The statement marks a clear reversal from his earlier stance. In a January 2025 Variety cover story, the singer suggested that he was seriously considering ending the Weeknd persona after completing his album Hurry Up Tomorrow. He described a 2022 concert in Los Angeles where he lost his voice mid-show, an event that left him feeling “defeated” and triggered a period of deep reflection.

“I knew that I really needed to sit the f--- down and figure out my life,” he said at the time. “To understand what happened, face it, learn something new and start again. I’d had a kind of a mental breakdown, which is pretty much what this new album’s about.”

That breakdown and the questions it raised about his career led him to think about endings at his peak. “Part of me actually was 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? Put the bow on it: Hurry Up Tomorrow? Now we’re here,’” The Weeknd recounted.

He continued, “When is the right time to leave, if not at your peak? Once you understand who I am too much, then it’s time to pivot.” The singer admitted that the “headspace” associated with his stage name no longer appealed to him. “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.”

Despite those comments, he always insisted that he wasn't planning to walk away from music entirely. “I don’t think I can stop doing that,” he said in the same interview. “But everything needs to feel like a challenge. And for me right now, the Weeknd, whatever that is, it’s been mastered.”

From 'House of Balloons' to global stardom

The Weeknd's rise to fame has been anything but conventional. Born in Toronto to Ethiopian immigrant parents, he first gained attention in 2010 by anonymously uploading tracks to YouTube. His 2011 mixtape trilogy — House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence — became a defining moment in alternative R&B, with its moody production, haunting vocals, and unflinching exploration of hedonism, fame, and broken relationships.

By 2015, he had achieved mainstream dominance with the album Beauty Behind the Madness, which included the chart-topping singles “Can’t Feel My Face” and “The Hills.” The following year, his song “Starboy” cemented his status as a global pop icon.

Over the years, he has released six studio albums, won multiple Grammy Awards, and become one of the best-selling music artists in the world. He also made history in 2021 when his single “Blinding Lights” was named the greatest Hot 100 song of all time by Billboard, beating out classics like The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” and Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together.”

A shift in musical style and identity

With each album, The Weeknd has evolved sonically and thematically. His earlier work was characterized by a dark, cinematic R&B sound that often leaned into themes of isolation and excess. Later projects such as Starboy (2016) and After Hours (2020) saw him incorporate more new wave, synth-pop, and dance influences. After Hours was particularly notable for its cohesive 1980s-inspired aesthetic and the massive success of “Blinding Lights” and “Save Your Tears.”

In 2022, he released Dawn FM, which he described as a “new chapter” and a sonic journey that felt like being stuck in purgatory. The album featured spoken-word interludes by Jim Carrey and guest appearances from Tyler, the Creator and Lil Wayne. Fans saw the project as another evolution in his constantly shifting musical identity.

The voice loss that changed everything

The 2022 Los Angeles concert incident, which saw The Weeknd lose his voice after just one song, was a turning point in his career. He had been performing on a huge stage with a broken sound system, and the pressure of the moment led to vocal strain.

In the aftermath, he canceled several shows and eventually underwent vocal surgery. The experience deeply affected him, and he later admitted it made him question whether he had reached the end of what he intended to say as the Weeknd.

“I got to a point where I felt like I wasn’t really there,” he told Variety in January 2025. He explained that the Weeknd persona, which had once been a shield and an artistic identity, had become increasingly difficult to separate from his own sense of self.

The 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' era

His latest album, Hurry Up Tomorrow, arrived on Jan. 24, 2025, and was introduced as the final chapter in his musical trilogy that began with After Hours and continued with Dawn FM. The album was released alongside a film of the same name, which was directed by Trey Edward Shults and featured The Weeknd, Jenna Ortega, and Barry Keoghan.

The project was widely interpreted as a closing statement to his era as the Weeknd. In interviews, he spoke about wanting to push himself into new creative spaces and eventually create music under his birth name or another alias.

The Stockholm statement and what it means

At his Aug. 8 concert in Stockholm, The Weeknd seemed to reverse that narrative entirely. By telling fans he “tested retirement” and didn’t like it, he signaled that his connection to the stage name and the music it has produced might remain a permanent part of his life. He also suggested that he intends to continue performing and recording for the foreseeable future.

This shift is consistent with his earlier on-and-off comments about retiring. In May 2025, he told People, “Have I started? Yeah, it’s getting there. I mean, I’m on tour right now, so I can’t fully retire it.” The wording suggested a gradual transition, but also visible hesitation.

His latest words to fans in Stockholm, “Imma be here forever with you,” are a strong indication that he no longer wants to distance himself from the Weeknd identity. Instead, it appears that he has found a renewed sense of purpose in the music and the bond he shares with his audience.

A legacy still being written

The Weeknd has always been an artist who prefers to keep his audience guessing. His anonymity in the early years was a key part of his mystique, and he has rarely given straightforward explanations for his creative decisions.

At 36, he remains at the height of his career, both commercially and artistically. His stadium tours continue to sell out, and his music continues to dominate streaming platforms. The idea of retiring the Weeknd might have seemed logical as a way to avoid stagnation, but his own words at the Stockholm show suggest that he feels there is still more to do.

Whether he ultimately changes his mind again remains uncertain. But for now, his fans can take comfort in his promise that he isn’t going anywhere. As he said himself, “Tested retirement a little bit, and I don’t like the way it feels.”

The Weeknd’s decision to shelve retirement plans also echoes a broader conversation within the music industry about the relationship between artists and their personas. Many musicians have reinvented themselves or retired stage names before re-embracing them later. It has become clear that The Weeknd is prepared to evolve without necessarily disappearing.

Source:MSN News