Fans only just discovering meaning behind The Weeknd's name
Millions of fans worldwide have spent years streaming and belting out hits like "Blinding Lights" and "Starboy", captivated by the Weeknd's distinctive sound. However, with the recent announcement that the pop sensation is rebranding himself by ditching his iconic stage name, many are only now uncovering the origins of the moniker he's used for 15 years.
The Weeknd boasts an impressive list of achievements, including holding the title for Spotify's most streamed track of all time with "Blinding Lights", which has racked up an astonishing 4.6 billion streams. Additionally, 22 of his songs have also surpassed the billion-stream mark on the platform.
Born Abel Tesfaye, the Canadian artist has decided to return to his birth name after facing mental health struggles following a breakdown at the end of his "After Hours Til Dawn" tour.
Embarking on a journey of self-discovery led him to question the persona that catapulted him to global stardom, and whether it truly represented him. In an interview with Variety, he confessed: "It's a headspace I've gotta get into that I just don't have any more desire for. 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: more accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards and more No. 1s. It never ends until you end it", reports the Irish Star.
As he rebrands himself under his given name, fans are only now discovering the story behind the stage name that propelled him to fame. The tale of The Weeknd's rise to fame stretches back to his Toronto childhood, long before he became a streaming sensation.
In a revealing Q&A session with fans on Reddit, the artist born Abel Tesfaye recounted: "I left home when I was about 17, dropped out of high school and convinced Lamar [XO crew member] to do the same."
He detailed their bold move: "We grabbed our mattresses from our parents, threw them in our friend's s****y van and left one weekend and never came back home. I hated my name at the time, though, so I tried it as a stage name. It sounded cool."
The unusual spelling of The Weeknd was born out of necessity after finding another band had already snapped up 'The Weekend. ' If not for this Canadian namesake, his moniker as we know it might never have come to be.
Meanwhile, Abel has been grabbing headlines with his upcoming thriller film "Hurry Up Tomorrow". The movie follows a fictionalised version of himself dealing with severe insomnia and a mental collapse.
The narrative draws inspiration, albeit loosely, from a real-life incident where Abel lost his voice mid-show at SoFi Stadium with 80,000 spectators watching. However, the film portrays an "interpretation" of how things might have unwound had he lost it all.
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