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Yahoo
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
The Weeknd Teases Possible About-Face on Retiring Stage Persona: ‘It Could Also Just Be a Rebirth'
For the past few months, The Weeknd has been teasing that his sixth album and upcoming movie of the same name, Hurry Up Tomorrow, could mark the end of the unpredictable stage character that has taken over singer Abel Tesfaye's life for more than 15 years. After suggesting to The New York Times recently that the film à clef he wrote, stars in and produced — which eerily matches some of his own career high, and low, points — likely marks his last release as The Weeknd, he told EW that the door is still cracked. Speaking to the magazine at the recent CinemaCon festival alongside director Trey Edward Shults and co-star Jenna Ortega, Tesfaye said the movie (which opens on Friday) feels like the final nail in the coffin of the complex Weeknd character. More from Billboard The Weeknd & Playboi Carti Kick Off After Hours Til Dawn Tour in Arizona: 8 Best Moments Queens of the Stone Age Announce 'Alive in the Catacombs' Concert Film, Album Amyl and the Sniffers, Royel Otis Lead Finalists for 2025 AIR Awards Or, perhaps, it could be the kick-off to a second life? While he has been adamant that he plans to keep making music, Tesfaye told EW, 'It feels like it [the end of the Weeknd]. I mean, I've kind of toyed with the idea in the past with albums,' he added, noting that this isn't he first time he's considered doing away with his sometimes swaggering, sometimes beat-to-a-pulp alter ego. 'But it could also just be a rebirth. Who knows?' he said. In January, Tesfaye, 35, said that he planned to retire his alter ego following the conclusion of the album trilogy that began with 2020's After Hours and includes 2022's Dawn FM and wrapped up with January's Hurry Up Tomorrow. 'It's a headspace I've gotta get into that I just don't have any more desire for,' he said of his stage name at the time. '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.' The Weeknd entered the public consciousness in 2011 when he put out the House of Balloons mixtape and worked to keep his face and identity secret at first, finally revealing himself to the wider world at Coachella in 2012. Flash forward billions of streams and four Grammys later and he's one of the biggest acts on the planet. The movie was inspired by what should have been a triumphant moment that went sideways. Tesfaye has described becoming undone when he suddenly lost his voice completely during a stadium show in L.A. in 2022. In the film, he plays a fictionalized, insomnia-wrecked version of himself, also named Abel, who is taken on a wild ride by alluring stranger Anima (Ortega). 'I tried to make the movie in a way where, for his fans and people who want to approach it at that level, I hope it's very satisfying and you get a good meal out of it,' Shults, who co-wrote the psychological thriller's screenplay with Tesfaye and Reza Fahim told EW in February. The director said that it was an 'absolute possibility' that the project would be the Weeknd's final chapter, adding 'And for people that aren't his fans and don't know anything about him or even care about the final capping of the Weeknd, I think you still have a great movie to go through.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Joey Bada$$ Says Jay-Z Wanted to Manage Him Early in His Career
Joey Badass sat down with Red Bull for a story published Tuesday (May 13), during which he talked about almost signing with Jay-Z's Roc Nation and his relationship with 50 Cent. When he talked about almost signing with Roc Nation back in 2010, Joey blamed it on an old manager and a lack of communication because Jay-Z didn't want to sign him to a label deal, he actually wanted to manage the up-and-coming Brooklyn rapper. 'It was a chain of communication that I didn't have any part in,' he revealed. 'Jay is my favorite rapper, even to this day, and within a year of being in the game, he wanted to sign me. But he didn't want to sign me as an artist, he wanted to manage me. I had a manager at the time and I always wonder if that's how it got botched.' More from Billboard Queens of the Stone Age Announce 'Alive in the Catacombs' Concert Film, Album Amyl and the Sniffers, Royel Otis Lead Finalists for 2025 AIR Awards El Alfa Confirms Retirement With El Último Baile 2025 Farewell Tour Dates Billboard reached out to Roc Nation for comment. He then talked about his role as Unique on Power Book III: Raising Kanan and what he's learned working with the show's executive producer 50 Cent. 'He's a very interesting individual; he surprised me,' Joey said of the Queens mogul. 'Not that I didn't think he was smart, but I think he's much smarter than people may think. His mind is very interesting and very multidimensional. He reminds me a lot of myself, like, how he thinks. It was really dope to have some one-on-one time with him to understand his level of thought.' When it comes to playing Unique — a rival drug dealer to Kanan and his mother Raquel — he says he's in character as soon as he puts on his vintage early '90s clothes on. 'As soon as I land on set and I put them clothes on, it's just time, you know? I'm in there. I'm in that mindset, I'm in that mode. I'm in that frame of thought.' Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Queens of the Stone Age Announce ‘Alive in the Catacombs' Concert Film, Album
Queens of the Stone Age have announced the release of their unique live performance in the Catacombs of Paris as a concert film and album. Recorded in July 2024 and set to be released on June 6 via Matador Records/Remote Control Records, the unique performance saw the rock outfit head beneath the surface of Paris to perform within the sprawling 200-mile ossuary. According to a description of the location, its foundation is built out of 'several million bodies buried in the 1700s,' with many of the walls composed of skulls and bones. More from Billboard Adam David Delivers Teddy Swims' 'Lose Control' on 'The Voice' as Finalists Are Set Blake Shelton Drops 'Texas' on 'Fallon,' Says Post Malone Fueled His Return Amyl and the Sniffers, Royel Otis Lead Finalists for 2025 AIR Awards Frontman Josh Homme had dreamed of organizing such a performance since visiting almost two decades earlier, though was denied permission by the city of Paris, who had never previously allowed a band to play within. However, the respect the band held for the location ultimately resulted in their performance officially being sanctioned. 'The Catacombs of Paris are a fertile ground for the imagination,' said Hélène Furminieux of Les Catacombes de Paris. 'It is important to us that artists take hold of this universe and offer a sensitive interpretation of it. Going underground and confronting reflections on death can be a deeply intense experience. 'Josh seems to have felt in his body and soul the full potential of this place. The recordings resonate perfectly with the mystery, history, and a certain introspection, notably perceptible in the subtle use of the silence within the Catacombs.' The unique nature of the location results in Homme and his bandmates – Troy Van Leeuwen, Michael Shuman, Dean Fertita and Jon Theodore – being backed by three-piece string section as they perform a stripped-back set planned and played with deference to the Catacombs. Recorded live with no overdubs or edits, the performance is paired with the acoustic ambience of dripping water, echoes and natural resonance as atmospheric lighting spotlights the band. 'We're so stripped down because that place is so stripped down, which makes the music so stripped down, which makes the words so stripped down,' Homme explains. 'It would be ridiculous to try to rock there. All those decisions were made by that space. That space dictates everything, it's in charge. You do what you're told when you're in there.' Queens of the Stone Age: Alive in the Catacombs will be available to rent or purchase via the band's website, with an audio-only release to be announced in the coming weeks. Notably, this isn't Queens of the Stone Age's first subterranean gig, with the group previously performing 2,300 feet underground at German salt mine, Erlebnisbergwerk Sondershausen, in November 2007. Originally planned for wider release, the semi-acoustic performance is yet to see the light of day, with the band's split with Interscope Records assumed by fans to be the reason for its indefinite delay. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
