Canadian singer The Weeknd appears to be kissing his stage name goodbye after he began using his birth name on social media.
Although his usernames on Twitter and Instagram remain “theweeknd”, the 33-year-old R&B star’s display name now reflects his original name, Abel Tesfaye.
It comes one week after he told W Magazine he was considering retiring his stage name after more than a decade performing under the pseudonym.
“I’m going through a cathartic path right now,” he said in the interview. “It’s getting to a place and time where I’m getting ready to close The Weeknd chapter.”
The Weeknd has used his stage name since he dropped out of college to become a musician.
The singer has had success on the music charts with five studio albums and a string of hits, including Blinding Lights, Starboy and I Feel It Coming. In April 2023, he became the first artist in Spotify history to hit 100 million monthly listeners, the streaming platform confirmed to Variety.
