The Weeknd Said He Was Retiring the Name. Now He Says He Tried It and Hated It

Last year, Abel Tesfaye seemed convinced it was time to move on.Ahead of the release of Hurry Up Tomorrow, he said he planned to retire The Weeknd moniker because he felt he’d outgrown the persona that had defined his career.“I’ve been playing this character for a long time,” he told Variety. “It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for. You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race: more accolades, more success, mor