It seems The Weeknd is considering a Ye-style name change after he revealed plans to drop his surname, Tesfaye, and legally change his full name to just Abel.
The ‘Blinding Lights’ singer posted a string of tweets yesterday (3 April), teasing fans with the news.
Taking to Twitter, he wrote: “You guys are hilarious. I feel like I should change my stage name to ABEL at this point lol.”
In a further tweet, he pondered: “Maybe pull a YE and just legally change my name to ABEL. no last name. Like Madonna or Cher or Prince. I don’t know it seems like a lot.”
The Weeknd is of course making reference to Kanye West’s own name change to Ye - which was announced back in 2018; and made official by a judge last year.
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The Grammy winner then went on to consider how his name would be written, relating it to his former stage name.
Even John Legend chimed in, giving his support for the possible change.
His fans also weighed in on the news, with one writing: "DO IT YOU WON'T."
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Another replied: "Yes ABEL."
A third wrote: "Yes bring back ABELXO," in reference to his Canadian record label, founded back in 2011.
However, some weren't so keen on the name change.
One person replied: "No. The Weeknd is iconic."
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Another agreed, adding: "We love The Weeknd."
Nearly a decade ago, The Weeknd revealed how his stage name came about in a Reddit AMA.
He explained that his album House of Balloons, released back in 2011, was originally going to be called ‘The Weekend’.
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However, he ‘hated [his] name at the time’, so chose to take up ‘The Weekend’ as his stage name instead. The A-list singer then had to drop the ‘e’ since there was already a Canadian band going by that name at the time.
Talking to GQ last year, The Weeknd spoke about how he differentiates between his stage name and real name.
“The lines were blurry at the beginning,” he said. “And as my career developed—as I developed as a man—it’s become very clear that Abel is someone I go home to every night. And The Weeknd is someone I go to work as.”
Yesterday, it was announced that The Weeknd won a Grammy for Best Melodic Rap Performance despite boycotting the ceremony.
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The 32-year-old was rewarded for his feature on Ye's song, 'Hurricane'.
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Topics: The Weeknd, Music, Celebrity
Abbi Murray