The Weeknd doesn't usually disappear for long stretches of time. No more than two years separate almost every album he has released since 2011, barring the nearly four-year space between 2016's Starboy and 2020's After Hours - but even that saw the release of My Dear Melancholy in 2018.

The 34-year-old music star – whose real name is Abel Tesfaye – admits he could soon walk away from his stage name and move on to a new phase of his career. Tesfaye has been performing as The Weeknd since 2010, when he first gained attention through anonymous YouTube uploads.

The Weeknd is ready for a change. As the release of new album Hurry Up Tomorrow approaches, the 34-year-old hitmaker is saying it will most likely be his last under the persona that made him a star. In a new Variety cover story published Friday (Jan.