The Weeknd drops stage name, goes by birth name

Canadian singer-songwriter, The Weeknd, is officially going by his real birth name, Abel Makkonen Tesfaye, by changing his name on social media accounts on Monday, dropping his iconic stage name.

“It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter. I’ll still make music, maybe as Abel, maybe as The Weeknd. But I still want to kill The Weeknd. And I will. Eventually,” said the singer.

The Canadian singer’s upcoming album is going to be his last hurrah as The Weeknd, as has recently broken two Guinness World Records, by being the most artist on Spotify with monthly listeners of 111.4 million, and the first artist to reach 100 million listeners.