The Artist Formally Known as The Weeknd!

The Toronto-born The Weeknd has changed his name on social media to Abel Tesfaye, which is his given name.

The Weeknd changed his Twitter and Instagram display name to “Abel Tesfaye,” which is his birth name. His profile handles, however, remain “@theweeknd.” 

In the W Magazine interview, Abel explained he was in a “cathartic” period and is “getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter.”

He explains in the article, “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.”

The shift comes weeks before Tesfaye’s television show “The Idol” is set to debut at the Cannes Film Festival.

He’s set to star in the HBO show, which he co-created with “Euphoria” creator Sam Levinson and nightlife entrepreneur-turned-producer Reza Fahim.