The Weeknd Dismisses Retirement Rumors, Teases New Era as Abel Tesfaye

Abel Tesfaye spoke to fans at a recent tour stop. He has no plans to retire from music. "I'll never disappear. I love this too much to ever disappear," he told the crowd. "I tested retirement a little bit, and I don't like the way it feels. Imma be here forever with you."

This statement shifts everything. For over two years, public chatter centered on The Weeknd era coming to a close. Tesfaye made his declaration during his After Hours Til Dawn stadium tour, which has crossed $1 billion in ticket sales. It's the highest-grossing tour by a male solo artist in history.

Retirement whispers grew louder before Hurry Up Tomorrow debuted on Jan. 31, 2025. It finished the After Hours trilogy, and it was framed as a potential goodbye to The Weeknd persona. In interviews surrounding the release, Tesfaye described The Weeknd as a character he felt he had exhausted creatively.

He pointed to his 2022 SoFi Stadium performance, where he lost his voice midway through, as a moment that forced him to rethink everything. Past interviews suggested he might shed the stage name and release music under Abel Tesfaye instead.

Hurry Up Tomorrow delivered the biggest opening week of his career. The album solidified the trilogy as one of modern pop's defining achievements.

The After Hours Til Dawn stadium tour launched in 2022, and it will roll through Europe before hitting Asia later this year. His recent words make one thing clear: the story isn't finished. Fans who viewed Hurry Up Tomorrow as the final chapter of his cinematic alter ego now know that more music is coming.