For months, The Weeknd has been preparing fans for what many thought might be the final chapter of his music persona — a project that could close the book on over a decade of enigmatic artistry. But with the release of “Hurry Up Tomorrow”, both as a film and an album, Abel Tesfaye is leaving the door open: maybe it’s the end — or maybe it’s just the beginning of someone new.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Tesfaye addressed the speculation head-on.
“I’ve thought about ending The Weeknd before,” he admitted. “But maybe this is a rebirth. Who knows?”
The Weeknd burst onto the scene in 2011 with House of Balloons, cloaked in mystery and dripping in moody R&B. Over the next decade, he became one of the defining pop artists of his generation — collecting Grammy wins, billions of streams, and critical acclaim for albums that blended genre, darkness, and vulnerability.
The inspiration for “Hurry Up Tomorrow” came from a real-life crisis: the night Tesfaye suddenly lost his voice during a stadium show in 2022.
“That moment unlocked something,” he said — a point of reckoning that led him to explore identity, fame, and burnout in the form of a psychological thriller.
In the film, Tesfaye plays a fictionalized version of himself spiraling into existential confusion, guided by a mysterious figure named Anima, portrayed by Jenna Ortega. He co-wrote the script with Trey Edward Shults and Reza Fahim, and also served as lead actor and producer.
Tesfaye has long hinted at feeling exhausted by his stage identity.
In a past interview, he confessed:
“It’s an endless chase — more awards, more No. 1s, more shows. It never stops... unless you stop it yourself.”
“Hurry Up Tomorrow” may not be a goodbye. But it’s certainly a pause, a mirror, and perhaps a map toward whatever — or whoever — comes next.