Abel Tesfaye, also known as The Weeknd, who is an Ethiopian Canadian singer, released his last album, Hurry Up Tomorrow, under his stage name on January 31, 2025. A fun fact about his album is that the last song, also called Hurry Up Tomorrow, transitions to the first song he ever released on his first album High For This, back in 2011. He is beginning his After Hours Til Dawn tour from May 9 and wrapping up on September 3, 2025 with Playboi Carti and Mike Dean as special guests on the tour.
Abel has spoken to Variety, an entertainment magazine, explaining that losing his “secret weapon”, which is his voice, on stage in 2022 made him realize that he needed to reevaluate his life. Tesfaye has told us that the loss of his voice was so devastating, as he had performed through breakups, illness, and grief. That night at the concert, however, despite doing many vocal exercises, he was “defeated on the world stage”. In his head, he heard “booing and screaming”, “hate and anger”, but after rewatching a video, he realized it wasn’t that bad. Describing it as a “pinnacle” moment in his life, he said he had mostly finished the album at the time of the “mental breakdown”, but found himself going back to the drawing board as he continued to work on himself, his internal pain, and the sense that “this could all be gone” tomorrow. He continued to say that he began believing he had lost his voice because he had done all he needed to do as The Weeknd and was now “overstaying” the party.
An interview with Variety opens up another reason behind his retirement of the stage name is “to move on and focus on other creative endeavors,” said by the artist. He also has stated that he has felt like he’s mastered the persona of the The Weeknd, and that he’s ready to move on to something new. Clarifying that this does not mean he is quitting music, the singer explains that he is seeking new artistic challenges. Known for his unique persona, he continues to push boundaries, cementing his place as one of the most influential artists of his generation. He is ready to close off for what tomorrow holds going by Abel Tesfaye.
My overall opinion about Hurry Up Tomorrow is that it’s an amazing album to end his persona on. He has The Justice, Anitta, Future, Travis Scott, Florence + The Machine, Playboi Carti, Giorgio Moroder, and Lana Del Rey featured into his album. But, I enjoyed most of the songs on the album but I think my favorite songs for right now is Drive, Baptized in Fear, and Red Terror. I feel as if Abel had shown different messages in all his songs that also have deeper meanings, for example like Red Terror is about the 1976 political repression in Ethiopia.
