The Weeknd now goes by Abel Tesfaye after saying he wants to 'shed' stage name and 'be reborn'

It appears the Weeknd has begun the process of "killing" his stage name.

The Canadian musician and actor has changed his name to Abel Tesfaye, his birth name, across his media accounts after previously stating that he wanted to "kill" his stage name and "be reborn."

Tesfaye told W Magazine earlier this month that his upcoming album is "probably my last hurrah as the Weeknd." "I'm going through a cathartic path right now," he said. "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. I'm definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn."

"The album I'm working on now is probably my last hurrah as the Weeknd," the Grammy winner added. "This is something that I have to do. As the Weeknd, I've said everything I can say."

Tesfaye is set to make his TV debut with the upcoming HBO drama The Idol (out June 4), which he co-created with Euphoria creator Sam Levinson and Reza Fahim, centered on an aspiring pop idol (Lily-Rose Depp) and her relationship with a cult leader and self-help guru (Tesfaye). He told W that he recently lost his voice during a concert, and that his role in the series may have been to blame.

"My theory is that I forgot how to sing because I was playing Tedros, a character who doesn't know how to sing," Tesfaye said. "I may be looking too deeply into this, but it was terrifying. As the Weeknd, I've never skipped a concert. I've performed with the flu. I'll die on that stage. But there was something very complicated going on with my mind at that moment."

He also somewhat addressed allegations of chaos onset from staffers who claimed production turned into a "shit show" amid reshoots and creative overhauls following original director Amy Seimetz's departure. "Film and TV is a new creative muscle for me," Tesfaye said. "I don't release my music until I think it is great. Why would this be any different? I realized that I need to know that I've made the best version of whatever I'm making. It was a challenge to redo The Idol, and, in truth, I sacrificed my health and home to make it work."

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• The Weeknd trolls report of chaos on The Idol set: 'Did we upset you?'
• The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp star as Hollywood's 'sleaziest love story' in racy The Idol teaser