In the world of pop stars, it’s not unheard of for a major established artist to change their name, their showbiz moniker, in the middle of their career.
Prince became a Symbol (or the Artist Formerly Known as Prince.)
In the midst of a contractual dispute with Warner Bros. in 1993, he changed his stage name to the unpronounceable symbol
(known to fans as the “Love Symbol”) and was often referred to as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (or TAFKAP) or simply The Artist.
Sean Puffy Combs became Diddy/Puff Daddy or all of the above.Combs Global?
Cat Stevens Became Yusaf in 1977 when he converted to Islam.
Is The Weeknd Changing His Name?
And now, here in 2023, arguably the biggest pop star ever, Canada’s The Weeknd seems to be on the same path.
Abel Tesfaye launched his career more than a decade ago by releasing music under the mysterious stage moniker The Weeknd. But after scooping more than a dozen Billboard Music Awards, four Grammy Awards and billions of streams in the years since, it sounds like he might be ready to say goodbye to the bad guy.
“I’m going through a cathartic path right now. It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter,” the singer told W Magazine in a new cover story alongside his The Idol co-star Lily-Rose Depp. “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 Weeknd has been declared the most popular musician on the planet, according to statistics collected by Guinness World Records. Apparently, The Weeknd blew all the competition away. Guinness said that “no one else even comes close.” He has 111.4 million monthly listeners as of March 2023.