Like Ye, like Abel.
The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, teased on Twitter that he might "pull a YE" and legally drop his last name to only go by ABEL.
He wrote on April 3, "i feel like i should change my stage name to ABEL at this point lol."
He continued in another tweet, writing, "maybe pull a YE and just legally change my name to ABEL. no last name. Like Madonna or Cher or Prince. I don't know it seems like a lot."
For context, "pulling a Ye" refers to Kanye West's name change. In October 2021, a judge approved Kanye West's request to alter his legal name from Kanye Omari West to simply Ye.
The Weeknd teased fans even more by trying out the possible name reference, adding, "ABEL formally known as The Weeknd ?"
Producer Mike WiLL Made-It supported the "Blinding Lights" singer, writing in response to one of The Weeknd's tweets, "I f--k w it."
The Weeknd shared the origins of his current stage name in a Reddit thread in 2014, explaining that he was originally going to title his first mixtape The Weekend instead of House of Balloons. He ultimately decided to use The Weeknd (without the "e" because a Canadian band already had the name).
"I hated my name at the time though so I tried it as a stage name," he wrote on Reddit. "It sounded cool."
No matter the name, the 32-year-old artist was recently recognized for his talent at the 2022 Grammys. He won Best Melodic Rap Performance along with Lil Baby for a Kanye song titled "Hurricane" that they were both featured on. However, The Weeknd boycotted the award show after he publicly shared his album After Hours was snubbed in 2020. Despite the boycott, but he was still recognized for his talent in "Hurricane."
In an interview with GQ in August 2021, he explained how Abel and The Weeknd are two different people, be he said he could still make music as Able.
"I feel like I already do. My fans don't call me The Weeknd. They just call me Abel," he said. "It's a tricky thing, but I think the name The Weeknd holds such a legacy right now. The story of that name isn't done yet."