LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: HBO’s ‘The Idol,’ which first debuted at Cannes Film Festival on May 22, premiered on Sunday, June 4. The series narrates the story of a young pop star Jocelyn, played by Lily-Rose Depp. Abel Tesfaye, aka The Weeknd, stars alongside as he makes his acting debut in the controversial series, which is co-written and produced by him.
The Weeknd also updated his official name online as Abel Makkonen Tesfaye - his birth name. The name change came after the Grammy Award-winning singer revealed he wanted to "kill The Weeknd" to W Magazine. "And I will. Eventually. I’m definitely trying to shed that skin and be reborn,” he said.
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'I’m going through a cathartic path right now'
The Weeknd admitted that he is 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." He further added, “The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd. This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.”
He first posed the idea to his fans and followers on Twitter on April 3, 2023, when he wrote, “ABEL formally known as The Weeknd?" Currently, the tweet has over 124K likes. On the other hand, not many know that the singer also has a pretty odd yet interesting nickname that his friends call him by.
Why is The Weeknd nicknamed Diapers?
In an interview with Billboard in 2021, he told the outlet, "They call me 'Diapers' because I always change my mind. La Mar [Taylor, creative director of the Weeknd's XO label] keeps me on track, for example, with music videos and keeping a [consistent] body of visual work. I have a knack to be like, 'I want to do something else. I want to look different. I want to drop more music.' They're there to be like, 'Let's just keep this focused."
The Weeknd discusses the idea behind 'The Idol'
'The Idol', which is created by Euphoria’s Sam Levinson, will be available to stream on Max, Warner Bros’ rebranded service which will launch on May 23. In an interview, Levinson and Tesfaye explained that the show was inspired by the dark side of celebrity. Levinson told W magazine, "Abel came to us with a pitch. He said something that I’ll always remember: ‘If I wanted to start a cult, I could.’ What he meant is that his fans were so loyal and devoted that they would follow him anywhere. That was the germ of the idea for ‘The Idol’: what happens when a pop star falls for the wrong guy and no one speaks up.”
