(CNN) – The Weeknd is now officially known online by his real name – Abel Makkonen Tesfaye – after implementing plans to update his social media accounts.
On Monday, the Canadian artist’s Twitter and Instagram accounts were updated to show his birth name instead of his stage name.
And the change is part of a broader plan to “kill The Weeknd,” Tesfaye told W Magazine in an interview published May 8.
“I’m walking a cathartic path right now,” he said.
“I’m getting to a point and time where I’m preparing to wrap up 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.”
And Tesfaye revealed his upcoming album could well be The Weeknd’s swan song.
“The album I’m working on right now is probably my last hooray as The Weeknd,” he told W Magazine.
“It’s something I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said all I can say.”
In March, Guinness World Records (GWR) announced that the singer-songwriter is statistically the most popular musician in the world.
The 33-year-old clinched two new Guinness World Record titles. He had the most monthly listeners on Spotify with 111.4 million as of March 20 and was also the first artist to reach 100 million monthly listeners.
According to GWR, the surge in listeners was fueled in part by a remix of “Die for You” starring Ariana Grande going viral on TikTok.
The track peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the seventh time The Weeknd has topped the charts. The original Die for You was released on his 2016 album Starboy.
“Coffeeaholic. Lifelong alcohol fanatic. Typical travel expert. Prone to fits of apathy. Internet trailblazer.”