Over the past few years, Abel Tesfaye has made a fuss over his “the Weeknd” stage name, going back and forth about whether or not he’s going to retire it. It looks like he’s not, as he debuted a new Weeknd song called “Rio” in April, and tonight he debuted another one called “Tokyo.”
https://www.tiktok.com/@mementom0rixo/video/7687253119738137889At Japan’s Belluna Dome (not too far from Tokyo), the Weeknd performed “Tokyo” for the first time with Japanese singer Yoko Takahashi. The song samples her track “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis,” which is the opening theme song for the 1995 anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. She then performed that song for his audience while he jammed.
In a new interview with GQ Hong Kong, Tesfaye clarified that no retirement is in his future. “At one point I thought, ‘What if I just stopped?’ But then I realized what a waste all of that inspiration would be,” he said. “I can’t let that happen. I had a glimpse of what retirement looks like, and it isn’t for me. It’s a real privilege to do what I do. There’s nothing else like this job. The gratitude I’ve felt over the last year has been overwhelming. I’m going to keep doing this for as long as I possibly can. The Weeknd isn’t going anywhere.”
Watch clips from tonight below.
