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Musicthe weekndApr 30, 2025

The Weeknd Says It Wasn’t a ‘Physical Injury’ That Caused Him to Lose His Voice Onstage in 2022

The Canadian crooner reflects on his voice giving out and what he wants to do next.

By Precious Fondren
Photo by Pedro Vilela/Getty Images

The Weeknd says losing his voice during a 2022 performance is part of the reason he’s retiring his stage name and persona.

The “Blinding Lights” artist, born Abel Tesfaye, sat down with the Associated Press to reflect on his singing career, his desire to make it in filmmaking, and his upcoming movie Hurry Up Tomorrow, the experimental companion project to his album of the same name. 

In the interview, he says his voice giving out on him during a concert in Los Angeles in 2022 forced him to reconsider the focus of his career. Singing is usually his “super power,” he says, but something changed during that performance.

“I can shut my world off for an hour and a half, two hours, and just lose myself in my performance,” he said. “And when it got to a point where the lines were blurring, it was affecting my stage performance—people spend a lot of money to come to these shows. They save up for a year, and it got a point where I can’t give them what they want, my voice is failing me. And I knew at that moment, I needed to sit down and figure out what was going on up there. Because it wasn’t a physical injury.”

The Weeknd also explains that he feels he’s expressed all he can through his current persona, which is why he’s ready for a new chapter in filmmaking. 

“I was onstage and it’s like I’ve said everything I can say as this person, and now it’s time for me to take that next step,” he said. “And this film was kind of like that guiding light for me.”

Waves director Trey Edward Shults is directing the Hurry Up Tomorrow film. It also stars Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan. 

“This felt a little bit, had a little more joy making it,” he said. “Felt a little but more personal. Idol didn’t really feel like mine at the time. This one felt very much personal and I’m saying this now, that Trey really brought that, and Jenna, of course, brought the joy back into filmmaking. Like, “Yeah, I do want to do this. This is great.”

Hurry Up Tomorrow hits theaters May 16. The Weeknd resumes his After Hours Til Dawn Tour May 9. 

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