The Weeknd Says That He Forgot How to Sing After Making The Idol

While The Idol didn't exactly have the best week at Cannes (or with critic reviews for that matter), it finally introduced us to wackadoodle self-help guru Tedros, played by The Weekend (he wants us to call him by his real name, Abel Tesfaye, now). All that buzz surrounding HBO's spicy new show puts the spotlight on the singer and his supposed next creative chapter. That begs the question: will Abel still be singing? As it turns out, even he doesn't know anymore.

The drama, brought to us by Euphoria's Sam Levinson, has apparently been tough on The Weeknd. It tested his own acting sensibilities, as well as his artistic persona. Considering the expectations and troublesome production reports, he did have a lot on his plate. Lest we forget about that bad tweet, too.

Abel had to sacrifice a lot of things for the role. It would take him a while to get into the musical headspace again, so to say. He was so into the titular character that he also lost his voice.

“It was tough to go from one head to another,” Tesfaye said in an interview with W Magazine. “Then, after the concert, I lost my voice. No voice came out at all. That’s never happened before."

ALSO READ:

The Weeknd's Dawn FM Is 2022's Album to Beat

The Weeknd's Next Project Is a HBO Cult Series With the Creator of Euphoria

He added: "My theory is that I forgot how to sing because I was playing Tedros, a character who doesn’t know how to sing. I may be looking too deeply into this, but it was terrifying. As The Weeknd, I’ve never skipped a concert. I’ve performed with the flu. I’ll die on that stage. But there was something very complicated going on with my mind at that moment.”

In The Idol, Abel hoped to look into the motivations that would lead him to become one of the biggest pop stars ever. At the very least, he says that he's looking for The Weeknd again. Although he did make it clear that he wants to "kill" that guy.

“I’m going through a cathartic path right now,” he claimed. “It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close 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.”

The Idol is set to premiere on HBO in June.