The Weeknd is determined to “continue dreaming”.
The 35-year-old singer – whose real name is Abel Tesfaye – has floated the idea of retiring the Weeknd moniker, but he still has some career ambitions he’d like to achieve.
Asked about the possibility of retiring his stage name, he told the Guardian newspaper: “I haven’t thought that out. It’s not this calculated vision.”
Despite this, The Weeknd is already looking forward to the next chapter in his career.
The chart-topping singer – who stars alongside Jenna Ortega and Barry Keoghan in ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’, the new psychological thriller film – shared: “As an artist, you have duties, and you also have dreams. The key to my longevity is to continue dreaming.
“There is definitely something that isn’t fulfilled for me, and the only way you can go there is if you close a chapter somewhere else.”
The Weeknd is determined to explore his own ancestry in the coming years.
The award-winning star – who was born in Toronto, Canada – explained: “I want to tap into a different part of my life: my heritage.
“I’ve never been to Ethiopia – I can’t imagine what going back to Africa is going to do for me, spiritually, emotionally, creatively. You need to reconnect with everything about yourself.”
Earlier this year, The Weeknd suggested that he felt ready to retire his on-stage “persona”.
The ‘Can’t Feel My Face’ hitmaker told Variety: “It’s a headspace I’ve gotta get into that I just don’t have any more desire for.
“I feel like it comes with so much … You have a persona, but then you have the competition of it all. It becomes this rat race: more accolades, more success, more shows, more albums, more awards and more number ones. It never ends until you end it.”
The singer suggested that he’d “mastered” his Weeknd persona, and was keen to embark on new challenges.
He said: “Everything needs to feel like a challenge. And for me right now, The Weeknd, whatever that is, it’s been mastered. No one’s gonna do The Weeknd better than me, and I’m not gonna do it better than what it is right now.”