Ahead of The Idol release, The Weeknd says he’s working on his last album: ‘I’ve said everything I can say’

The Idol, the upcoming HBO drama series, starring The Weeknd and Lily-Rose Depp will be screened out-of-competition at the Cannes Film Festival later this month. The Weeknd, also known as Abel Tesfaye, is also co-creator of the series with Sam Levinson and Reza Fahim. In an interview, the singer announced that he’s working on his last music album as The Weeknd. (Also read: The Weeknd and Jenna Ortega to star in a mysterious film project)

His previous music album Dawn FM was released last January. In the HBO series, he plays a cult leader named Tedros who owns a popular Los Angeles club and starts dating a young pop singer named Jocelyn (Lily-Rose). While filming the show, The Weeknd lost his voice and had to cancel one of his Los Angeles concerts as a result. He made his acting debut in Josh and Benny Safdie’s Uncut Gems (2019) in which he played himself. He is also set to star in a new film project with Jenna Ortega, which is directed by Trey Edward Shults.

Speaking to W Magazine, the singer-actor revealed he might be ending one part of his musical career, “The album I’m working on now is probably my last hurrah as The Weeknd. This is something that I have to do. As The Weeknd, I’ve said everything I can say.”

He added, “I’m going through a cathartic path right now. 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 has gone through reshoots after director Amy Seimetz left the project in 2022 and Euphoria creator Sam Levinson took over her role. Rolling Stone magazine also published a report about the show’s problems on set involving last-minute script rewrites, a poor working environment and budget issues. After the teaser was released, several Twitter users felt the character of Jocelyn was based on singer Britney Spears.

Actors Dan Levy, Troye Sivan, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Eli Roth, Hari Nef, Jane Adams, Mike Dean, Moses Sumney, Rachel Sennott, Ramsey, Suzanna Son and Hank Azaria are also part of the cast of The Idol.