A pretty big Coachella update today – Kanye West was supposed to be a headliner but has dropped out and is currently taking care of himself, an understandable decision. Over the last few days it’s been rumoured that The Weeknd would replace him and today came the confirmation:
JUST IN: Swedish House Mafia x The Weeknd are Coachella's new Sunday headliner, replacing Kanye West. pic.twitter.com/ez3wV5jIjd
— CONSEQUENCE (@consequence) April 6, 2022
Makes sense. He’s still in the Dawn FM album cycle, releasing a new video just this week (more on that below), and it’s a good warmup for his tour which kicks off this summer.
As for Kanye, as least where The Weeknd is concerned, they were actually linked on Twitter a few days ago by The Weeknd himself. It was Grammy Sunday, he was nominated with Kanye, but we know how The Weeknd feels about the Grammys – they mean sh-t to him now after the After Hours total snub – so on the day of the Grammys, he seemed to be making a point, getting super active on Twitter and replying to fans and tweeting much more than he usually does and even joking but not joking maybe that he’ll be changing his stage name:
you guys are hilarious. i feel like i should change my stage name to ABEL at this point lol.
— Abel Tesfaye (@theweeknd) April 3, 2022
maybe pull a YE and just legally change my name to ABEL. no last name. Like Madonna or Cher or Prince. I don’t know it seems like a lot.
— Abel Tesfaye (@theweeknd) April 3, 2022
ABEL formally known as The Weeknd ?
— Abel Tesfaye (@theweeknd) April 3, 2022
Now everybody’s wondering if he’ll actually do it. I personally hope he does because Abel is just easier to write than The Weeknd and also easier to refer to. And so many of his fans already call him Abel anyway.
But Abel wasn’t just trolling – all of this was in service of promotion and the release of the “Out of Time” video, guest-starring Hoyeon Jung, with a cameo by Jim Carrey whose voice is prominently featured throughout the album. Ever the movie lover, the video is an homage to Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation and then, in signature The Weeknd style, it turns into a horror movie at the end, with all that unsettling grotesque imagery and Jim’s creepy voiceover.
Still, I love the chemistry between him and Hoyeon. I mean, I love her, period, just like everyone else, including Abel, clearly, and now I think I might be shipping them. Abel and Hoyeon look great together, they look fun together. Who’s with me on this?
Also attached – Jim Carrey promoting Sonic 2 yesterday.