The Weeknd Announces He Will No Longer Feature Other Artists

While performing in Poland during his After Hours Til Dawn Tour, Canadian singer, The Weeknd, announced he would no longer entertain features in his career.

“The final feature…unless Daft Punk ever got back together” tweeted Abel Tesfaye, professionally known as The Weeknd.

On August 9th, Tesfaye took the stage, looked to the crowd, and said, “I just wanna say, this, this is gonna be the last feature I ever do, ever in my career, so I wanna perform it for you guys tonight.”

Two days later, he posted a clip of his performance to X, formerly known as Twitter, which led fans into a frenzy within his comment section trying to speculate who the track would feature. Nearly a month later, fans got their answer when Diddy released his new LP, The Love Album: Off The Grid, on September 15th. His song, “Another One of Me”, which features 21 Savage and French Montana, also features Tesfaye in what he says will be his last collaboration.

“The Weeknd is one of the great serial collaborators of this era,” according to Variety. He has collaborated with some of the biggest names in the music industry, such as Ariana Grande, Travis Scott, Future, SZA, and of course, Daft Punk. The list goes on. So what does the future of Tesfaye’s career look like without features? Will he lose his audience? Or will his fans stick by him?

“My opinion is that features make the songs lose their authenticity. Can you imagine Faith, Call Out My Name, [or] Afterhours with a feature,” says a Tesfaye fan on Reddit. “Part of the appeal of The Weeknd is people coming to hear raw unfiltered real shit. Most artists nowadays are just chasing hits with hooks and bumble gum pop music.”

The Weeknd creates music in a way other artists can not execute and his fans are fully aware of that. Teen Vogue discusses the “5 Ways The Weeknd Is Redefining Music”, saying “He’s a true starboy.” He is described as “exactly what pop music needs right now” as he provides this uniquely appealing approach to music with his exploration of sound, a blending of genres, and the vulnerability within his lyrics that allows him to remain the groundbreaking artist that he is.

It is safe to say that The Weeknd’s fans do not plan on going anywhere. His fluidity between genres, lyricism, incorporation of classical music, and unconventional yet addictive sound is what keeps them around— what makes him a legend.

When you take a look at The Weeknd’s Billboard chart history, you can see his success in numbers. Tesfaye has had a total of 7 number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Of the seven, only two had features, both being songs with Ariana Grande.

“Those seeking a hit tend to increase their chances by getting Abel Tesfaye to sing on their tracks,” said Chris Deville in an article for Stereogum. The question, then, is not whether Abel’s career will be impacted without features, but whether other artists will continue to succeed within the music industry without him.

Are you for or against this new direction in The Weeknd’s career? Comment down below.