Fans have been left reeling after hearing The Weeknd’s speaking voice - and it certainly wasn’t what they expected.
The Weeknd - Abel Makkonen Tesfaye to his mother - is primarily known for his silky smooth vocals, and not many of us have caught a glimpse of what he sounds like during his downtime.
The singer, who turns 35 tomorrow (February 16), released what may well be his final studio album as The Weeknd last month after previously vowing to ‘kill’ his alter ego.
He told W Magazine in 2023: “It’s getting to a place and a time where I’m getting ready to close the Weeknd chapter.
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“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 singer, who hails from Canada and is currently working on a new movie called Hurry Up Tomorrow with Barry Keoghan and Jenna Ortega, sent fans spiralling when they heard what his speaking voice sounds like.
A clip shows The Weeknd speaking softly in a conversation with a fan, asking him where he had travelled from for the show.
"Been a fan of that man since 2012 and I’ve never heard him actually talk till today," one commenter wrote.
Another added: “Okay but why isn’t he depressed…?”
Well, with four Grammys, three MTV VMA awards and a reported net worth of $300 million, I’m not sure The Weeknd has much to feel bad about outside of his moody music.
A third wrote: “The fact that he sounds and looks so much like Trevor Noah is hilarious. You’d think they are siblings.”
While a fourth simply said: “This guy is arguably the most famous singer alive right now and we barely get to hear him speak.”
Once he’s finished his birthday celebrations, The Weeknd will be hoping his upcoming movie will be met with a warmer reception than his much-mocked appearance in HBO’s The Idol.
Hurry Up Tomorrow, set for release next May, is an extension of his album of the same name, which dropped in January.
The official plot description reads: “A musician plagued by insomnia is pulled into an odyssey with a stranger who begins to unravel the very core of his existence.” Blimey.
The movie is based on an original idea by the singer, and is co-written and directed by Trey Edward Shults (Waves, It Comes At Night).
Most importantly though, it might give The Weeknd fans a rare opportunity to hear him speak again.
Topics: The Weeknd, Music, Celebrity
Simon Fearn