The Weeknd Had a ‘Mental Breakdown’ After ‘The Idol’

The Weeknd AKA Abel Tesfaye is reflecting on the tumultuous production and controversial reception to “The Idol.”

The 2023 HBO series starred Tesfaye as a sleazy club owner turned music manager who becomes entangled in the life of a pop star (Lily-Rose Depp). Sam Levinson co-created the series with Tesfaye.

Tesfaye told Variety that a scheduling overhaul in production led to him balancing an international music tour with filming the show.

“I just think it was the last straw, man,” Tesfaye said of the change. “There was a lot of self-imposed pressure: flying to L.A. between concerts, getting into character, shooting, and then flying back for the next show.”

After the series wrapped and Tesfaye later lost the use of his singing voice temporarily, he said that he “knew that I really needed to sit the fuck down and figure out my life, to understand what happened, face it, learn something new and start again.”

“I’d had a kind of a mental breakdown, which is pretty much what this new album’s about,” Tesfaye said, citing his upcoming album “Hurry Up Tomorrow,” out January 24, and subsequent film of the same name. The feature will be in theaters May 16 from Lionsgate, with “Hurry Up Tomorrow” being billed as a suspense thriller starring Tesfaye, Jenna Ortega, and Barry Keoghan, with Trey Edward Shults directing. Shults co-wrote the film with Tesfaye and his “Idol” co-writer Reza Fahim.

Looking back on his first cinematic endeavor “The Idol,” Tesfaye admitted that the criticism of the series “felt personal.”

“We had a great cast and great crew. I made some really great friends, and I love seeing everybody thriving,” he said. “I’m really proud of it — we all are. It’s unfortunate that, you know, it wasn’t met with the warmest [response], but we knew what we were making — something provocative and dark. Maybe it could have been told in a different way, maybe not. It was bigger than I expected. Not everything you put out is going to connect, and that’s fine. If it doesn’t, then, it was a time.”

Tesfaye added, “Believe it or not, none of [the criticism] felt personal. Of course, it gets to you — I’m not saying I wasn’t affected by it; I’m saying I didn’t take it personally. Like, nobody’s out to get you, you know? I love reading criticism, even if some of it didn’t feel constructive. I’m not expecting everybody to love ‘Hurry Up Tomorrow’ either. Some people might hate it, but that’s not why I’m doing this. I’m doing it because I’m an artist; it’s how I feel, and this is what I want to say.”