The Weeknd Describes What Led to His Mental Breakdown on Stage in Los Angeles

The Weeknd has shared new insight into what led him to create his upcoming album, Hurry Up Tomorrow.

Speaking to Variety in a candid interview, the singer shared that he had a mental breakdown and that, in part, led him to create his new album. He revealed that his extensive touring in 2022 led him to take an inner look at himself.

"I knew that I really needed to sit the f--k down and figure out my life," he told the outlet. "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."

The Weeknd added that his voice had failed him for the first time during the tour. After addressing the crowd, his voice cracked, and then as he went on to continue his concert in Los Angeles, his voice had disappeared.

"My body, and specifically my voice, had never failed me before. I'd been onstage with a high fever, completely sick; I'd been onstage in the middle of a breakup or a death in the family; and I'd lost my voice during a performance. But I was always able to fight through it," he told Variety.

He said that no amount of vocal exercises could rescue his voice, and he felt as though he had let down the audience.

"And also, so they could see 'I can't physically give you the show that you paid for.' When I watched the video later, the reaction actually wasn't that bad. But in my head, all I heard was booing and screaming and hate and anger. That's how defeated I felt," he continued.

He noted exhaustion and stress played a big part, but largely, it was a mental breakdown.

"I saw my doctor the next day, and he said, 'There's nothing wrong with you — your [vocal cords] are inflamed, but nothing out of the ordinary,'" he shared. "And that's when we came to the realization that it was all up here."

Now, The Weeknd has channeled those emotions into his Hurry Up Tomorrow album, set to be released on Jan. 24. It is the third installment in his trilogy, following the release of After Hours and Dawn FM. It was preceded by three singles, "Dancing in the Flames," "Timeless" and "São Paulo."

While he has faced his setbacks, The Weeknd does not plan to retire from music anytime soon.

"I don't think I can stop doing that. But everything needs to feel like a challenge. And for me right now, The Weeknd, whatever that is, it's been mastered. No one's gonna do The Weeknd better than me, and I'm not gonna do it better than what it is right now. I think I've overcome every challenge as this persona, and that's why I'm really excited about this film 'Hurry Up Tomorrow' because I love this challenge," he said.

The release of the album comes as The Weeknd's song "Blinding Lights" has been crowned the biggest hit of the 21st century by Billboard. The song spent 57 weeks in the top 10 and peaked at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart.

Tags

The Weeknd, Music