The Weeknd Breaks Interview Silence, Explains If He’s Deliberately Mysterious

Toronto, Ontario singer The Weeknd has not done interviews since his rise to mainstream success and a major label contract with Universal Republic Records. The Drake affiliate recently broke his silence with Complex magazine. Initially asked about the wall from interviews, the 23-year-old admitted, “I felt like I had nothing to say. I still feel I have nothing to say. I’m the most boring person to talk to.”

On the cusp of releasing his Kiss Land studio debut next month, The Weeknd also revealed if his label is pressuring him to promote his releases through more press. “[2012’s] Trilogy was a re-release, but [Universal Republic Records] still said, ‘Maybe you should do some interviews.’ Honestly, I want to do interviews now because it’s one thing that I haven’t mastered.” He continued, pointing to several of his inspirations. “Even Prince did interviews. Michael [Jackson] did interviews. And I can tell in the interviews they’re uncomfortable. Why are they doing this? Because they feel like they have to do it to be a complete artist. I felt like this was my time.”

While The Weeknd is challenging his comfort zones, Complex pressed if his veil of silence was deliberate. “Yes and no,” the vocalist born Abel Tesfaye answered about a self-imposed air of mystery. “In the beginning, I was very insecure. I hated how I looked in pictures. I just fucking hated this shit, like, crop me out of this picture right now. I was very camera-shy. People like hot girls, so I put my music to hot girls and it just became a trend. The whole ‘enigmatic artist’ thing, I just ran with it. No one could find pictures of me. It reminded me of some villain shit. But you can’t escape the Internet. There are super-fans, and I was really testing their patience. At the end of the day you can’t deny the music. That was my whole thing: I’m going to let the music speak for itself.”

Kiss Land is planned to release August 27 on Universal Republic Records.

Read the full three-page Weekend interview with Complex.

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