In an interview for Apple’s Beats 1 radio station, Canadian singer The Weeknd has admitted that he used to take to the stage intoxicated to help him deal with the nervousness of performing live.
The musician, whose real name is Abél Makkonen Tesfaye, made the revelation in a preview clip of a chat with Zane Lowe on the DJ’s Beats 1 show. The interview is currently airing in full on the station, which is free to listen to through the Apple Music app.
In the conversation, which will finish broadcasting at 2pm Eastern Time, the 26-year-old songwriter behind the just-released Starboy, his third studio album, explained: “I’m not up there lip-syncing. I don’t have back-up dancers … It’s all about me and the microphone.”
You can now head to Beats 1 to enjoy the full interview. And, once you’ve listened to that, you could download the new issue of AppleMagazine to read more about The Weeknd’s Starboy album.