Machine Gun Kelly Changes His Stage Name After Over a Decade

Machine Gun Kelly is kiss, kissing his stage name goodbye.

The "Bloody Valentine" singer, whose birth name is Colson Baker, changed his professional moniker to mgk more than a decade after his musical debut.

As of Feb. 29, his artist profiles on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal and YouTube read mgk to reflect the change. Likewise, his name on X—formerly known as Twitter—was switched to the initials MGK, though his @machinegunkelly handle remained the same.

The name change comes more than a year after comedy act Chad and JT petitioned to have "machine gun" from the musician's alias as to not "glorify machine guns." As seen in a September 2022 YouTube video, the duo asked MGK to make the switch at a concert using a large sign, prompting him to ask the audience, "What do you think?"คำพูดจาก ปั่นสล็อตแตกทุกเกม

Though separate fan footage showed MGK—who shares the Machine Gun Kelly nickname with famed Prohibition era gangster George Kelly Barnes—shrugging off the request at the time, the 33-year-old seemingly changed his tune last November. While attending the 2023 GQ Men of the Year event with his fiancée Megan Fox, MGK asked attendees to call him by a new name. 

photosMegan Fox & Machine Gun Kelly: Romance Rewind

"I have a question," he told photographers on the red carpet, as seen in video circulating on social media, "instead of 'Machine Gun,' can you just hit me with the 'Machine' from now on?"

He also posted a screenshot of the interaction on X, writing alongside a talking head emoji, "'machine.'"

Romain Maurice/Getty Images

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However, a name change isn't the only transformation MGK has undergone in recent months. Earlier in February, the rapper revealed that he had covered up most of his tattoos with black ink, debuting the final results in a shirtless photo.

Explaining how the design—large, black geometric blocks that covered most of his arms and chest—took 44 needles to achieve, MGK wrote on Instagram Story that the change is "for spiritual purposes only."

He later hinted at the reasoning behind the cover-up on his track "Don't Let Me Go," rapping, "Just like I wish they would understand me one time / I had a breakdown and tatted my entire body except one line."

But he isn't the only celeb to perform under a stage name. Keep reading to find out the real names of some of Hollywood's biggest stars.

photosView More Photos From Celebs' Real Names