Introducing: mgk.
The artist has officially changed his name on all major music streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Tidal. His display name also now reads mgk on X, though his verified Instagram handle is still @machinegunkelly.
The change comes after fans implored him to change his name to one that doesn't "glorify machine guns," as BuzzFeed notes. The outlet adds that the singer, whose given name is Colson Baker, once flirted with the idea of going by simply "Machine," but mgk seems to be the final decision.
MGK on the red carpet
In addition to changing his stage name, mgk made a major change to his body. On Feb. 20, the singer debuted a blackout tattoo covering many of the previous tattoos he had on his shoulders and torso. "For spiritual purposes only," he captioned an Instagram photo of the new look.
Interestingly, mgk's photo debuting the new tattoo elicited a flirty comment from an unexpected fellow star. Joe Exotic, of Tiger King fame, commented on mgk's Instagram post, writing, "A tiger and a bit of meth and you would be mine. Lol." And that's not all—he reposted the photo to his own Instagram grid, too, writing that he could "make mgk gay." Exotic later issued an apology for the post while simultaneously urging mgk to help get him out of prison.
For his part, mgk hasn't issued a statement as to whether the name change is a response to fans' concerns about gun violence. (He also hasn't responded to Exotic's statements.)
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