We all have our favorite singers, and of course we know them by the names attached to their albums. But what about their careers before they hit it big? Here are 5 musicians that went through a little rebranding before their big break:
Nicki Minaj – Not only does her music includes various personas, Minaj was actually born as Onika Tanya Maraj on December 8, 1982 in Trinidad. She was raised in Queens, New York with her mother. She graduated from La Guardia High School. She originally released her music on her Myspace profile as Nicki Maraj. When she was signed with Dirty Money in 2007, she changed her stage name to Nicki Minaj.
Lady Gaga – Stefani Germanotta was born on March 28, 1986 in New York. Germanotta always had an interest in music and the performing arts. At age 17, she began attending New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with the Collaborative Arts Project 21. She remained there for a year before dropping out to focus entirely on her own music career. In 2006, Germanotta decided on the stage name Lady Gaga, inspired by Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga.” She worked as a songwriter for Famous Music Publishing until securing her own deal with the singer Akon. Her first album, The Fame, was released in August of 2008.
Lana Del Rey – Sure, we’ve all heard of this sultry singer with a haunting 60’s vibe, but what about Elizabeth Grant? Grant, the woman behind the character was born on June 21, 1985 in New York. She didn’t make her transition straight from Elizabeth to Lana, though! In the beginning of her career, Grant recorded an album titled “Sirens” under the pseudonym May Jailer. It wasn’t until 2012 that she released her first full album “Born to Die” as Lana Del Rey.
Katy Perry – Katheryn Hudson was born on October 25, 1984 in California. She obtained her GED at age 15 and left high school in hopes of a music career. Her first album was a Christian album, self-titled Katy Hudson. It was released in 2001. After it’s lack of success, Perry began writing different music. She signed with Capitol Music Group as Katy Perry in 2007, and her first album One Of The Boys was released in 2008.
Ryn Weaver – Weaver, born Erin Michelle Wütrich on August 10, 1992 in California, is in the beginning of her career. Much like Lady Gaga, she attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. After 2 years, she dropped out and focused on her own music career. Upon dropping out, she moved to Los Angeles. It was there that she met Benny Blanco, a well known producer. After showing him her work, he helped her release “OctaHate” on Soundcloud, Weaver’s first single under her pseudonym. Her EP “Promises” was released on August 8, 2014.
Who are your favorite stage-named artists? Let us know on Twitter, @HCPointPark!