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Kayla Oaddams \/ Stringer via Getty Images, The Hapa Blonde \/ Contributor via Getty Images, Monica Schipper \/ Contributor via Getty Images, Amy Sussman \/ Contributor via Getty Images<\/p>\n
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Serayah McNeill attends the 57th NAACP Image Awards Creative Honors at L.A. LIVE on February 26, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. Odeal attends the Tommy Hilfiger fashion show during New York Fashion Week: The Shows at the Plaza Hotel on September 10, 2026 in New York City. Halle Bailey attends the 86th Annual Peabody Awards at Beverly Wilshire, A Four Seasons Hotel on May 31, 2026 in Beverly Hills, California. Kenyon Dixon attends the 68th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.<\/p>\n
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Musicians know how to get creative as they bend genres, reinvent themselves and occasionally give us stage names that turn award show presenters into nervous wrecks. To be fair, some names are spelled nothing like they sound. Others are surprisingly straightforward, but listeners still add extra letters, move vowels around or confidently create an entirely new person.<\/p>\n
Either way, learning someone\u2019s name is the bare minimum, especially when their music has been sitting comfortably in your \u201cHeavy Rotation\u201d playlist for months. Before you request another song, buy those concert tickets or attempt to introduce your favorite artist during a heated musical debate, let\u2019s make sure you\u2019re saying their name correctly.<\/p>\n
Check out 20 music stars whose names<\/a> are frequently mispronounced below.<\/p>\n 1. kwn<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: Kay-wuhn<\/p>\n No, it\u2019s not \u201cK-W-N,\u201d and you don\u2019t have to stare at the letters until another vowel magically appears. The British singer behind \u201cWorst Behaviour\u201d pronounces kwn like \u201cKay-wuhn.\u201d It\u2019s short, smooth and much easier to say than the spelling might suggest.<\/p>\n 2. 6LACK<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: Black<\/p>\n Some people saw the number six and immediately started calling this man \u201cSix-Lack.\u201d Creative as it may be, it\u2019s definitely not correct. The Atlanta singer\u2019s name is simply pronounced \u201cBlack,\u201d with the number representing his connection to Zone 6 in Atlanta. After multiple albums and several Grammy nominations, we should have this one down by now.<\/p>\n 3. Ayra Starr<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: Eye-rah Starr<\/p>\n Ayra Starr<\/a> has repeatedly clarified that her first name is \u201cEye-rah,\u201d not \u201cAria,\u201d \u201cAir-uh\u201d or whatever spontaneous arrangement of vowels comes to mind. The Nigerian superstar even pointed out that the \u201cR\u201d comes after the \u201cY.\u201d In other words, read what’s there.<\/p>\n 4. Kelela<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: Kuh-luh-lah<\/p>\n Kelela\u2019s name flows almost as smoothly as her music once you know how to say it. Still, people have tried \u201cKay-lay-la,\u201d \u201cKuh-lee-la\u201d and several other unnecessary remixes. The correct pronunciation is \u201cKuh-luh-lah.\u201d Three clean syllables \u2014 no vocal acrobatics required.<\/p>\n 5. Odeal<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: Oh-deal<\/p>\n Odeal\u2019s name is pronounced exactly like \u201cOh, deal.\u201d However, the British-Nigerian singer has undoubtedly heard \u201cO\u2019Dell\u201d\u00a0 or \u201cOh-dee-al.\u201d It\u2019s simply \u201cOh-deal.\u201d<\/p>\n 6. Kenyon Dixon<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: Ken-yun Dixon<\/p>\n Kenyon Dixon has spent years championing grown R&B, so the least listeners can do is stop transforming his first name into \u201cKenya.\u201d It\u2019s \u201cKen-yun,\u201d just as it looks. Put some respect on the singer-songwriter\u2019s name before debating the state of rhythm and blues underneath one of his posts.<\/p>\n 7. Amaarae<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: Ah-muh-ray<\/p>\n First, it\u2019s spelled Amaarae<\/a> and not Amaraae, Amara or Amerie. The rising star has heard enough variations to fill an entire festival lineup. She personally clarified that her name is pronounced \u201cAh-muh-ray\u201d: simple, sweet and short. Amaarae previously broke it down herself<\/a> after admitting people \u201cbutcher\u201d her name.<\/p>\n 8. Elmiene<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: El-mean<\/p>\n If you tried \u201cEl-mee-en,\u201d you were not alone, but you were still wrong. The soul singer pronounces Elmiene as \u201cEl-mean.\u201d His 2023 EP title, EL-MEAN, was practically a free pronunciation lesson. He left the answers on the page, and some of us still failed the quiz.<\/p>\n 9. Halle<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: Hal-ee<\/p>\n Halle Bailey, who uses just her first name for her solo music career, pronounces it \u201cHal-ee,\u201d like fellow actor Halle Berry. It is not \u201cHayley,\u201d no matter how determined people are to sneak another vowel sound in there. Bailey has been singing and acting in front of us for years. Let\u2019s get it correct, folks.<\/p>\n 10. Serayah<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: Suh-rye-uh<\/p>\n Serayah<\/a> has heard \u201cSarah,\u201d \u201cSuh-ray-uh\u201d and likely a dozen other attempts. The singer and actor\u2019s name is pronounced \u201cSuh-rye-uh.\u201d Once you hear it correctly, it sticks, which means there are no excuses when discussing the former “Empire” star.<\/p>\n 11. Kehlani<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: Kay-LAH-nee<\/p>\n Kehlani\u2019s name is not \u201cKeh-lani,\u201d \u201cKey-lani,\u201d or \u201cKay-lane-ee.\u201d It\u2019s \u201cKay-LAH-nee.\u201d The Oakland star has been famous for more than a decade, so anyone still fumbling this one may need to revisit the entire discography as homework. She has even poked fun at it, hopping on the official remix of Jordan Adetunji\u2019s record bearing her name.<\/p>\n 12. Rihanna<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: Ree-ANN-uh<\/p>\n Yes, even one of the most famous women on Earth regularly has her name mispronounced. Rihanna says \u201cRee-ANN-uh,\u201d while many American fans default to \u201cRee-AH-nuh.\u201d She may have graciously answered to both over the years, but only one of them is how the billionaire says her own name.<\/p>\n 13. Zendaya<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: Zen-day-uh<\/p>\n Zendaya has explained this one more than once: It\u2019s \u201cZen-day-uh,\u201d not \u201cZen-die-uh.\u201d The \u201cday\u201d is right there in the middle, waiting patiently to be acknowledged. She has Emmys, blockbuster movies and a few fan-favorite records to her name \u2014 including cuts from the “Euphoria” soundtrack. Pronouncing her name correctly is simply the respectful thing to do.<\/p>\n 14. Foushe\u00e9<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: Foo-shay<\/p>\n The accent mark is trying to help you. Foushe\u00e9 is pronounced \u201cFoo-shay,\u201d not \u201cFoo-shee,\u201d \u201cFow-shay\u201d or \u201cFuchsia.\u201d The New Jersey artist\u2019s genre-defying catalog may be difficult to categorize, but her name does not have to be. We previously gave readers the pronunciation<\/a>, so consider this a refresher course.<\/p>\n 15. NAO<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: Nay-oh<\/p>\n NAO may only use three letters, but that has not stopped listeners from turning her name into \u201cNow.\u201d The British singer pronounces it \u201cNay-oh.\u201d Now, go and stream some NAO since we\u2019ve learned how to correctly say her name.<\/p>\n 16. dvsn<\/p>\n It\u2019s pronounced: Division<\/p>\n