Misleading or confusing band names, stage names and pseudonyms

By Wonderwall.com Editors 8:24am PST, Jan 14, 2019

What's in a name? A whole lot of lies for these 18 artists! Wonderwall.com rounded up the music world's most misleading band names, stage names and pseudonyms, starting with Mr. Kylie Jenner… Some rappers look far outside the box when it comes to choosing a stage name. (We're looking at you, Tekashi 6ix9ine.) Others look closer to home. For example, you might know Jacques Berman Webster II by his stage name: Travis Scott. The "Sicko Mode" rapper adopted the name in honor of his favorite relative: his uncle Travis, who occasionally went by the nickname Scott. We know. We're still surprised his real name isn't Travis Scott too. Now keep reading for more surprising, confusing or misleading artist names…

Sofi Tukker shot into the spotlight with the hit single "Best Friend," which was featured in a widely seen commercial for Apple's iPhone X. But it wasn't until we actually saw Sofi Tukker for the first time that we realized something pretty major: The Grammy nominee isn't a female singer but rather a twosome comprised of Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern.

Thought Coachella 2019 headliner Tame Impala was a band? You thought wrong! Tame Impala is actually the stage name of Australian singer-songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Kevin Parker, who writes, performs and produces all of Tame Impala's music, including hit singles "Elephant" and "The Less I Know The Better." When he tours, Kevin plays with a full band, further adding to the confusion.

Eagles of Death Metal isn't a death metal band. The American rock band, which was founded by Jesse Hughes and Queens of the Stone Age frontman Josh Homme, fits more into the rockabilly or alt-rock genres and counts The Eagles as a musical inspiration. According to the band's bio on their official website, "The story goes that a friend was introducing Josh Homme to the death metal genre. When he played a song by the Polish band Vader and made a claim that the song was within the death metal genre, Homme then referred to Vader as 'The Eagles of Death Metal.' After hearing this phrase, he wondered what a cross between the Eagles and a death metal band would sound like. With that, the band was born."

Unless you've been living under a rock, you're probably aware of the fact that Grammy nominee Greta Van Fleet isn't a female singer but rather a rock band comprised of twin brothers Josh Kiszka and Jake Kiszka, their younger brother, Sam Kiszka, and drummer Danny Wagner. Their gender-flipped band name has a nice ring to it, though, doesn't it?

Shockingly, Miike Snow isn't a singer. Or a person. Miike Snow (pronounced "Mike") is the name of a Swedish indie-pop trio comprised of Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg and Andrew Wyatt. You know them from their hits "Animal," "Genghis Khan" and "Black & Blue."

Similarly, Rüfüs Du Sol may sound like the name of one single EDM artist. But no, it's actually the name of an Australian trio comprised of Tyrone Lindqvist, Jon George and James Hunt.

Bob Moses isn't the name of a single male artist. Nope, it's actually the name of a Canadian electronic duo: Tom Howie and Jimmy Vallance.

Louis the Child sounds like it should be the pseudonym for one single DJ, but actually, the "It's Strange" musicians are a duo: Robby Hauldren and Frederic Kennett.

Here's another geographically confusing band name: Portugal. The Man. The group, which was formed in Alaska, isn't even slightly Portuguese. (There's also one lady in Portugal. The Man: background singer and percussionist Zoe Manville.)

Another band with a name that seemingly points to the wrong genre? Manchester Orchestra, which isn't an orchestra at all. The indie rock band is comprised of five main musicians: a lead vocalist who plays rhythm guitar and piano, a lead guitarist who also plays keyboards, a bass guitarist and two percussionists. And get this: They're not British. The group was formed in Atlanta.

Similarly, Tokio Hotel — Heidi Klum's fiancé's band — is a German foursome: Georg Listing, Bill Kaulitz, Tom Kaulitz and Gustav Schaefer. They reportedly chose the name because they love the Japanese capital city (Tokio is how you spell Tokyo in German) and hotels.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra is an American rock band. Founder Paul O'Neill (pictured) said he picked the name because he was inspired by the "beautiful but incredibly harsh and unforgiving" landscape he witnessed during an '80s trip to Russia.

There isn't a single lady in the Barenaked Ladies, and as far as we know, whenever they play live, the "One Week" chart-toppers are all fully clothed. Thank goodness!

If you've ever wondered who "Brock Hampton" is after hearing your favorite DJ give "him" a shout-out on the radio, you might be surprised to learn that Brockhampton isn't a single rapper but rather a Texas-based hip-hop collective.

There's never been a woman in the ranks of the Violent Femmes, an American folk-punk band you might remember from their hit 1983 single "Blister in the Sun."

We've always accepted that Grammy-nominated artist Anderson .Paak was born Anderson Paak (minus the period before Paak). After all, he started his career under the stage name Breezy Lovejoy. But actually, his real name is Brandon Paak Anderson. Confusing, right?

And that brings us to Girls, the late-aughts indie rock duo comprised of two dudes: Christopher Owens and Chet "JR" White.