Absolutely Explains How Sister RAYE Helped Come Up with Her Admittedly &x27;Kind of Weird&x27; Stage Name (Exclusive) Jack IrvinFri, February 27, 2026 at 6:10 PM UTC 0 AbsolutelyCredit: Han Yang Absolutely's new album Paracosm is out now The British artist comes from a musical family that includes superstar RAYE and fellow singersongwriter Amma While touring with both sisters, Absolutely tells PEOPLE about the making of Paracosm, her stage name, growing up in a musical family and feeling inspired by RAYE's skyrocket to fame Music is in Absolutely's blood.
Absolutely Explains How Sister RAYE Helped Come Up with Her Admittedly 'Kind of Weird' Stage Name (Exclusive)
Jack IrvinFri, February 27, 2026 at 6:10 PM UTC
0
AbsolutelyCredit: Han Yang -
Absolutely's new album Paracosm is out now
The British artist comes from a musical family that includes superstar RAYE and fellow singer-songwriter Amma
While touring with both sisters, Absolutely tells PEOPLE about the making of Paracosm, her stage name, growing up in a musical family and feeling inspired by RAYE's skyrocket to fame
Music is in Absolutely's blood.
Earlier this month, the 22-year-old British singer-songwriter, born Abby-Lynn Keen, released her second album Paracosm, which largely explores the fantastical and imaginative aspects of childhood from an adult lens with a genre-bending sound.
"I'm excited to share it. I think it's really special," she tells PEOPLE of the album, which features the single "I Just Don't Know You Yet" following its viral success last year.
Absolutely comes from quite the musical family. One of her sisters, RAYE, is a global superstar with hits like "Escapism" and "Where Is My Husband?," while another, Amma, is also a musician and songwriter who's worked with artists like JoJo and FLO. [Absolutely is well-aware that RAYE's "Where Is My Husband? and "I Just Don't Know You Yet" share a similar lyrical theme of trusting one's soulmate is out there, and she thinks the timing of their successes is "really funny."]
All three siblings, managed by their father Paul, are currently on a world tour together — and time will tell if their youngest sister, Katelyn, will follow in their footsteps.
In between tour stops, Absolutely sat down with PEOPLE to discuss the making of Paracosm, her stage name, growing up in a musical family and feeling inspired by RAYE's skyrocket to fame.
Absolutely 'Paracosm' album coverCredit: Epic Records
PEOPLE: You were born into a very musical family. Your parents were involved in music for a church worship team, your sisters RAYE (real name Rachel Keen) and Amma (real name Lauren Amma Keen) are professional musicians, and your father manages all three of you. What were your earliest memories of music?
ABSOLUTELY: Everything about my home life was music. My sisters always singing in the house — oh, they're calling me now, both of my sisters. Sorry guys, I'm in an interview. Yeah, lots of singing around the house. My dad would be playing piano, lots of gospel music playing in the house. My dad used to love producing as a hobby and he'd have people coming in and out the house, different musicians, different songwriters. It was really just all I knew.
PEOPLE: Do you remember the moment of realizing you wanted to do it professionally?
ABSOLUTELY: I used to hide away in my bedroom and sing little covers with Smule. That was when I really found a love for singing. I remember asking my dad one time to go in the studio and record with him. I saw that he and my sisters would do that a lot, and I wanted to do that myself, but I was always too shy to ask. We recorded "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper. After that we would be writing songs together, or my dad would teach me how to write songs and I would watch him in the process of recording on Logic. I picked it up myself at 13, started making beats and producing and writing my own songs.
AbsolutelyCredit: Han Yang
PEOPLE: By that time, RAYE was already releasing music. What was it like to watch her get into the big leagues of pop stardom, and how did that inspire what you wanted to do?
ABSOLUTELY: It was so cool. I think my first-ever concert was her opening for Years & Years at the O2 Academy. I just remember being in such awe, seeing all of these people watching her, so amazed, so mesmerized, and just the atmosphere she created with her music. I remember being like, 'Wow, this is so special.' I think it became a subconscious thing — I knew that because she could do it, I could do it. I guess that's why it's been so easy for me to just get on with it and do it without any doubts [or] the limitations and fears that most people would have starting out in music from scratch. I'm really grateful and blessed to have that almost paved for me.
PEOPLE: Your name is Abby-Lynn, and you first debuted under the name áB. Why wasn't that name right for you, and how did Absolutely come to be?
ABSOLUTELY: That name [áB] I left behind because it was really hard to find on DSPs. It's the first two letters of the alphabet, so it's so pushed under by everything else. And it had been such a long time between releasing those projects to figuring out my real sound and who I was, so I felt like it was time for a rebirth. I was asking my family if they had any ideas, and my sister RAYE said, "What about Absolutely?" I was like, "It's kind of weird, but I guess Abby, Absolutely." When I really thought about what the word "absolutely" meant, it's such a definitive word. There's no room for doubt. I wanted to embody that in my artistry, and I felt like that was the perfect name.
PEOPLE: Have you run into confusion given that it's a very common adverb?
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ABSOLUTELY: Yeah, a lot, all the time. I think a lot of people like it, [and] a lot of people are like, "She should change her name," but honestly, I really love it now. It's like The Weeknd or those names that seem weird, but once it works, it works.
PEOPLE: You toured your first album, 2023's Cerebrum, with RAYE. How did it feel to introduce yourself to an audience that already is familiar with your sister?
ABSOLUTELY: That was my first touring experience ever. I remember being really scared. I was crying my eyes out in fear of being on stage. I was so shy, and my whole life just revolved around the music and the creative process. I was just in my own little bubble that I didn't really consider what it would look like stepping out of it until that tour came about. And it was like, "Oh shoot, I forgot that this is what this career path is supposed to look like." But once I did the first few shows, and I got past what looked like a really big obstacle, it actually ended up being really beautiful. Her fans were so warm and welcoming and kind, and I was still very shy and timid, but they were really nice, really lovely. Now I'm on the second tour with her in arenas, which is insane. I'm really falling in love with the art of performing. It's just a whole new world that I get to explore.
PEOPLE: How did you approach Paracosm differently from your first album?
ABSOLUTELY: Cerebrum felt a lot more straightforward, I think. I didn't have as many opinions. I was kind of feeling my way around and just enjoying making music. I let every song be what it was. I would just go in the studio with Dave Hamlin, the producer, and sing on a track, write the lyrics, boom, that's the song. And that was how it was for most of the songs. Or I would just be in my own space in my studio and recording myself. With this album, I thought a lot more intentionally about the whole world, the whole vision and how I wanted it to come together. I wanted everything to mean something and to make me feel something. So, that took a lot longer. And the album had many different versions of itself. I have loads of songs, I couldn't tell you how many, laying in the Dropbox right now that didn't make it. There was a whole other album that was supposed to be out. But my dad always says we should capture each moment before I move past it. Now, it's in a really good place.
PEOPLE: You've said that at one point while making this album you felt stuck in the adult side of your brain and needed to tap into a more childlike side. How did you realize that was necessary, and what did it unlock for you?
ABSOLUTELY: When I was a child and I first discovered music, I wasn't thinking about how anyone would perceive the music or how anyone would understand it or how it would fit in this box. I was just playing around and creating and exploring. And for a second, I forgot what that felt like. I forgot the reason why I started creating music was just because I loved it, and it was as simple as that. Once I re-entered that childlike headspace, that was when it just clicked. I was removing all the boundaries, rules and structure and just having fun again, and it came together after that.
PEOPLE: While touring really early in this album cycle with BANKS, your single "I Just Don't Know You Yet" went viral on TikTok and earned praise from Zara Larsson, Kehlani, Julia Michaels and more. You even performed it with the Jonas Brothers. What was the most surreal part of that experience?
ABSOLUTELY: All of it, honestly. It's still very surreal to me to this day. I think a key moment for me was playing my first festival slot in London at All Points East. That was my first time playing to my own audience because I'd only ever done support shows or come out as a feature. I saw the amount of people who had come just to see me, and it was really surreal. Thousands of people filled up this tent and were singing along to "I Just Don't Know You Yet." And that was the first time I really saw the real physical impact, because a lot of what I'd seen before just exists online, and it's not as tangible or easy to grasp.
PEOPLE: Why did you think that song connected so well with listeners?
ABSOLUTELY: I think a lot of people have been through that experience of heartbreak, but are still holding on for hope that the right person will be out there for them. That was what I was feeling when I wrote this song. The lyrics are very honest and open, and it's got a very cathartic feeling. It's something you just want to lift your arms off and scream and sing as loud as you can in the car. I think it's just really relatable.
PEOPLE: You're now touring with RAYE and Amma. How is life on the road with your sisters so far?
ABSOLUTELY: It's been a roller coaster, but it's been a beautiful roller coaster, and I'm so happy to be able to share this experience with them and for us to just be able to support each other through everything. We understand what we're going through better than anyone else does. I feel like it's brought us so much closer together than we've been before. We don't get to spend that much time [together] because I live in LA, they live in London, Rachel's around the world. But it's been really nice to be able to share this experience. We sing one song together at the end of Rachel's set called "Joy," and it's such a surreal experience seeing the crowd of people, huge arenas, and then just looking over and seeing my two sisters who I grew up with, and we're just smiling and jumping around together. It's such a beautiful way to end the night.
PEOPLE: Do you guys ever talk about or get worried about getting pigeonholed as RAYE's sisters?
ABSOLUTELY: I think it's inevitable, really. I think I've carved my own lane and my music, and Amma's music is very different as well. I think that's enough to separate us, but I know people already pigeonhole us as that.
PEOPLE: What do you hope fans take away from listening to Paracosm?
ABSOLUTELY: I hope that it can help spark some childlike wonder in people again, just like it did for me while I was creating it.
on People
Source: "AOL Entertainment"
Source: Entertainment
Published: February 27, 2026 at 02:01PM on Source: PRIME TIME
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