Marina Diamandis

Marina Lambrini Diamandis (Μαρίνα-Λαμπρινή Διαμάντη; born 10 October 1985), known mononymously as Marina (often stylised in all caps) and previously by the stage name Marina and the Diamonds, is a Welsh singer and songwriter.

Born in Brynmawr and raised in Abergavenny, Diamandis later moved to London to become a professional singer, despite having little formal musical experience.

Marina Lambrini Diamandis was born on 10 October 1985 in Brynmawr, and grew up near Abergavenny.

She has one sibling; an elder sister named Lafina.

Her Welsh mother and Greek father met at Newcastle University and separated when Diamandis was four years old.

Following the separation, her father returned to Greece but would occasionally visit, while she remained in a bungalow in Wales with her mother.

She described her childhood as "simple and idyllic" and "peaceful, very normal, poor".

Diamandis admitted to being a "tomboy" as a child, playing football every day and spending more time with the opposite sex.

As a child, Diamandis attended Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls.

She said, "I sort of found my talent there... I was the one who always skived off choir, but I had an incredible music teacher who managed to convince me I could do anything".

At the age of 16, she moved to Greece to be with her father and "to connect with [her] heritage and learn to speak the language", and sang Greek folk songs with her grandmother.

Having earned an International Baccalaureate at St. Catherine's British Embassy School in Athens, she returned to Wales two years later.

She and her mother then moved to England, settling in Ross-on-Wye.

Obsessed with becoming a singer "almost as if it was a disease", she worked at a petrol station for two months in order to earn money to move to London.

Despite not having a musical background, Diamandis had a childhood love of writing.

She first began writing music when she was 18 years old; she moved to London to attend dance school, but quit after two months.

She studied music at the University of East London and transferred to a classic composition course in Middlesex University the following year, but dropped out after two months.

Knowing that the Spice Girls were formed by an advertisement in The Stage, Diamandis applied for auditions listed in that newspaper.

She travelled for several unsuccessful auditions, including opportunities with the musical for The Lion King and a boy band organized by Virgin Records.

It was during this time that she managed to leave her CV with an A&R representative, but was unable to audition at the time of the appointment as she felt sick.

In 2005, she created the stage name "Marina and the Diamonds".

After she came to prominence, "the Diamonds" was established as a reference to her fans instead of her backing band.

Inspired by the example of self-produced outsider musician Daniel Johnston, Diamandis decided to compose her own music and stop going to auditions.

She taught herself how to play the piano.

She self-composed and produced her earlier demos with GarageBand, and independently released her debut extended play Mermaid vs Sailor through Myspace in 2007.

She met with fourteen music labels, only being offered one deal, which she also believed was the only one which would not dictate her image.

She came to the attention of Neon Gold Records' Derek Davies in 2008, which managed her for six months, and was hired as the supporting act for Australian recording artist Gotye.

Davies reflected "She just had something that really resonated with me. Even with the quite limited production of her early bedroom demos, she had this powerful yet vulnerable vocal and writing style that didn't sound like anyone else at the time".

In October, Diamandis finalized a recording contract with 679 Recordings (eventually renamed 679 Artists), a subdivision of Warner Music Group.

In 2009, she came to prominence upon placing second in the BBC's Sound of 2010.

Her debut studio album, The Family Jewels (2010), incorporated indie pop and new wave musical styles.

It entered the UK Albums Chart at number five and was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry.

The album's second single, "Hollywood", peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart.

Diamandis' second studio album, Electra Heart (2012), was a concept album about a character of the same name.

The album explored electropop and dance-pop and became her first number one album in the United Kingdom.

It was certified gold in the US and UK, and respectively produced the successful singles "Primadonna" and "How to Be a Heartbreaker".

Diamandis' Europop-inspired third studio album, Froot (2015), became her third top 10 album in the UK and her first top 10 entry on the US Billboard 200.

In 2018, she was featured on Clean Bandit's single "Baby", which reached the top 15 in the UK.

Her fourth studio album, Love + Fear (2019), charted at number five on the UK album chart.

In 2021, Diamandis released her fifth studio album, Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land, which debuted at number 17 in the UK, and was followed by a deluxe version in 2022.