Marina and The Diamonds

A singer/songwriter with an exploratory spirit and a flair for the dramatic, Marina Diamandis is one of modern pop’s most vibrant personalities—and her songs more than match her larger-than-life image. Born in Brynmawr, Wales, in 1985, Diamandis gave herself the stage name “Marina and The Diamonds” in her twenties, writing songs that were as inspired by chart-toppers like Britney Spears and Gwen Stefani as they were by New Wave’s artier corners. She self-released the EP Mermaid vs Sailor in 2007, garnering buzz for her dynamic live performances in the late 2000s before releasing her first full-length, The Family Jewels, in 2010. Its follow-up, Electra Heart, was a high-concept electro-pop record that examined female archetypes with big hooks and exhilarated vocals; 2015’s FROOT dug deeper into the emotional lives of Diamandis’ characters while amping up the music’s glossiness. In 2018 Diamandis rechristened herself as MARINA, and the next year she released Love + Fear, a double-disc examination of the psyche that included the Clean Bandit and Luis Fonsi collaboration “Baby” and the openhearted “Superstar.” Using the grandeur of pop music as a vehicle for experimentation and blasting past the limits of human emotion, Diamandis is an artist who revels in giving audiences, and herself, the unexpected.