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Marina Diamandis

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Marina Diamandis

Marina Lambrini Diamandis[1] (born 10 October 1985), better known by her stage name Marina and the Diamonds (sometimes stylised as Marina & the diamonds), is a Welsh singer-songwriter of Greek descent.[2][3] She rose to fame after reaching number two on the BBC Sound of 2010 poll list, coming second to Ellie Goulding. After releasing one private extended play, Diamandis released her second extended play, The Crown Jewels EP, with help from Neon Gold Records in 2009. Now signed to 679 Recordings, she released her debut full-length studio album, The Family Jewels, followed by her third extended play, The American Jewels EP, in 2010.

Her name, "Marina and the Diamonds", consists of Diamandis' first name and the translation of her surname which means "Diamonds" in Greek. "The Diamonds" is often mistakenly believed to refer to her backing band (similar to Florence and the Machine).[4] However, it in fact refers to Diamandis' fans: she explains this on her MySpace page by saying "I'm Marina. You are the diamonds."[5]

Diamandis has cited a wide-range of influences such as Daniel Johnston, Blondie, The Distillers, Patti Smith, Tom Waits, Nirvana, Kate Bush, PJ Harvey, Yann Tiersen, Britney Spears, Elliot Smith, Dolly Parton and Madonna.[6][7]

Background

Marina Diamandis was born in Abergavenny, Wales to a Greek father and Welsh mother.[8] She attended St. Catherine's British Embassy School and Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls, of which she said "I sort of found my talent there."[9] Her musical style ranges from keyboard-based ballads to more up-tempo new wave-style songs with full band backing.[3] After dropping out of university, Diamandis moved to London at the age of eighteen where she attended dance school for only two months.[4] Following this, in 2005 she took a one year singing course at the West London Music School, "Vocaltech". [citation needed] She auditioned for West End musicals including The Lion King.[10]

Musical career

Early career: 2007–2009

Early demos of Diamandis' songs were self composed and produced on the Apple software application Garageband.[10] Through Gumtree she found someone to produce a few tracks, for which she paid £500.[11] These ended up on her debut extended play Mermaid Vs. Sailor EP which was released on 23 November 2007. The record was created on hand-made CD-Rs by Diamandis and sold through her MySpace page. An estimated seventy copies were sold overall.[12]

In January 2008, Diamandis was first discovered by music scouter Derek Davies of Neon Gold Records. Davies booked Diamandis to open for Australian singer Gotye later that year where Warner Music Group first saw her and ended up signing her in October 2008 to 679 Recordings.[11]

Diamandis' debut single was a double a-side consisting of "Obsessions" and "Mowgli's Road" which was issued on Neon Gold Records in the United States, followed by her second extended play The Crown Jewels EP in June 2009 featuring her second single "I Am Not a Robot".[13] Her first major label single, a re-recording of "Mowgli's Road", was released on 13 November 2009 under 679 in the UK and through Atlantic Records in the USA. On 7 December 2009 she was listed on the longlist for the BBC Sound of 2010 poll[14], and on 7 January 2010 it was announced that she had taken second place.[15]

"Shampain" - a song from Diamandis' debut album - was used in an episode of the BBC Switch soap opera, The Cut.[16]

The Family Jewels: 2010–present

Diamandis' debut album The Family Jewels was released on 22 February 2010. It peaked at number four in the UK Albums Chart and was certified silver in the United Kingdom days before its release.[17] A re-release of "Mowgli's Road" was released as the album's lead single on 13 November 2009.[18] However, the song "Hollywood" was released as the first major single from the album on 1 February 2010.[19] A re-release of "I Am Not a Robot" will become the album's third single. Diamandis said she decided to re-release the song because "people seem to empathize and relate with the song, regardless of gender or age."[20] She embarked on her first headlining tour on 14 February 2010, consisting of forty-three dates around the United Kingdom, Ireland, mainland Europe and the United States.[21]

Early on in the year, Diamandis has been collaborating with producer Benny Blanco and guitarist Dave Sitek in Los Angeles on new material which she describes to be "a really great opportunity for me as a songwriter. [We are] such a weird threesome - a combination of super pop and really indie".[4] She hinted towards a possible re-release extension of her album in the near future, similar to Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster.[4].

Prior to the album's American release on 25 May, 2010[22] Diamandis released her third extended play titled The American Jewels EP digitally, exclusively to the United States on 23 March 2010 featuring the songs "I Am Not A Robot", "Obsessions" and an exclusive remix by Passion Pit "I Am Not A Robot Flex'd Rework".[23][24] Diamandis will be making her US debut starting on 14 March, 2010 through a series of performances.[25]

Discography

Main article: Marina and the Diamonds discography
Studio albums
Extended plays

Touring

See also: Marina and the Diamonds tours

In 2009, Diamandis played at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Swindon early in May 2009[2], Glastonbury Festival in June 2009[26], and the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August 2009.[27]

In promotion for her album and "Hollywood", Diamandis performed at Brand New: 10 for 10 at London's Dingwalls[28], had an eleven minute 4Music special - 4Play: Marina and the Diamonds - on Channel 4,[29] performed at T4's Outside-In Festival,[30] New to Q Sessions[31] in January 2010, was a musical guest on GMTV, Friday Night with Jonathan Ross and The Review Show in February, 2010.[32] She is also expected to perform at "The Great Escape 2010" festival at Brighton's Concorde 2 in May and the Isle of Wight Festival 2010 in June 2010.

Prior to the release of her debut album, Diamandis has been able to sell out her entire first headlining tour, The Family Jewels Tour (including the third leg of her tour, The Gem Tour) consisting of twenty-four dates across three legs, around the United Kingdom, Sweden, USA and Ireland.[21] Diamandis was accompanied by support acts Clock Opera and Alan Pownall for the first leg of her tour.

Tours

Backing band

Awards and nominations

Year Organisation Nominated work Award Result
2010 BBC Sound of 2010 Marina and the Diamonds Sound of 2010 Runner up
2010 BRIT Awards Marina and the Diamonds Critics' Choice Nominated

References

  1. ^ a b ASCAP ACE - DIAMANDIS MARINA LAMBRINI ASCAP.com
  2. ^ a b "Introducing Marina and the Diamonds". BBC. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ a b Paul Lester (23 September 2008). "New band of the day - No 395: Marina and the Diamonds". guardian.co.uk.
  4. ^ a b c d Levine, Nick Ones To Watch: Marina and the Diamonds 26 December 2009 - digitalspy.co.uk
  5. ^ Spotiguide » Hot on Spotify for 2010: Marina and the Diamonds spotiguide.com - 15th January 2010 - Retrieved on 2010-15-2
  6. ^ BBC - Marina and The Diamonds in the BBC Introducing hotseat BBC - Tuesday, 9 June 2009 - Retrieved 3 April 2010
  7. ^ Marina Diamandis: shine on you crazy diamond | Music | The Guardian The Guardian - 12 November 2009 - Retrieved 3 April 2010
  8. ^ Savage, Mark (3 November 2009). "Shine on, Marina Diamond". BBC. Retrieved 2 December 2009.
  9. ^ "Leafy suburbs, £4,000-a-term schools and stockbroker fathers... the VERY middle-class girls storming the Brits". Mail Online. 2010-02-12. Retrieved 2010-02-23.
  10. ^ a b BBC Wales - Music - Marina And The Diamonds 28 October 2009 - bbc.co.uk
  11. ^ a b BBC - Introducing - Artist - Marina And The Diamonds bbc.co.uk
  12. ^ The Diamond Exchange - Marina and the Diamonds - Discography marinaandthediamonds.net
  13. ^ "Marina and the Diamonds Blogspot".
  14. ^ BBC News - BBC Sound of 2010: Marina and the Diamonds bbc.co.uk - 7 December 2009
  15. ^ BBC Sound of 2010: Marina and the Diamonds BBC News - 7 January 2010
  16. ^ BBC - The Cut Blog: The Cut Music - Week 14 and Week 15 bbc.co.uk - 20 December 2009 - Retrieved on 2010-1-27
  17. ^ BPI Certified Awards Search Search The Family Jewels by "Title"
  18. ^ http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/mowglis-road-space-woods-single/id339149219
  19. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/marina-and-the-diamonds/48651 Marina and the Diamonds announce debut album details and release date] NME.com, 1 December 2009
  20. ^ Marina & the Diamonds - I AM NOT A ROBOT Retrieved 14 March 2010
  21. ^ a b Live - Marina and the Diamonds 14 July 2009 - marinaandthediamonds.com
  22. ^ Balls, David (March 4, 2010). "Marina confirms US album release". Digital Spy. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  23. ^ Staff (March 4, 2010). "Marina & The Diamonds Joins Chop Shop Records Line-Up". Chop Shop Records. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  24. ^ Staff (March 1, 2010). "Atlantic Records :: MARINA & THE DIAMONDS? THE FAMILY JEWELS DEBUTS TOP 5 IN THE UK". Atlantic Records. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  25. ^ Staff (March 5, 2010). "Marina & The Diamonds' "THE FAMILY JEWELS" Debuts Top 5 in the UK; Acclaimed Pop Sensation Slates U". PR-USA.net. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  26. ^ "Orange at Glastonbury".
  27. ^ Marina And The Diamonds cover Late At The Pier at Reading Festival NME.com, 29 August 2009
  28. ^ 10 for 10 Marina & The Diamonds | MTV UK mtv.co.uk
  29. ^ 4Play - 4Play: Marina and The Diamonds - Channel 4 channel4.co.uk
  30. ^ T4 - Outside-In - Channel4
  31. ^ http://news.qthemusic.com/2009/11/new_to_q_sessions_-_new_bands.html New to Q Sessions - New bands announced - News - QTheMusic.com]
  32. ^ BBC - Press Office - The Week's Guests week 5 - 2010
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