Arti st ResearchM a r i n a A n d T h e D i a m o n d s

M a r i n a A n d T h e D i a m o n d sMarina Lambrini Diamandis is a welsh singer songwriter also known by her stage name ‘Marina And The Diamonds’. Marina has been known in the music industry since 2007 however did not rise to fame until she came 2nd in BBC sound of 2010 coming behind fellow singer songwriter Ellie Goulding. Marinas Stage name is a play on her real name in Greek, Marina claims that ‘The Diamonds’ are not her backing band they are in fact her fans. Marinas style is a mixture of ballads and electro up-beat songs, this is also representation on her personality as she is loud and vibrant.

B i o g r a p h yMarina Lambrini Diamandis was born Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales on October 10, 1985. Marinas mother is welsh and her father is Greek. The artist was brought up in a small village called Pandy with her parents and older sister. Marina attended ‘Haberdashers Monmouth School for Girls’ This is where the star believed to have found her talent whilst working a lot with a music teacher who she claimed ‘inspired her that she could do anything’. Marina moved to Greece when she was just sixteen to live with her father after her parents separated, his move however did not last long and by the time the star was 18 she had moved back to England and was attending a dance school in London, after two months marina enrolled in a Music degree at the University Of East London. University did not last long for the star and after a year she had dropped out, marina went to many auditions after she left university including the West end music ‘The lion King’.After many unsuccessful auditions Marina auditioned for a reggae boy band where she dressed as a male to try and amuse Virgin record, her attempt unfortunately for her failed.

B i o g r a p h y c o n ti n u e dMarina began to self-compose and produce many of her own songs on the Apple Software application ‘GarageBand’. Marina also found someone to produce a few of her tracks professionally for £500 per song, these all became part of her first album Mermaid Vs. Sailor EP. The album was eventually released on November 23rd 2007.

Mermaid Vs. Sailor EP;

1. "Seventeen" 2:40 2. "Horror Pop" 3:57 3. "Hermit the Frog" 3:39 4. "Daddy Was a Sailor" 3:15 5. "Simplify" 2:28 6. "Plastic Rainbow" 4:04

This album was not as well made or professional compared to her later albums, you can see this through the limited tracks and the album cover which looks as though she has made it her self on very basic computer software. The album was made on Homemade CDS and sold through her MySpace page where most of her fan base was, overall she sold around 70 copies.

Marina And The Diamonds – Seventeen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gcs_wyw5s0

B i o g r a p h y c o n ti n u e dMarina was first discovered in 2008 by Neon Gold Records, this caused the company to book her to be an opening act to Gotye who has recently released a massive number one single ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’. Being and opening act for Gotye sparked interest in marina from record labels, this lead to her being signed to 679 recordings in October 2008.In November 2008 Marina went on to release her debut double sided single containing ‘obsessions’ and ‘Mowgli’s Road’ followed by her second extended play ‘the crown jewels on 1st June 2009, this CD contained her well known and successful track ‘I Am Not A Robot’.

Marina And The Diamonds - I Am Not A Robot;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_oMD6-6q5Y

B i o g r a p h y c o n ti n u e dMarinas Second album was released February 2010 and was named ‘The family Jewels’ , Releasing this album was a whole different experience compared to when she released her first home made album. The family Jewels reached number 5 in the UK album chart Bothe ‘Mowgli’s Road’ and ‘I Am Not A Robot’ were re-released for this album. ‘Hollywood’ was the name of the albums first major single . The album has sold around 177,268 CDs in the UK.Marina And The Diamonds – Hollywood http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1VTcJfL7REThe family Jewels;1. Are You Satisfied?2. Shampain 3. I Am Not A Robot4. Girls 5. Mowgli's Road 6. Obsessions 7. Hollywood 8. The Outsider 9. Hermit The Frog 10. Oh No! 11. Rootless 12. Numb 13. Guilty

B i o g r a p h y c o n ti n u e dOn February 14th 2010 Marina began her seven date tour around the United Kingdom, Ireland, mainland Europe, the United States and Canada.Later that year Marina And The Diamonds released her third extended play CD called ‘The American jewels’ This continued the jewels theme throughout her music and became memorable to fans.

The American jewels;1. I Am Not A Robot2. Obsessions3. I Am Not A Robot Flex'd Rework (Passion Pit Remix)

The artwork for the CD is a remake of her Hollywood single, this is another attempt to make her work memorable.

Marina And the Diamonds – Obsessions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=np3QLrHJmRA

A w a r d s• Marina And The Diamonds were nominated for

the critics choice award at the 2010 BRIT’s.

• Marina And The Diamonds came fifth in the SHREDnews ‘ Ten artists to watch in 2010’ awards.

• Marina And The Diamonds won the best UK and ireland act at the MTV European Music Awards 2010.

B i o g r a p h y C o n ti n u e dElectra heart was Marina And the Diamonds 3rd album and was released in April 2012, the promotional single for this album was ‘Radioactive’. The album reaches number 1 in both the UK and Ireland chart, this was her first album to do so. Not only was the album successful in the UK and Ireland it also became very popular in Europe, Australia and the US. The album was her most successful in American peaking at number 30 in the US album chart.The album contained a song called ‘Primadonna’, this single is Marina’s most successful single to date, the single reached number 11 on the UK official chart and sold 25,337 copies.

Electra heart;1. 'Bubblegum Bitch' 2. 'Primadonna' 3. 'Lies' 4. 'Homewrecker5. 'Starring Role' 6. 'The State of Dreaming' 7. 'Power & Control' 8. 'Living Dead'9. 'Teen Idle' 10. 'Valley of the Dolls' 11. 'Hypocrates' 12. 'Fear and Loathing'

Marina And The Diamonds – Primaddona http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gj5L9SYhoSE