Marina and the Diamonds Wiki

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Marina and the Diamonds Wiki
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Marina Lambrini Diamandis, professionally known as MARINA, formerly known as Marina and the Diamonds (sometimes stylised Marina & the Diamonds), is a Welsh singer-songwriter.

Her earlier stage name relied on a translation of her surname: "diamonds" in Greek. Although "The Diamonds" were often mistaken as her backing band, they in fact referred to Diamandis' fans. She explained this on her MySpace page, stating: "I'm Marina. You are the diamonds."

Life and career[]

1985–03: Early life[]

Marina aged two in 1987

Marina, aged two, in 1987.

Marina's mother, Esther, is Welsh, and her father, Dimos, is Greek, she has one older sister, Lafina. The three lived in Japan before Marina was born, and she was conceived in Nagasaki,[1][2] and was born in Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales. Marina and her family lived in Greece for a time, however after her parents separated, moved to a small bungalow in the village of Pandy, Wales, when she was four.[3] During her school holidays, Marina travelled to be with her father.[4]

I moved around a lot as a kid. I spent summers in Russia, in the Ukraine, my dad worked in Japan for a long time, it's part of my growing up.

Marina at a dance competition in Wales aged 14

Marina at a dance competition, aged 14.

She attended school at Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls, the school she accredits for allowing her to "find her talent there". Self-described as "the one who always skived off choir, but I had an incredible music teacher who managed to convince me I could do anything"[5], Marina was musical from an early age and expressed a desire to become a performer from as early as age nine. She learnt flute to grade 5 and violin to grade minus 2.[6] Diamandis said she would get up at 2am to study for her GCSEs until 7am, then do even more studying when she got back from school.[3]

Her parents officially divorced when she was sixteen, and she moved to Athens, Greece to live with her father and "to connect with my heritage and learn to speak the language" as she was bored and unstimulated where she was, in 2010 she called it the two best years of her life.[7] She went to St Catherine's British Embassy School[8], taking the International Baccalaureate, Marina said she got 'excellent grades'.[3] On her return, she moved back in with her mother to save money, working in a petrol station, as it paid the best, for two months.[9]

2004–05: Career beginnings[]

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Marina, aged 18, in 2004.

Marina moved to London at eighteen where she started, and dropped out of, four different university courses: Dance, Vocal Tech, Music and Culture and Music Composition.[10] She stated she quit because she did not want to be in university, she wanted to be in the business learning everything first hand. Marina said university to her was a "way to buy time, and get better as a songwriter" as she "wasn't good enough in the beginning" and she had to do something with her life. She did not want to have a job such as waitressing because she believed it would tire her out too much to be creative.[10]

Marina went to a stage school for three months in London for her dance course.[3] Her Vocal Tech course was at Tech Music Schools[11], but said she was there less than three months.[3] She did a year on her Music and Culture course, earning a first, but was bored of the course and transferred from the University of East London[12] to Middlesex University for Music Composition, only staying for two months.[3] Marina said in 2011:[3]

This was actually a great time for me, because over that summer [in Middlesex] I had my heart totally broken and my song-writing got really good.

She went for many auditions including the West End musical, The Lion King. Diamandis admitted that she auditioned for a reggae boy band, held by Virgin Records, in 2005 to try to make it into the music business. She said she was "delusional with drive" and ultimately decided to dress up in male attire to try to amuse the record label to sign her, but she was unsuccessful. However, she was called back by the record label a week later.[5]

2006–07: Artistic development[]

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Marina, aged 21, in 2006.

In 2005, Diamandis created the name Marina and the Diamonds, as she didn't want to be labelled as a "singer-songwriter," anxious it would "turn people off," she created something that "could be interpreted many different ways."[13] In a 2010, when describing the origin of the name, she said:[14]

I never envisaged a character, pop project, band or solo artist. I saw a simple group made up of many people who had the same hearts. A space for people with similar ideals who could not fit into life's pre-made mold. I was terribly awkward for a long time! I really craved to be part of one thing because I never felt too connected to anybody and now I feel I have that all around me.

Marina said in an 2010 interview[15] that she had been writing since 2005, and in 2006 hired a producer but did not like the "awful prog rock band" sound.

Marina's MySpace was made on the 13th of June 2006,[16] where she uploaded some of the songs produced by this unknown man. Sometime in 2007, Marina decided she would start producing her own songs.

Marina credits discovering the music of Daniel Johnson for giving her the confidence to start composing her own music,[3] and notes it was her student loan that gave her the financial freedom to be able to buy a laptop.[17] She believes her producing her own music got people to listen to her.[15]

Her self-released debut EP Mermaid vs. Sailor was released on the 23rd of November 2007, created on hand-made CD-Rs and sold through her MySpace page. An estimated seventy copies were sold overall.

In 2012, Marina spoke about this period of her life in an interview with PopDirt, recalling:[18]

Lyrically, it's [Teen Idle] a strange song as it crosses polar opposite themes – innocence and darkness. I had waited a long time to write that song and it helped me acknowledge some experiences that I'd had in my teenage years. Ages 16-20 were kind of blackout years for me, like I didn't even live them or they didn't belong to my life.

2008–10: Breakthrough and The Family Jewels[]

Neil Anderson - Jan 19 2008 (1)

Marina performing at The Good Ship. (19 Jan 2008)

In January 2008, Marina was first discovered by music scouter Derek Davies,[19] and later in April, Davies wrote an article about Diamandis, promoting her demo "We've Got Obsessions."[20] Davies booked Diamandis to open for Gotye later that year, where Warner Music Group first saw her and, after negotiations, signed her in October to 679 Recordings.[21] Marina described the deal as taking four months to work out, and put her in "about £1000" of debt.[22]

Although widely reported there was a "bidding war" to sign her, Marina explained:[6]

No, there was no bidding war. 679 where the only people to have the guts to offer a contract. Everyone else just wanted to look like they were about to offer. I met over 14 labels and only really took 2 seriously. I think everyone saw me as a project that had a lot of potential but also as someone very risky: I looked like a wild card to them. I had no manager, was doing all the meetings alone, was extremely confident and driven and knew exactly what i wanted. That scares some people.

Diamandis' debut single was a double A-side, consisting of Obsessions and Mowgli's Road, which was released in the United States on 19 November 2008, through Derek Davies' newly formed label, Neon Gold Records, on her request.[6]

Obsessions single artwork

Obsessions artwork.

Mowgli's Road was re-released as Marina and the Diamonds' debut album's lead single in November 2009. However, the song Hollywood was released as the first major single from the album in February 2010. The song performed well, peaking at number 12 in the United Kingdom and charting in the top 20 in Europe latter getting certified Silver in the United Kingdom for sales over 200,000 copies. Marina's debut album, The Family Jewels, was released on 15 February 2010. It peaked at number five on the UK Albums Chart, selling over 27,618 copies in its first week, and was certified silver in the United Kingdom days before its release. In total, The Family Jewels spent 33 weeks in the UK Top 100 albums chart. In March 2010, Atlantic Records signed Marina and the Diamonds to Chop Shop Records in the United States. Before the album's American release in May 2010, Marina released her third extended play, The American Jewels EP, digitally and exclusively for the United States in March 2010. The Family Jewels peaked at number 138 on the Billboard 200 with opening week sales of 4,000 copies.

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Marina with her mother at Sŵn Festival.

Marina and the Diamonds was nominated for Critics' Choice at the 2010 BRIT Awards and came fifth in SHREDnews' "Ten Artists To Watch in 2010" list in March 2010. She also won the award for Best UK & Ireland Act at the 2010 MTV Europe Music Awards.

Marina embarked on her first headlining tour on 14 February 2010 to coincide with the album release, which consisted of seventy dates around the United Kingdom, Ireland, mainland Europe, the United States and Canada. Marina made her North American debut on 14 March 2010 through a series of performances. A re-release of I Am Not a Robot in April 2010 became the album's third single; Marina said she decided to re-release the song because "people seem to empathize and relate with the song, regardless of gender or age." The song peaked at number twenty-six on the UK Singles Chart. I Am Not A Robot was also certified Gold in the United States by the RIAA for sales over 500,000 units. Oh No! was released as the album's fourth single on 2 August 2010, and the song peaked at number thirty-eight in the United Kingdom. Shampain was released as the album's fifth and final single in the UK and Ireland. The song was an under performance, peaking at only number 141 in the UK.

As of 2012 The Family Jewels had sold 300,000 copies worldwide this being before Diamandis's breakthrough into most worldwide markets, sales currently are not known but are expected to be substantially more to date. The album has sold over 218,000 copies in the United Kingdom alone as of 2019. On Spotify as of Nov 2020 The Family Jewels has 250,000,000 plays.

2011-13: Electra Heart and international breakthrough[]

For her second album, Marina started working in 2010 with Greg Kurstin, with the intention of doing two albums, die Life under Marina and the Diamonds, and an album under "Electra Heart" an alter ego, however her management didn't agree to her plans. During 2011 went on and recorded material with producers Cirkut, Guy Sigsworth, Labrinth, Greg Kurstin, Diplo, Dr. Luke, Stargate and Liam Howe. A promotional single, Radioactive produced by Stargate, was released in October 2011. The song reached number twenty-five in the UK. Marina posted a demo of the song Starring Role on YouTube in November, and a video titled ♡ PART 3: "THE ARCHETYPES" ♡ in December in which she introduced the Electra Heart character and the female archetypes she symbolizes. Electra Heart was released on 27 April 2012. The concept album made its debut at number one in both the United Kingdom and Ireland, making it her first album to do so. In the United Kingdom, the album sold over 21,000 copies in its first week. Electra Heart also charted in Europe and Australia, and it became her highest-charting album in the US, peaking at number thirty. The album was preceded by the single Primadonna produced by Dr. Luke and Cirkut. Primadonna became Marina's highest-peaking single in the UK to date, peaking at number eleven, and also became her most successful single internationally, being certified Gold in Ireland for sales exceeding 7,500 units and reaching number four on the New Zealand chart, as well as platinum status. In the United States Primadonna was also certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 units. Marina started her Lonely Hearts Club Tour in May 2012, which consisted of 108 shows and lasted for over a year. Power & Control served as the second single from the album in the United Kingdom, whilst How to Be a Heartbreaker (which features on the US edition of the album) was released as the second international single and the third UK single peaking at 88. The latter was covered on the US TV show Glee in the episode "Feud". How to Be a Heartbreaking along with Primadonna has also been certified Gold by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 units.

Marina live in Seattle - July 2012

Marina performing at Showbox in Seattle during The Lonely Hearts Club Tour.

On Christmas Day 2012, Marina performed a cover version of the famous Christmas single Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. On February 14, 2013, a video titled ♡ PART 8: "EVOL" ♡ was uploaded to Marina's YouTube account, featuring the new song E.V.O.L, that was released for free download via SoundCloud hours later as a Valentine's Day gift from Diamandis to her fans. On March 2, 2013, Diamandis released a music video for the song "The State of Dreaming" from Electra Heart on her YouTube account.

On April 17, 2013, Marina tweeted "08.08.13" which led fans to believe that would be the date that would mark the death of the character Electra Heart as the music video for Fear and Loathing, which represented the birth of Electra, was published on August 8, 2011, exactly two years before the date mentioned in the tweet. Her Lonely Hearts Club Tour ended on May 29, 2013. On May 1, 2013, Marina released the song Just Desserts with Charli XCX and premiered it on her YouTube channel. The music video for the song Lies from Electra Heart was released in July 2013. On August 8, 2013, a video titled ♡ PART 11: "Electra Heart" ♡ was uploaded to her YouTube account, featuring the album's title track. This video was the final part of her series "The Archetypes" and saw the death of the fictional character Electra Heart, officially ending the Electra Heart era. Electra Heart was Marina's first internationally successful project, not only getting a gold certification in the UK in 2016 for sales exceeding 100,000 units, but also going on to receive a gold album certification by the RIAA for sales of 500,000 album units. Electra Heart surpassed 1 billion streams during October 2021.

2013-16: FROOT[]

After spending one month in New York City, Diamandis announced in February 2013 that she had begun writing material for an upcoming third studio album. The first single from the album, "FROOT", was released on October 10, her 29th birthday, and announced as the title track.

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Marina performing at Lollapalooza Argentina in 2016 after the Neon Nature Tour.

The album was originally scheduled for release on 3 April 2015 with a new track being announced each month (known as the "Froot of the Month"). However, due to an Internet leak, the release was brought forward to 13 March 2015. Entirely produced by Diamandis and David Kosten, the album was praised for its cohesive sound. Froot debuted at number 8 on the Billboard 200 chart and is currently her highest charting album in the United States selling 43,000 copies and 46,000 units it's first week. The album also charted in the Top 10 in the UK and several other countries.

In early 2015, it was announced that Diamandis would perform at Lollapalooza Brazil, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Boston Calling Music Festival in March, April and May 2015 respectively. Starting from October 2015, she went on the Neon Nature Tour across Europe and the Americas; the 4 November performance at the House of Blues in Boston was broadcast live by Yahoo! and was uploaded and can be seen on the video streaming website Youtube.

On April 5, 2016, Diamandis officially announced the end of the FROOT Era via her official Instagram[1] and Twitter[2] accounts. She told fans that she would be embarking on a short break to "do some different things".

In June, in an interview with Fuse, Marina explained her "break":[23]

You said in April you were going to take a break from music. Does that still apply now?

I guess I am in a sense, but I think there are two things going on. For one, I was just really tired and burnt out doing three albums in five years. Even before my tour had begun, I'd already been promoting [Froot] for like seven months! So it's a bit of that, but also I've lived my career in cycles. So that meant coming back with a big campaign then going silent to think about my next project. Whereas now I don't really do that, because it's detrimental mentally to go off tour, and then you're expected to take this forced break for three months, which is so unnatural for anyone—whether you're an accountant or a singer. It's weird taking time off like that. So I'd like to work consistently in the future, so to have more play time and more normal work hours. Just a less extreme lifestyle, so we'll see!

Are you working on any new music right now or are you focusing more on personal life?

I actually am! As of the past two weeks, I started writing again. And I really want to be very diverse in the way that I'm writing, so I don't necessarily want to stick to an album for the next thing that I release. It may be much more dispersed and carefree.

2017: Break[]

Marina and Clean Bandit (Glastonbury 2017)

Marina and Clean Bandit at Glastonbury. (2017)

On June 23, 2017, her much-anticipated collaboration with Clean Bandit, Disconnect, was released. They performed the song together at Glastonbury, and in 2019 she recalled:[24]

"I remember thinking, oh sh—, this doesn't feel the same," adding that a dark cloud of apathy crept into her consciousness. "Perhaps the negative reasons of wanting praise and wanting acceptance disappeared. I didn't need it anymore. But, as an artist, that freaked me out. Why am I doing this, then, if I'm not doing it from a place of ego? Does that mean I'm not going to be a good artist anymore? I just thought, I've done three albums, and that's enough."

Diamandis went on to tell Nylon:[25] "I'd always had this internal North Star that guided me. Suddenly, I was like, I don't know where I am. I don't know who I am. I don't know what I'm supposed to do. Did I even do anything good with music? What's my contribution in life?"

As she struggled to answer these "very big questions," she continued writing on and off until she hit a wall: "I think at a certain point, I was like, Okay, I'm definitely not going to do this anymore,'" she continued. "And I just allowed myself to quit, and that somehow cleared something."

Once Diamandis gave herself permission to stop, she did something she'd missed out on as a young adult: She went back to school, at the University of London, taking courses in psychology as well as acting, painting, and floristry. "I was kind of catching up on the past 10 years," she says. "I didn't really think about music. I was actually so happy. I loved studying. I loved going to the library, being with a completely different group of people. And then, for some reason, that freed something up in me. I started to write [music] again, from a new but original place that was very pure and second-nature to me."[25]

In November, she posted a photo to her social media back from when she recorded FROOT, however, she revealed she hadn't recorded her new album yet.[26]

2018-19: LOVE + FEAR[]

Harp Digital Media (10 Sept 2019) 001

Marina performing at REBEL during the LOVE + FEAR Tour.

In February of 2018, Diamandis revealed that she was almost ready to begin production on her 4th album that she had been writing for the past 2 years. In April of 2018, Marina clarified that she is going to release music within the year. In August, she revealed on Twitter that her new era will go under the name "Marina", removing the "and the Diamonds".

In November, she released her second single with Clean Bandit, Baby, alongside Luis Fonsi. Marina confirmed that the song will appear on her new album, saying that it didn't share the same sound as the rest of the album but its placement would "make sense" when the album was released. The single was a massive commercial success going viral on YouTube. In 2 months the song had passed 100 million views making it Marina's first song to achieve this feat. The single entered the Top-40, Top-20, and Top-10 of many music markets around the world. The song is one of Clean Bandit's biggest hits and Marina's first big hit since 2012 with the release of her songs How to Be a Heartbreaker and Primadonna during the Electra Heart era.

Diamandis moved from London to Los Angeles no later than in February 2019[27], sharing the time between the two[28] (her thoughts of leaving London were hinted already in the song Too Afraid). She moved to Los Angeles for good during pandemic fall in 2020[29], changing a location info on her Twitter page from "London / LA" to "Los Angeles" between July and October 2020[30][31].

On February 1, 2019, Marina announced the lead single from her fourth album. Handmade Heaven was released one week later on February 8. In order to promote the release of her new album, Marina released three further singles before the album's release, Superstar, Orange Trees and To Be Human.

Derrick K

Marina performing at the Greek Theatre during the LOVE + FEAR Tour.

Marina's fourth studio album, "LOVE + FEAR", was released in full on 26th April 2019. Shortly after its release, Marina embarked on the LOVE + FEAR Tour.

As of May 2021, LOVE + FEAR is her third most streamed album, after Electra Heart (869m)[32] and The Family Jewels (283m)[33] respectively, with 280m[34] streams, with her joint single with Clean Bandit, Baby, accounting for 134m of those streams.

2020-22: Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land[]

Brendan Walter (2021) 1-001

Marina performing at her Live from the Desert online concert during 2021.

In 2020, Marina released her track About Love from the Netflix film To All The Boys: P.S. I Still Love You. The track has since received over 50,000,000 plays.

Throughout 2020 and 2021, Marina wrote and produced her fifth studio album. On April 8, Marina said she was writing the album alone, and that it was "Froot 2.0 but wilder". Later on the 10th of April, during her livestream on Bose's Instagram, Marina revealed she had been writing the album since July 2019. She further confirmed that, similar to FROOT, she is writing the album herself and working with a single (female) producer. The first single Man's World was released on November 18, 2020. It was accompanied by a stripped version and two remixes.

Marina continued to finalise the album and shoot promo material with COUGHS over the next few months. Three music videos and photoshoot material were shot during this time. A couple months after the first single, Marina released the second single, Purge The Poison, on April 14, 2021 for her fifth studio album titled Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land. On this day, the album was announced, along with its tracklist being revealed. The song was also accompanied by a collaboration remix with Pussy Riot. On May 19, the title track Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land was released. On the same day, the Ancient Dreams: Live from the Desert online concert was revealed. The last single before the album's release, Venus Fly Trap, was released on June 9. It was accompanied by 3 remixes and was performed by Marina on Late Night with Seth Meyers on June 14. The album was released on June 11, 2021, along with the announcement of Marina's sixth concert tour Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land Tour.

On July 3, Marina's YouTube channel hit 2,000,000 subscribers. On September 30, Marina said that the writing process of her sixth studio album had begun.[35] On October 28, it was announced that Marina would perform at Lollapalooza Brazil & Argentina during March 2022.[36]

On December 3, it was announced the deluxe edition of Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land, featuring Happy Loner, Pink Convertible, Free Woman plus two demos, will be released on January 7, 2022.[37] "Happy Loner" was released as a single on the same day to coincide with the announcement.

On April 20, Nylon posted an interview with Diamandis, producer Rick Nowels, photographer and director Casper Balslev, amongst others, to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Electra Heart.[38] A 10 year anniversary "Platinum Blonde" edition of Electra Heart was released on April 29th.

2023-present: EAT THE WORLD and Sixth Studio Album[]

By 2022, Marina had started work on her next album, following the creation of Queenie Records, her own record label created after finishing her contract with Atlantic Records. As mentioned on a Rolling Stone interview, the early writing sessions for the album were turned into poems.[39] Marina announced she had started writing her upcoming poetry book on October 17, 2022 via Twitter.[40]

On February 1 2023, Marina posted the poem Eat the World to her social medias, and revealed the name of the poetry book. On March 10th, Marina posted The Sparkling Clam and on December 18th, Marina posted Becoming a Butterfly Is Not What I Thot. On April 2 2024, Marina announced her first poetry book EAT THE WORLD, set to be published October 29th.

In 2024, Marina posted various snippets of upcoming songs to her Instagram along with previews of lyrics. In the interview with Rolling Stone, she mentioned that the album had begun being written around October 2023.[39] On a TikTok video prior to the announcement of EAT THE WORLD, Marina said "I am writing my next record, [...] I can't wait a year for this to come out", suggesting the album will be released in 2025 or later.[41]

In July, it was announced that Marina, who was previously signed to Crush Music, signed with Volara Management.[42] On July 13th, she opened for Kylie Minogue at the BST Hyde Park festival.

Public Image[]

Physical appearance[]

Marina Diamandis stands at 5'4" (1.63m) tall and has naturally brown hair and eyes. In October 2011, she bleached her hair blonde, but later dyed it back. During 2011-2012, she wore a blonde wig for 9 months following a hairdressing incident in which she lost a significant amount of hair.

In February 2020,[43] Marina revealed that she had been "going grey" since the age of 15, and due to societal pressure felt like she had no other option but to dye her hair. She hoped that by being open it would encourage herself and others not to feel pressured by current beauty standards, and intended to grow her natural hair colour out, partially due to her attributing dyes to her suffering with "headaches and sickness", and a claim that even organic dyes were filled with "carcinogenic chemicals". In some of the album visuals for Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land, primarily Venus Fly Trap's single cover, she shows off her grey roots.

A year later she posted to Instagram:[44]

One year dye free. I still change my mind every day on whether I should dye it back to brown or not. But I'm glad I've tried it. As with all conventional beauty norms - body hair, wearing makeup etc - it's the freedom of choice that counts. Knowing why you're doing something, knowing how much of your decision is based on the fear of being shamed vs your own free will gives clarity on what beauty routines I actually enjoy and which ones I don't. And thanks to this I will never, ever judge grey hair again as being something negative. It's just different.

Sometime in March 2021, Marina dyed her hair back to dark brown.

Fashion[]

Diamandis has identified Sophia Loren, Leigh Lezark, Shirley Manson and Gwen Stefani as her fashion icons, and Asli Polat and Mary Benson as among her favorite designers. As part of Selfridges' "Sound of Music", Diamandis and Paloma Faith designed their own window display for the London Oxford Street branch in May 2010 and additionally appeared as "live mannequins" for the display. In November, Diamandis was featured on the website for the British edition of Vogue, where she contributed to the "Today I'm Wearing" column that month. In February 2011, she became a brand ambassador for Max Factor, who called her "colorful personality" a perfect fit for the brand. When asked in an interview to describe her fashion style in three words, Marina said "vintage, cheerleader, and cartoon". In late July 2013, she started her own online clothing range, Eleven Diamonds, which ran until 2014.

Pets[]

Marina had two grey cats named Mavis and Jupiter, as stated on her Instagram account. The cats are now in England with Marina's ex-boyfriend, Jack Patterson. Throughout 2020 and 2021, Marina fostered different cats and dogs.

Mavis & Jupiter

Mavis and Jupiter on Marina's Instagram.

Personal Life[]

According to Emily Jupp of The Independent, despite various changes in musical direction, an "unconventional fashion sense" has been a constant in Diamandis's career. In the video to "How to be a Heartbreaker," she "subverts the norm" by wearing more clothes than male models in the background; she reflected that "I don't think it suits me to wear very little clothing, it just wouldn't feel right. I'd rather people listen to what I have to say instead of staring at my bum." In 2011, when promoting The Family Jewels, Diamandis described her fashion styles as "vintage, cheerleader, and cartoon." Four years later, she described her costumes then as "very badly put together vintage, kind of glittery ensemble", and her outfits for Froot as a "mix of '70s with digital fiberware...something surreal and '70s."

Marina and The Diamonds

Diamandis performing at Sweden's Sommarkrysset, September 2012

She has been described as a "pop enigma", an artist who "never felt like she belonged to the masses" and one with a cult following. She has criticised the Brit Awards for ostensibly being too corporate-focused, and has called for a new ceremony ideologically between the Brits and the "left-field" Mercury Prize. Diamandis used to meet fans after each performance, but ended this practice for safety reasons during the Neon Nature Tour, instead having ten pairs of fans chosen to meet her before the show.

Diamandis estimates that gay people comprise 60% of her concert audience; she attributes her status as a gay icon to her campness and sense of humor, in addition to lyrics on being a societal outsider. In 2012, she won the Best Music Award at gay magazine Attitude's award show. She headlined an NYC Pride event in June 2016 in the aftermath of the Pulse nightclub shooting, wearing a rainbow-striped cape. Diamandis plays down her popularity in the gay community in order to avoid sounding like a "cliché pop star" and hopes for a time when acceptance will mean that people do not label themselves by their sexuality.

She has been physically compared to her friend and labelmate Charli XCX, who she recorded a duet with (Just Desserts). In March 2016, the two feuded over Charli XCX's photoshoot which Diamandis considered to be derivative of her own image on Froot. Though made up.

Diamandis has spoken openly about having anxiety and depression which serves as inspiration for some of her songs. She handles it through meditation and exercise. Various themes in her songs are mental health, self acceptance, the flaws of the human race, and the dark side of love. On July 13, 2023 Marina posted to Instagram:[45]

I have a health/ life update I want to share with you all.⁣ ⁣ After 7 years of health issues, I recently got diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ ME. ⁣ ⁣ I've had symptoms like deep fatigue, numbness, tingling, low appetite, brain fog, rashes, insomnia and a feeling of being 'poisoned' for so long it's been hard to remember what healthy feels like.

My baseline energy has been at 50 - 60% for a long time. Aside from a few periods of remission, the last 7 years have consisted of relying on adrenaline and will power to push me through each day.⁣ ⁣ Recovery started 2 months ago after an unusually bad flare up that involved shooting pains and burning sensations all over my hands, legs and back. After seeing countless doctors, I started working with a functional medicine practitioner to find the root cause of the symptoms.⁣ ⁣ After a lot of reading, I now understand that these symptoms are a result of a hypersensitive nervous system, developed in response to chronic stress. ⁣My body has felt stuck in “fight or flight” mode and there were many warning signs it gave me before the worst symptoms set in.

Regardless of the trigger, the key to healing seems to lie in retraining the nervous system to regulate itself again.⁣ The happy news is… (!) I am feeling better today than I have in a long time. My energy levels are around 65 - 70% most days and the dips I have are shorter.

Healing is demanding a lot of my energy and attention right now, but the better I feel, the sooner I can get back to my creative life again. I worked for the first time in a while yesterday and it felt so good. 🩷 ⁣ I am very grateful for the lessons this experience has given me and I KNOW it's going to change my life for the better! I feel like I have been given the opportunity to rebuild my life from scratch, exactly how I want it to be. ⁣ I've also cultivated a deeper empathy for the millions of people who live silently with chronic illness… It's hard to maintain optimism when the world feels like it's moving on without you, but hope always exists. Answers always exist. The body wants to heal — and what I've learned is that you have to work with it, not against it.⁣

Spiritual Beliefs[]

In 2021, when asked if she "viewed God as an entity, individual or neither," Marina explained:[46]

I definitely don't view god as an individual. I think God is an entity, I think we are tiny tiny tiny parts, all of us, of a much larger conscious entity, that's the only way I can describe it. I used to think the soul was this intangible thing that that never died which I still believe, however I also thought it was unique to me and that my soul had my personality. Now I think the opposite, I think that personality is totally governed by biology and your experiences growing up. How that leads to the God thing is that I feel like our souls kind of collect experiences over lifetimes, if there are other lives, and we are kind of God experiencing itself. Unfortunately like "God" isn't a very helpful word anymore because I think people connect that to Christianity, and they connect that to an old white man in the sky, which God as an entity would probably laugh about now. So it's a little bit confusing, if we talk about it as like the source of creation, or the creator of the universe, that's what I believe right now. Maybe in five years that will change, but that's as much sense as I've made of this topic.

Musical Influences[]

Diamandis' musical style ranges from keyboard-based ballads to more up-tempo New Wave-style songs with full band backing. She has cited a wide range of influences[citation needed] such as Daniel Johnston, Blondie, The Distillers, Patti Smith, Tom Waits, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Kate Bush, Britney Spears, Yann Tiersen, Elliott Smith, Dolly Parton, and Madonna.

On November 13, 2009, in an interview with The Guardian, the inspirations that she used for her sound were discussed:[47]

With Daniel Johnston, Blondie, the Distillers, Patti Smith, and Tom Waits having helped to broaden her musical horizons beyond Britney [Spears], she set about using those wide-ranging influences to forge her own sound, driven by the admirable mantra that she now only wanted to become successful if it was for doing what she does naturally.

On April 25, 2013, in an interview with Spin Magazine, she mentioned her love towards Daniel Johnston and Madonna:[48]

It's really interesting to me in terms of encouraging me to play shows and to start songwriting even though musically I was just on a really basic level. There was about a week between me learning how to play keyboard and doing our first show. I was basically shitting my pants. [Daniel Johnston is] someone who people who instantly connected to because of this raw mining of human emotion. People don't care that he's not a technically great musician and that was really encouraging to me. I actually met him once when I was about 21 or 22. He has a lot of magic in his eyes.

[Madonna is] a really diverse artist. I think creatively she's obviously very talented. She doesn't have to define herself. Generally she's pop, but she's really unlike any other musician out there in that her albums only form a small part of her youthful identity.

Merchandise[]

Tours[]

Headlining[]

Supporting[]

Gallery[]

References[]

  1. https://twitter.com/marinadiamandis/status/1068644013606002688 https://www.instagram.com/p/Bq0b3McBho_/ (Archived/Deleted)
  2. https://youtu.be/eFKX9Zw8lYc?t=118
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/8260821/Im-Marina-Youre-the-Diamonds.html
  4. https://youtu.be/eFKX9Zw8lYc?t=50
  5. 5.0 5.1 https://www.parikiaki.com/2012/01/british-pundits-predict-big-future-for-greek-singer-next-year/
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 https://web.archive.org/web/20090522064325/http://www.nialler9.com/2009/05/19/interview-with-marina-and-the-diamonds/
  7. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/celebrity/once-played-seven-people-aberdeen-1050381
  8. https://www.ellines.com/en/achievements/626-diamond-talent-made-in-greece/
  9. https://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/showbiz/knew-id-famous---marina-1933260
  10. 10.0 10.1 https://youtu.be/fGHS21R8TWc?t=30
  11. https://www.rightchordmusic.co.uk/the-future-of-music-an-interview-with-the-tech-music-school/
  12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_East_London
  13. https://web.archive.org/web/20091008215529/http://www.clickmusic.com/articles/11743/Interview-Marina-And-The-Diamonds.html
  14. https://marinaandthediamonds.fandom.com/wiki/Blog/2010/Jun/20
  15. 15.0 15.1 https://youtu.be/Dh30Jf-89d4?t=380
  16. https://web.archive.org/web/20081224232034/http://www.myspace.com:80/marinaandthediamonds
  17. https://monstagigz.com/2019/04/06/qa-marina-with-tania-byron-on-album-love-fear-at-the-school-of-life/
  18. http://popdirt.com/marina-and-the-diamonds-teen-idle-live-in-london/102002/
  19. https://web.archive.org/web/20090522064325/http://www.nialler9.com/2009/05/19/interview-with-marina-and-the-diamonds/
  20. https://web.archive.org/web/20080411004026/http://www.goodweatherforairstrikes.com:80/
  21. https://youtu.be/xnk0Fadk3kw?t=120
  22. https://www.popjustice.com/articles/2012-in-review-marina-the-diamonds-does-january/
  23. https://web.archive.org/web/20180722011407/https://www.fuse.tv/2016/06/marina-and-the-diamonds-new-music-lgbtq-pride-orlando-shooting-interview
  24. https://ew.com/music/2019/04/25/marina-love-fear-album-interview/
  25. 25.0 25.1 https://www.nylon.com/marina-profile-love-fear
  26. https://www.instagram.com/p/BbxhqddBZuU/
  27. https://www.instagram.com/p/BuAl0LNBAQn/
  28. https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/love-fear/1451645560
  29. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/01/arts/music/marina-ancient-dreams-in-a-modern-land.html?fbclid=IwAR3ZY3Q4zxHkHTO_t9RyMYUE74r0mFWGxO-LfBJjD6TThOXfArRdmI4W5KA
  30. https://web.archive.org/web/20200725195207/https://twitter.com/MarinaDiamandis
  31. https://web.archive.org/web/20201018044453/https://twitter.com/MarinaDiamandis
  32. Electra Heart#Tracklist by Streams
  33. The Family Jewels#Tracklist by Streams
  34. LOVE + FEAR#Tracklist by Streams
  35. https://www.instagram.com/p/CUeI7rtLli9/
  36. "See you in March, Brazil + Argentina."
  37. "Deluxe Album out Jan 7th featuring 3 new songs — Pink Convertible, Happy Loner + Free Woman."
  38. https://www.nylon.com/entertainment/oral-history-marina-the-diamonds-electra-heart-10-anniversary
  39. 39.0 39.1 https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/marina-announces-eat-the-world-poetry-book-interview-1234997572/
  40. https://twitter.com/marinadiamandis/status/1582118950657146880
  41. https://www.tiktok.com/@marinadiamandis/video/7352642292907330858?lang=en
  42. https://variety.com/2024/music/news/cash-cobain-signs-warner-chappell-music-arista-nick-petropoulos-1236063707/
  43. https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Sd4-CBMK0/?utm_source=ig_embed
  44. https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ4Oyefj2wy/
  45. https://www.instagram.com/p/CunFXHrPoJB/
  46. https://youtu.be/aFDC3HEdEUo?si=RLbUnhNgKrMzkq-k&t=1508
  47. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/nov/12/marina-dimandis-interview
  48. https://www.spin.com/2013/04/marina-the-diamonds-favorite-things-madonna/
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