Marina and the Diamonds

Marina Lambrini Diamandis (pronounced /diːəmændi/ dee-a-man-dee; 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. 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). However, it in fact refers to Diamandis' fans: she explains this on her MySpace page by saying "I'm Marina. You are the diamonds." 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 such as Daniel Johnston, Blondie, The Distillers, Patti Smith, Tom Waits, Nirvana, Kate Bush, PJ Harvey, Yann Tiersen, Britney Spears, Elliott Smith, Dolly Parton and Madonna.