Born Marina Diamandis in Wales to Welch and Greek parents, MARINA, who rose to fame over the last 15 years under her former moniker Marina and the Diamonds, relocated to London as a teen, funneling an eclectic mix of musical influences and a lifelong love of pop into the off-kilter, synth-soaked, new wave, dance, and indie pop primed sound that would propel her to international acclaim. After her 2009 debut EP and early radio and festival appearances, as well as an initial wave of online buzz, MARINA inked a deal with Atlantic Records ahead of her 2010 first full-length, The Family Jewels. Though a breakthrough, commercially successful hit in her native UK, the album failed to really resonate stateside, but with 2012 followup Electra Heart, featuring breakout tune “Primadonna,” and dropping amidst increasingly larger tours like an arena run with Katy Perry, the singer rose to true worldwide recognition.
Largely self-sufficient, and a product of little formal training, taking influence from everyone from Britney Spears to The Distillers, Madonna to Fiona Apple, MARINA’s powerful voice and unwillingness to conform to a single style, jumping between new wave electropop dance tunes to earnest keyboard ballads and beyond, has cemented her status as one of the most unique pop artists of the 2010s, and she enjoys a rabid cult following, even if her works still seems somewhat under-appreciated at the mainstream level. Following 2015’s especially personal and poppy third full-length Froot, MARINA opted to shorten her moniker (and reclaim her authenticity) ahead of 2019 double album and ponderance of the duality of human nature and emotion, Love + Fear, and ending her longstanding relationship with Atlantic after fifth album Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land, in 2021, another genre-bending, exhilarating work of electropop.
The lauded pop star has continued to evolve her sound and stay fresh and surprising across multiple decades, and MARINA’s recent sixth album, Princess of Power, distills so much of what she does best, boasting timeless dance-pop, contemporary synth-pop, empowering and confident lyricism, and arena-worthy hooks. In support, MARINA returns to Music City (following a rained out would-be Bonnaroo appearance over the summer) tonight, Oct. 1 to headline The Pinnacle, along with Aussie genre-bender Mallrat! If you love fantastic pop music, get tickets here.
MARINA and Mallrat perform tonight, Oct. 1 at The Pinnacle. The show is all ages, begins at 8 p.m. (doors at 7 p.m.), and tickets are available for $74.95-112.46.
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