MARINA

In the wake of Lily Allen's success, Marina Diamandis followed Florence, Kate Nash, Little Boots and a new generation of British female solo artists in making smart, sassy, eccentric pop. Moving to London from Wales at 18 in 2003 in search of fame, she auditioned for stage shows and dropped out of three different colleges before being snapped up by Warner Music on the strength of her home made demos. Full of kooky, off-kilter melodies and sparkly, infectious glam-pop, debut album The Family Jewels (2010) soon had the critics drooling - receiving a 9/10 review from NME and leading to Marina being named second on the BBC Sound of 2010 poll (narrowly beaten by Ellie Goulding). The album reached Number 5 in the UK charts with singles Hollywood and Oh No! becoming small hits, and she filled her summer with appearances at the Glastonbury, Isle of Wight and Reading/Leeds Festivals. Renowned for a distinctive style and love of fashion, Marina's video for the single I Am Not A Robot was produced by acclaimed photographer Rankin, who duly covered her in black oil and glitter for the shoot.