Iris Bösiger, known professionally as Ira May, was born on September 24, 1987, in Switzerland. She began her musical journey at a young age, starting with piano lessons and later classical singing training. In 2002, she participated in the Swiss casting show MusicStar. At 19, Bösiger enrolled in classical singing studies at the Basel Music Academy but switched to jazz school after two years. During this period, she wrote her own songs and performed with various bands. In 2012, May contributed to the Basler rap project 1 City 1 Song, which caught the attention of SRF's Black Music editor, Sascha Rossier. May's first single "Let You Go" was broadcast on SRF 3 in summer 2013 and charted for a week in Switzerland. She was invited by producer Shuko to record her debut album, The Spell. The album, released on January 24, 2014, reached Number 1 on the Swiss charts.
