ONES TO WATCH - Marina And The Diamonds

Marina Diamandis aka Marina and the Diamonds is a 21-year-old Greek-Welsh piano-playing solo act (the audience are the diamonds) who satisfies the appetite of many searching for something both unique and high quality in the crowded stable of female-driven pop music. Yet she refuses to be categorised by her gender or the fact that she writes her own songs: “If 15 girls rise to the top this year and they’re all super-talented, then brilliant. But good music is good music; who cares if you are male or female?”

But with her wide vocal range, killer wardrobe and cutting lyrics, Marina is already ahead of the game. Like Tori Amos or Kate Bush, her voice tells a story of its own. However she is still young: her blog criticisms of other pop stars and commentary on the state of the music industry have given her as much notoriety as her songs. The songs on debut album Crown Jewels speak frankly about her life as an aspiring songstress, dropping out of university four times and wanting to be famous.

Her determination was noticed by New York’s Neon Gold label, home to Passion Pit and Little Boots, who released her debut single “Obsessions”. Now she’s on a major label: Crown Jewels was released in June by Warner Music with a video for "I Am Not A Robot" directed by Rankin and Chris Cottam. In the mind of Diamandis, who claims her life hasn’t been more exciting than anyone else’s, an all-consuming need to express herself through music (lest she become “mentally ill”) led her to where she is today.