Earlier this year, Marina and the Diamonds principle Marina Diamandis flew from her native UK to Los Angeles to record with Britney Spears/Ke$ha producer Benny Blanco and TV On the Radio guitarist Dave Sitek for a possible follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut LP, ‘The Family Jewels.’

On paper it seems both strange and kind of brilliant. A self-styled starlet who writes her own songs, Diamandis drifts between the poles of pop and high art, a divide well-represented by Blanco and Sitek. If it sounds a bit too good to be true, that’s because it is.

“It just didn’t work out,” Diamandis reveals to Spinner. “I explained to them, ‘I’m not feeling it’ — and that was that.”

Even if nothing was gained, nothing was lost, either. Entering the studio without any material previously written, Diamandis saw the sessions as more of an experiment than a hardened attempt to record an album.
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Last night after a sell out show in Dublin, Marina performed her current single ‘Shampain‘ on Irelands Saturday Night Live. You can watch it below.

Below is a hilarious interview with Marina that was on MTV’s Celebrity Bites this past Friday. It has to be one of my favourite interviews yet and is definitely worth watching. Marina tweeted about the interview too saying:

My favourite interview.. EVER. welcome 2 MTV Shelebrity bitez. I heart Alice. – 24 Oct @MarinasDiamonds

You may have seen the magazine scans we uploaded of Marina in the latest issue of Tokion FACTORY and now you can see even more pictures from the gorgeous set in our gallery. I have uploaded 14 pictures which includes 8 previously unseen pictures. Click the thumbnails below to view them.

Related Links > Photoshoots In 2010 > Session 29 : Juco

To celebrate a hard week of voting for Marina I have uploaded 3 gorgeous photoshoots for your viewing pleasure. Andrew Yee from the latest issue of Flaunt magazine + Tom Oxley & Sam Jones both photoshoots used for features in NME Magazine. All weekend I will be making gallery updates of old & new pictures so keep looking out for them & use these beautiful pictures as motivation. We have another 13 hard days of voting to do if we want to get Marina this MTV European Music Award.

Related Links > Photoshoots In 2010 > Session 28 : Andrew Yee
Related Links > Photoshoots In 2010 > Session 20 : Tom Oxley
Related Links > Photoshoots In 2009 > Session 17 : Sam Jones

Marina performed her Burger Queen tour at the UEA in Norwich last night, and over sixty great photos from the show have been added to the gallery. Click the thumbnails below to view few pictures from the show. Remember if you are going to any of the shows and would like to donate any pictures or videos you can email me them to MarinaDNet@Gmail.com.

Related Links > 20/10/2010 : UEA, Norwich

London Music: When I speak to Marina Diamandis over the phone, she’s barricaded herself into her North London home as she tries to cure a throat infection.

The fact she’s gigging in just two days doesn’t seem to deter the songstress.

Despite her croaky voice, the 24-year-old shrugs it off — with the same fighting spirit that’s propelled Marina And The Diamonds from a wannabe, creating songs on her laptop, to a rising indie star.

She has topped the charts with tunes including “I Am Not A Robot” and “Hollywood,” and is now embarking on a UK tour marked by the release of Shampain from critically acclaimed album The Family Jewels.

“In terms of success, I’m near the top of the indie mountain. In commercial terms, I’ve done very well for an alternative artist — and I don’t intend to turn pop any time soon,” she tells me. “I’ll always be more interested in the experimental side of singing.”

For someone who’s part of generation X Factor, it’s a brave stance – and one that Marina says isn’t up for discussion.

“I’m very uncompromising. It’s something that is in my blood. I’m a really stubborn person and have been since I was two years old,” she explains.

Although Marina, who was born in Wales to a Greek father and Welsh mother, admits she did originally toy with the idea of being a pop star.

“I moved to London when I was 18 and at first went down the pop audition route,” she says.

“I quickly realised it was 100 percent not the right route for me and I didn’t fit into that role.”

Then Marina started writing. At 21, she bought a laptop and started producing songs.

“I learned a lot. I had no choice and I wasn’t going to wait for things to happen. That’s normal to me. Some artists aren’t like that and need someone to fight for them,” she says.

“That’s when it clicked and I became a DIY artist.” Two years later, she was signed by Warner.

Since then, the artist has made the headlines for her quirky style – drawing comparisons to both Kate Bush and Lady Gaga.

“I prefer to be compared to Kate Bush, because I think she’s fantastic. I’m not saying anything against Lady GaGa but I’m quite conservative in some ways so I relate more to Kate Bush,” she explains.

“She didn’t rely on shock tactics or provocation — if she had wore a bag over her head, her music still would have sold. With Lady GaGa, it’s about the whole package.
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Marina may seem confident, but she admits it’s a fear of failing that drives her.

“I write to get rid of the fear: fear of failing, fear of not being loved, not being accepted,” she says.

And with a two-month stint planned in America next year, it’s obvious that in terms of being accepted, she already has been.

According to NME‘s annual list of the 100 Coolest People in Music, Marina Diamandis ranks in at a cool #24.

Topping the list:

Kanye West (#3)
Janelle Monae (#2)
Laura Marling (#1)

You can vote for Marina HERE for the fan selected ‘Coolest People in Music’.

plastique* — a Los Angeles based jewellery company owned by graphic designer, Jen Murse, has finally arrived in the UK, and in celebration we have been given a plastique* necklace to give away to one lucky Marina and the Diamonds fan!

Check out www.plastiqueshop.com to see all of the designs – from skyline necklaces to cassette tape rings, these amazing plastique* pieces are a must have to add a touch of uniqueness to any outfit.

Even Marina has been spotted sporting a plastique* ring.

How To Enter!

For your chance to win a plastique* cassette tape necklace all you have to do is follow both @plastiqueshop & @MarinaDNet then tweet #iwantplastique a long with #VoteMarina. One lucky winner will be selected at random and contacted. Good luck!

To keep up-to-date with all things plastique*, make sure you follow them on Twitter and Facebook:

Twitter – http://twitter.com/plastiqueshop

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/pages/plastique/114519860752

Or if you have any questions, please contact: PR@plastiqueshop.com

Please note, If you order from Plastiqueshop.com, shipping is $3.50 worldwide and $0.50 for each addition item (that’s around £2.24 for UK people and around 32p each additional item).

P.S. – Click HERE to purchase the ring Marina is wearing above for only $2.00!

Last night Marina finally kicked off her new tour called ‘The Burger Queen Tour‘ and she performed at the Pyramid Centre in Portsmouth. Click the thumbnails below to view few pictures from the show. Remember if you are going to any of the shows and would like to donate any pictures or videos you can email me at MarinaDNet@Gmail.com.

Related Links > 19/10/2010 : Pyramid Centre, Portsmouth

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Marina And The Diamonds has been handed the Best New UK and Ireland act MTV European Music Award, ahead of the ceremony in Madrid next month. She is now representing the UK in the Best European Act category, with the winner announced on Sunday November 7 at the big event.

Marina beat Tinie Tempah, Rox, Delphic and Ellie Goulding in the public vote. We really voted our butts off & now it is time to do it again!