Talking about her desire to be famous.
For some reason I was quite ashamed of the idea of fame, even though my whole life I felt like I was an artist. I want to be famous but for being extrodinary. I think in the begining because we had gone through this era of reality stars & people being fame hungry for no reason I was like, I wana shy away from that, I don’t want to be associated with that, but you know, it’s really silly to lead your life like that & I’m really enjoying what I have now.

On The Second Album
I think I am very ready for it, I feel like this second album, I just have this feeling. I just feel really ready where as the first album I had all these hangups.

On Touring With Katy Perry
I’m so excited, nothing but pure excitement about this, it’s a really big gig for me & it feels like the beginning of something new. Katy has been great to me & I would like to be really great to her, from what I can learn from her, I am going to be studying her production. I am just excited to see her show 11 times, let alone performing.

Marina recently sat down with Andrew Freund and spoke about everything from her musical influences, style inspiration & touring this year. Watch the interview above or you can read a rough draft of it below.

Andrew : Tell me a little about your fashion sense, you are known for being a great show-man. Where does all this inspiration come from?

Marina : I really don’t know, It’s very instinctive. Sometimes I have a stylist, sometimes I don’t. I haven’t had one for about six months actually. It usually depends on where I am going so at the moment I’m iving on Hollywood. I look like I’ve come out of a fancy dress shop. I really love vintage, at the moment I’m really into very 70′s vintage. I don’t know, I just like this. I like knitwear with plastic.

Andrew : That’s cool. It’s kind of Gagaesque, she likes the vinyl.

Marina : Darling, I think this was out before gaga was born. I think this was made in the 70s.

Andrew : You are a younger artist coming on the scene, who are some of your influences?

Marina : Eminem, Madonna, a writer called Dorothy Parker, a feminist called Simone de Beauvoir, Daniel Johnston a DIY artist, Britney Spears..

Andrew : Now question! Britney Spears.. She always lip syncs her songs, so as an artist, what do you make of other artists that don’t perform live?

Marina : Well, I can’t really relate that to my love for Britney because for her everyone knows that it was the whole package, she was the really sweet person, looks amazing, played with the innocent imagery and people connected with that. I know she can sing, if you look at vintage videos of her when she was younger, she had a massive voice. So it’s slightly disappointing and if you go to see a show and they don’t sing, personally I don’t think I would go to that show. You know, Britney is and was a star and she’s been an incredible performer all her life. My love will never die for Britney.

Andrew : When fans go to see a Marina And The Diamonds show what can they expect to see?

Marina : It’s quite rough around the edges, It’s very theatrical and very in your face. My voice is very good live, it’s actually better than the record. I wasn’t really a trained singer when I recorded my album and now, yeah, I have a much better voice.
It’s kinda like pop art fused with grunge. I love to play with the idea of squeaky clean pop but really I don’t fit into that at all. That’s kind of what The Burger Queen Tour encapsulated.

Andrew : So tell me a little bit about, you’re gonna go on tour with Katy Perry, mega monsterous star, are you excited? nervous?

Marina : Yeah I think I will be nervous, I think because it’s the biggest gigs I’ve done. I’m opening up for someone else which means it’s not necessarily playing to my own fans so you’re worked much harder as an entertainer and that’s why I’m doing it. Obviously because I really like her but the main reason was because I want to elevate myself as a performer before I go on to this next album.

Andrew : Tell me a little about the next album, how are fans going to feel when they hear the next album as opposed to the first one.

Marina : Hopefully they will love me even more. That’s what I want, so that’s what going to happen. I think they are really gonna like it. I’ve changed a lot as a person, my views have changed quite a lot as well and I’m very unapologetic about things now where as for The Family Jewels I was like “Hi I’m Marina And The Diamonds”.

Andrew : Like a young Britney Spears perhaps

Marina : Haha, whatever. Now I’m like… You’ll see.

Last night in a much-hyped Katy Perry Facebook announcement she revealed her plans to tour America this summer. She is going to kick the tour off on June 7th in Atlanta and wrap it up in her home town of Santa Barbara on August 14th.
That isn’t even the best part. Amongst a lot of other important things Katy spoke about, including who looks after her cats, she also announced who would be supporting her on her tour. Katy will be joined by the incredible Robyn and… Marina And The Diamonds! The two girls are set to join her across America on selected dates which have still to be announced, so stick with us for any updates.

Katy joked during the webcast “It’s going to be super girl power. If you come to the tour, you’ll probably start menstruating.”

A list if the dates are below. Will you be going to any shows near you?

June 7— Atlanta, Arena at Gwinnett Center
June 9 — Orlando, UCF Arena
June 10 — Tampa, St. Pete Times Forum
June 11 — Ft. Lauderdale, Bank Atlantic Center
June 14 — Raleigh, RBC Center
June 15 — Columbia, Merriweather Post Pavilion
June 17 — Uniondale, Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
June 18 — Boston, TD Garden
June 19 — Newark, Prudential Center
June 22 — Uncasville, Mohegan Sun Arena
June 23 — Pittsburgh, Petersen Events Center
June 24 — Philadelphia, Wells Fargo Center
June 28 — Detroit, Palace of Auburn Hills
June 30 — Toronto, Air Canada Centre
July 2 — Montreal, Bell Centre
July 3 — Ottawa, ScotiaBank Place
July 5 — Cleveland, Quicken Loans Arena
July 7 — Milwaukee, Marcus Amphitheater – Milwaukee Summerfest
July 8 — Chicago, Allstate Arena
July 9 — St. Paul, Xcel Energy Center
July 13 — Regina, Brandt Centre
July 14 — Winnipeg, MTS Centre
July 16 — Calgary, Scotiabank Saddledome – Calgary Stampede
July 17 — Edmonton, Rexall Place
July 19 — Vancouver, Rogers Arena
July 20 — Seattle, KeyArena at Seattle Center
July 22 — Portland, Rose Garden Arena
July 23 — Boise, Taco Bell Arena
July 25 — Salt Lake City, Energy Solutions Arena
July 26 — Denver, 1stBank Center
July 28 — Dallas, Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
July 29 — Houston, Toyota Center
July 30 — Austin, Frank Erwin Center
Aug. 3 — Phoenix, Comerica Theatre
Aug. 5 — Los Angeles, Nokia Theatre, LA Live
Aug. 12 — San Jose, HP Pavilion
Aug. 13 & 14 — Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Bowl

Are you a fan of Katy Perry? Visit my amazing friends site Katy-Perry.Net

Update : Marina tweeted about the tour including what dates she would join the tour. [Bolded above]

American diamonds: NEWS! This summer, I’ll be supporting Katy Perry on her California Dreams tour from 22nd June – 9th July. . . !!! – @MarinasDiamonds

Marina sat down with Jordon from AndPop recently to discuss her success in America and the divide between the UK and North American music scenes. They go on to talk about why they think Marina & Katy Perry are always being compared and who would win in a fight between them.
Who do you have your money on?

Watch the video or read some of the highlights below.

I find American music makes it over the water a lot easier than British music makes it over here, why is that?

Because we think when an American star comes to the UK it must good, if its big in America it must be good. That’s why so much stuff is really soulless because its all just focused on it being a hit.

So then artistically, do you think Britain is ahead of the curve?

Yeah, I have to say yeah. Creativity and weirdness is kind of accepted and encouraged more where as in American, I’m not saying it doesn’t exist, it absolutely does but its less risky in the music industry to go with something that’s worked before.

The idea of an artist in a traditional sense, someone like David Bowie… I don’t think it really exists here because my experience with the industry is if you want to create a hit album you have to go and work with Dr Luke and X Y Z song writers and I’m just like… I write songs on my own.

What do you normally get described as in Britain if they are trying to pin you with a genre?

Um, well they are as equally surprised by the crop of female talent and they kind of label all of those girls “quirky“.
They do say “She’s like the British Katy Perry“.

Why do you think they make that comparison between the two of you?

Umm, I suppose we both have brown hair. I don’t really know what else because I don’t sound like her. I suppose visually, I think its a visual thing. I love bright colours, she loves bright colours, we are one person.

If you and Katy Perry were to get into a fist fight, who do you think would win?

Oh that is really tough, I think I would. Sorry Katy but it’s more likely that you’d be wearing something gorgeous and glamorous and I’d probably be in my jogging bottoms so I’d have the mobility.

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.
(more…)

Katy Perry being the Diamond that she is, has mentioned Marina And The Diamonds in the latest issue of Seventeen Magazine. We love that Katy loves Marina and hopefully we will see something happen between the two of them, like the collaboration Katy spoke about a few weeks ago.

17: Do you think you’ll ever be completely creatively fullfilled?
KP: Being a girl in pop music, I see there are a lot of girls doing big things. Lady Gaga is huge. And I think Rihanna is doing huge things as well. And Sia, who is one of my favourites, is doing big things. Beth Ditto, Marina and the Diamonds, Ellie Goulding – they’re doing it in their own way. It inspires me to see girls conquer. I love boys, but I’m a girly-girl.

Thanks to Katy-Perry.Net for the picture of the article.

Katy Perry has been complimenting Marina yet again, this time saying she would like to do a collaboration with her. It is quite exciting to think this could possibly happen. I am a fan of Katy and would love to have a song/performance with both of them together.

“I watched the stream of the performance online.” says Katy talking about Marina’s cover of the 3OH!3 ft Katy Perry Song ‘Starstrukk’
“I would love to collaborate with Marina. I’m such a fan of new artists after going through that crazy hurricane of being one myself and, thankfully, surviving. New artists that will make it out of the eye of the storm I love and Marina is definitely one of them – she’s very talented, very smart and hot.”

This isn’t the first time Katy has mentioned Marina. She recently said she loves her in an interview with MTV & also Tweeted about Marina’s album release in the US.
If you are a fan of Katy Perry be sure to check out my friends amazing site Katy-Perry.Net.

Seems as if my love for Katy can only get better, she has amazing taste in music. She admitted that she loved Marina in a recent video for MTV. Sadly the video is only available to watch in the U.S. If you live in the UK I have quoted what she said below.

“I love Marina and the Diamonds. I love her so much, and I love Ellie Goulding who is also from the UK. Those two girls are the best of this year so far.”

Marina performed 2 songs on BBC Radio 1 today for their Live Lounge collection and they were amazing. She sung her new single ‘I Am Not A Robot’ & her surprise cover song was ‘Starstrukk’ by 3OH3! & Katy Perry.

I have also added pictures of her in the studio as well as some candids that were snapped as she was entering & leaving the studio.

23/04/2010 : Arriving & Leaving The BBC Maida Vale Studios, London

23/04/2010 : BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge