Amanda Ava Koci (born Amanda Koçi; February 16, 1994), known professionally as Ava Max (/ˈeɪvə/), is an American singer and songwriter. She signed with
Atlantic Records in 2016, through which she released her breakthrough single, "
Sweet but Psycho", in August 2018. The song peaked at number one in 22 countries and reached number two and number 10 on the Australian
ARIA Charts and US
Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
In March 2020, Max released the song, "
Kings & Queens", which peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 19 on the
UK Singles Chart. It was followed by the release of her debut studio album, Heaven & Hell, in September 2020, which charted at number two on the
UK Albums Chart and at number 27 on the US
Billboard 200. In November 2020, the song "
My Head & My Heart" was released, which peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. Max released her second studio album, Diamonds & Dancefloors, on January 27, 2023.
Life and career
1994–2012: Early life
Amanda Ava Koci was born Amanda Koçi, in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on February 16, 1994.[1][2][3] Max's parents are from
Albania; her father, Paul (anglicized from Pavllo),[4] is from
Qeparo and her mother, Andrea, is from
Sarandë.[5][6] Max has an older brother named Denis.[4][7] In 1991, her parents fled Albania after the
fall of communism in the country, and lived at a
Red Cross supported church in Paris for a year. While in Paris, they met a woman from Wisconsin who helped them immigrate to the United States and reside in the state, where Max was later born.[6][8][9] During her childhood, Max often saw her parents struggle to earn an income, as they each worked three jobs without speaking English.[4][10] Her mother was a classically trained
opera singer, while her father was a pianist.[6][7][11]
Max moved with her family to
Virginia when she was 8 years old, where she was raised in
Hampton Roads. While living in Virginia, she competed in numerous
Radio Disney singing competitions at
Greenbrier Mall in
Chesapeake and debuted at
the NorVa in
Norfolk when she was 10 years old as an opening act, where she performed
Whitney Houston's 1987 song "
I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)".[2] Max often traveled to
Florida in order to perform in singing competitions,[9] and began releasing music under the moniker Amanda Kay,[12] including a 2008
extended play.[4] At the age of 13, Max came up with the middle name Ava and adopted it as her first name after stating that she did not like being called Amanda while growing up.[3][13][14]
Max adopted the stage name Ava at the age of 14,[7] and moved to
Los Angeles, California, to pursue a music career at the suggestion of her mother, but was constantly rejected for being underage.[2][8][9] Max relocated to
South Carolina a year later, where she began writing songs about relationships she had observed, including those of her brother.[15] She later stated that she was grateful for the move, as it allowed her to experience a normal childhood.[3] During her time in South Carolina, Max attended
Lexington High School for a year, after being previously
homeschooled, and she recalled being constantly bullied there.[7][16][17] After she turned 17, Max returned to Los Angeles with her brother, who acted as her manager.[18][19] She acknowledged that the partnership "did not work out" due to differences and receiving orders from her brother and because neither knew anyone in the area. Max's difficulty in searching for producers and songwriters alone caused her to spiral "down a really bad path", which led her to drink at an early age and survive on 20 dollars a week.[8]
2013–2017: Career beginnings and formations
Max released "Take Away the Pain" in 2013,[20] which was remixed by the Canadian duo
Project 46 in July 2015.[21] For several years, her
demos were rejected and not returned by record producers and songwriters.[22] She also faced several incidents of
sexual harassment.[16] In 2014, Max had her first meeting with Canadian record producer
Cirkut at a dinner party in the
Chateau Marmont.[7][23][24] Cirkut was also an acquaintance of her brother.[25] Max sang "
Happy Birthday" to him,[15][26][27] which led both musicians to work together, writing hundreds of songs and releasing "Anyone but You" on
SoundCloud in July 2016.[23] The song gained traction and attracted the attention of various record labels that contacted Max through email, ultimately leading her to sign a record deal with
Atlantic Records in 2016.[2][22] Max acknowledged that working with Cirkut changed her life, as she considered leaving the music industry after being creatively stifled.[28]
After signing the deal at the age of 22,[7] she began searching for a last name to use as her stage name, eventually deciding on Max. The name was chosen since it combined elements of being masculine and feminine. From 2016 to 2017, Max adopted her signature hairstyle titled the 'Max Cut', which is seen in her logo as a substitute for the 'A' in Max.[3] On August 4, 2017, Max was featured on the
Le Youth song "Clap Your Hands", where she sang two different melodies.[29]
2018–2021: International breakthrough and Heaven & Hell
Max released the song "My Way" on April 20, 2018,[30] which peaked at number 38 on the Romanian
Airplay 100 chart.[31] On May 11, 2018, "Slippin", a collaboration with American musician
Gashi, was released.[32] On June 8, 2018, Max was featured on the song "Into Your Arms" by American rapper Witt Lowry.[33][34] A month later, "
Salt" was sent to SoundCloud.[35] On August 13, 2018, she released "Not Your Barbie Girl" as a
promotional single.[28][36] "
Sweet but Psycho" was released on August 17, 2018. The song became Max's commercial breakthrough, reaching number one in more than 22 countries including
Germany,
Switzerland,
Austria,
Norway,
Sweden,
New Zealand, and the
United Kingdom, where it stayed at number one for four consecutive weeks.[37][38] In January 2019, the song reached the top of the BillboardDance Club Songs chart, and later peaked at number 10 on the
Billboard Hot 100.[39] Max was also featured on the
Vice and
Jason Derulo song "
Make Up" on October 23, 2018,[40] and made an appearance on
David Guetta's 2018 studio album 7 on the track "Let It Be Me".[41]
On March 7, 2019, she released the follow-up single "
So Am I",[42] which reached the top 10 in Poland, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands.[43][44] A remix of the song was released on July 3, 2019, which featured South Korean
boy bandNCT 127.[45] The songs "
Blood, Sweat & Tears" and "
Freaking Me Out" were released as promotional singles in July 2019.[46] On August 7, 2019, Max was featured on the song "Slow Dance" by American singer-songwriter
AJ Mitchell,[47][48] and released "
Torn" as a single on August 19, 2019.[49] On September 4, 2019, she entered a joint co-publishing deal with
Warner Chappell Music and Artist Publishing Group.[50] On October 31, 2019, she released a music video for "Freaking Me Out" as a Halloween special.[51][52] Max won
Best Push Act at the
2019 MTV Europe Music Awards.[53] On November 6, 2019, a duet called "
Tabú" between Max and
Pablo Alborán was released.[54] Max performed at the
Jingle Bell Ball on December 7, 2019.[55] The previously released song "Salt" was sent to digital streaming platforms on December 12, 2019.[56] She collaborated with British-Norwegian
disc jockey and record producer
Alan Walker on the song "
Alone, Pt. II", which was released on December 27, 2019.[57] "
On Somebody" was released as a promotional single on December 30, 2019.[58][59]
On March 12, 2020, Max released "
Kings & Queens" as the fifth single from her then-unreleased debut studio album Heaven & Hell (2020).[60] The song topped the BillboardAdult Top 40 on the chart dated December 12, 2020.[61] She also appeared as a featured artist on the
country song "On Me" with
Thomas Rhett and
Kane Brown. It was included on the soundtrack of the 2020 film Scoob! on May 15, 2020, accompanied with a music video.[62][63] Max released "
Who's Laughing Now" on July 30, 2020,[64] and "
OMG What's Happening" on September 3, 2020, as singles from the album.[65]Heaven & Hell was released on September 18, 2020, alongside a music video for the song "
Naked".[66] The album peaked at number two on the
UK Albums Chart[67] and at number 27 on the
Billboard 200.[68] On November 13, 2020, Max was featured on "
Stop Crying Your Heart Out" as part of the
BBC Radio 2 Allstars Children in Need charity single,[69] which peaked at number seven on the
UK Singles Chart.[70] "
My Head & My Heart" was released on November 19, 2020, which served as a bonus track from the digital re-issue of Heaven & Hell.[71] On June 8, 2021, Max released "
EveryTime I Cry", which she stated was a "continuation" of her aforementioned studio album.[72][73] She appeared on the
R3hab and
Jonas Blue song "Sad Boy" as a featured artist with Kylie Cantrall on September 10, 2021,[74][75] in addition to
Tiësto's song "
The Motto" on November 4, 2021.[76] The latter reached the top 10 in several countries, including Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, and Switzerland.[77][78]
2022–present: Diamonds & Dancefloors and upcoming third studio album
In February 2022, Max hinted at a new project by replacing her 'Max Cut' hairstyle with cherry-red shoulder-length hair and emphasizing a red and pink appearance on her social media accounts.[79][80] While interviewed at the
Billboard Women in Music event in March 2022, she acknowledged that her second studio album was written the previous year during a personally difficult time.[81][82] The album's lead single "
Maybe You're the Problem" was released on April 28, 2022.[80][83] Max announced her second studio album Diamonds & Dancefloors on June 1, 2022,[84] which later released on January 27, 2023.[4][85] She released "
Million Dollar Baby" on September 1, 2022.[86] The album's third single "
Weapons" was released on November 10, 2022.[87][88] On November 16, 2022, the
Ubisoft dance game Just Dance 2023 Edition revealed that "Million Dollar Baby" would be featured in the game, with Max herself serving as the coach for the dance.[89] She released the fourth single "
Dancing's Done" on December 20, 2022.[90][91]
On January 12, 2023, Max released the fifth single "
One of Us".[92] She performed at the
WorldPride festival in
Sydney, Australia, on March 5, 2023.[93][94] Max then embarked on her first headlining
concert tour, titled
On Tour (Finally), between April to September 2023, with shows across Europe and North America.[95][96] During her Los Angeles concert on June 20, 2023, a man jumped on stage and slapped Max while she was performing "The Motto". She later revealed that the inside of her eye was scratched.[97][98] The incident occurred two days after
Bebe Rexha was hit by a smartphone thrown by a concert-goer during her New York concert.[99][100] She collaborated with Brazilian DJ
Alok on "
Car Keys (Ayla)", which was released on June 30, 2023.[101] Her song "
Choose Your Fighter" appeared on the
soundtrack of the 2023 film Barbie, which was released on July 21, 2023.[102] The song was later serviced to Italian radio as the fifth single of the soundtrack on July 28, 2023.[103]
On January 19, 2024, Max and Norwegian DJ
Kygo released their collaboration "
Whatever",[104] which peaked at number one in Norway[105] and reached the top 10 in Belgium,[106] Bulgaria,[107] Croatia,[108] and Sweden.[109] On March 19, 2024, Max started teasing her third studio album on social media with a 30-second snippet of the album's upcoming lead single, "
My Oh My", which was released on April 4, 2024.[110][111]
It was funny, 'cause I was actually experimenting with different haircuts and colors, pink hair, blue hair, all that kind of stuff. Nothing felt like me. One day I cut my hair, my actual hair, cut it on the right side, and I remember I had something in the oven; I think they were chocolate-chip cookies. And I run downstairs without cutting the other side. I run downstairs, and then I'm like, 'Oh my God, [the cookies] almost burnt.' As I'm going [back] upstairs, I see in the mirror my reflection and the haircut, and...I literally tilted my head, like, why does this feel like me? It felt like me, like I had found myself.
Max has often been compared to Lady Gaga for her music and "ostentatious presentation",[37] which includes her platinum blonde hair, persona, and stage name.[3][121][122] Chris DeVille of Stereogum criticized Max's music for being too similar to Gaga, stating that it "falls short in terms of lyrics, production, melody, dynamics, personality, and every other conceivable metric", despite recognizing that the latter was also highly compared to Madonna.[37] Max responded to the comparisons, stating that while Gaga was an "incredible" artist, people should not compare her to other people only for having the same hair color and releasing pop music. Although she described the comparisons as "lazy", she understood that it is "an easy thing to do" after being fascinated with pop artists since her childhood.[123]
Max acknowledged that she often goes against the grain while making public appearances, often seeking designers who are overlooked, and wearing outlandish outfits, as she wants "to give people an experience".[3] She stated that she was influenced by
fashion in the 1990s, citing Gwen Stefani and
Cindy Crawford as influences.[112] However, Max preferred making music in the studio than appearing in public, stating that she did not like the attention of the
fashion and cameras on the
red carpet.[10][114] Her self-cut 'Max Cut' hairstyle consists of her asymmetric peroxide blonde hair parted down the center, with the right side containing a chin-length
bob cut, while the left side was longer and wavy.[22] She explained that she did not feel authentic with her normal haircut,[13][16] and that it was about embracing herself and being unique.[15][124] While interviewed by
Audacy in 2020, Max described her hair as "symbolic of having the freedom to do your own thing" and a "visual representation of her self expression", stating that it was an escape from
conformity.[125]
Personal life
Max has described herself as "100% Albanian" and stated that she wants to give back to the community.[10] She is able to speak the language, but cannot read it.[15] Max is outspoken about
female empowerment, which is reflected in her music.[118] In a 2023 interview with Nylon, Max revealed that she dated
Cirkut briefly after they met and have remained friends since then.[24]
^"エイバ・マックス、来たる新作より新曲'Weapons'の音源が公開" [Ava Max Releases New Song 'Weapons' From Upcoming New Album]. NME Japan (in Japanese). November 11, 2022.
Archived from the original on December 26, 2022. Retrieved December 26, 2022.