Amanda Ava Koci (born Amanda Koçi; February 16, 1994), known professionally as Ava Max, is an American singer and songwriter. She was born Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Max’s parents are from Albania; her father, Paul, is from Qeparo and her mother, Andrea, is from Sarandë. Max also has a brother approximately seven years older than her. 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 before immigrating to the United States to reside in the state, where Max was born. Max adopted the stage name Ava at the age of 14, and moved to Los Angeles in pursuit of a music career at the suggestion of her mother, but was constantly rejected for being underage. Max has described herself as “100% Albanian” and stated that she wants to give back to the community. She is able to speak the language, but cannot read it. Max is outspoken about female empowerment, which is reflected in her music.
Four – My head and My heart
“My Head & My Heart” is a song by American singer Ava Max, released on November 19, 2020, through Atlantic Records, as the eighth single from Max’s debut studio album, Heaven & Hell (2020). It garnered over 116M views on it’s official music video on YouTube. It interpolates the 2000 song “Around the World (La La La La La)” by ATC, which is an English cover of the 1998 Russian song “Pesenka” by Ruki Vverh!. The song peaked at number 45 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and at number 18 on the UK Singles Chart. It is certified platinum in three countries and certified gold in four countries.
Three – Kings and Queen
“Kings & Queens” is a song by American singer Ava Max, released on March 12, 2020, through Atlantic Records as the fifth single from her debut studio album, Heaven & Hell (2020). The official music video garnered over 293M views on YouTube. ThE song is a popular melody on the popular app Tiktok. The song was written by Max, Brett McLaughlin, Desmond Child, Hillary Bernstein, Jakke Erixson, Madison Love, Mimoza Blinsson, and producers Cirkut and RedOne. It contains an interpolation of Bonnie Tyler’s 1986 song “If You Were a Woman (And I Was a Man)”, which was additionally used in Bon Jovi’s 1986 song “You Give Love a Bad Name”. The song topped the charts in Israel, Poland, and Slovenia, while peaking at number 13 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. It attained a platinum certification in ten countries, including the United States and United Kingdom.
Awards/Accolades
- Max won Best Push Act at the 2019 MTV Europe Music Awards
- “Sweet but Psycho”, which won the award for the Best International Song at the 2019 Los 40 Music Awards and It also won the award for Top 20 Music Videos at the MTV Video Play Awards
- “Sweet But Psycho” was selected as one of the winning songs at the 2020 iHeartRadio Titanium Awards
- In 2019, she won the Breakthrough Award at the Attitude Awards
- In 2022, the song “Maybe you’re the problem” won the award for Best International Video at the Los 40 Music Awards
Two – Maybe you’re the Problem
“Maybe You’re the Problem” is a song by American singer Ava Max, released on April 28, 2022, through Atlantic Records as the lead single from her upcoming second studio album Diamonds & Dancefloors (2023). It garnered over 25M views on it’s official music video on YouTube. It debuted at its peak, number 83, on the UK Singles Chart dated May 6, 2022. In 2022, the song “Maybe you’re the problem” won the award for Best International Video at the Los 40 Music Awards.
Bonus – Not your Barbie Doll
The song Garnered 3.4m on its official music video and 51M views on its official audio on YouTube which was released on the 13th of August 2018.
Discography
- Heaven & Hell (2020)
- Diamonds and Dancefloors (2023)
One – Sweet but Psycho
Released through Atlantic Records as her breakthrough single as the first single from her debut studio album, Heaven & Hell (2020) on the 17th of August 2018 garnered over 819M views on it’s official music video on YouTube. The song peaked at number one in 22 countries, reaching number two in Australia and number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song was written by Max, Madison Love, Tix, Cook Classics, and the producer Cirkut. It peaked at number one in 22 countries, including Sweden, Finland, Norway, and the United Kingdom. “Sweet but Psycho”, which won the award for the Best International Song at the 2019 Los 40 Music Awards and was selected as one of the winning songs at the 2020 iHeartRadio Titanium Awards.
