Marina and the Diamonds's Quotes

I hate the whole 'record your album, do your promo campaign, have a year off to write another album' pattern. As an artist, you should keep creating as much as you possibly can.

I lived in Greece for about four years of my life, and living there had a huge impact on my life growing up. My father was very much adamant that we would learn about our culture. It's a very rich culture to be a part of since it has such a great history behind it. I definitely carry that in my job, and I am very passionate.

I often take things I find in vintage crawls and hand them to a very good seamstress, who then replicates them and makes a more robust version in different colors, with a pocket for my mic pack.

I really do want people to listen to the music more than watch what I wear. There's time for that later. I've got the rest of my life to dress up and look nice.

I really like the look of the 1950s, lots of suburban Americana influences. I'm 5'4', so I like kitten heels occasionally because I can move around a bit easier, but pointy-toed pumps are very elongating.

I thought for a long time that I was going to be a pop artist. It was around 18-19 that I started to make that a reality. I just knew that this was my destiny.

I'm just waiting for the moment where it's accepted that women are just as sexual as men without women having to be overtly sexy just to prove how 'liberated' they are.

I've always been interested in how fast-moving our identity is and that I've never been able to pin down who I truly am. That inspires me to write, because I feel like that cements me a bit, in that I find my identity in being an artist.

I've read every Madonna biography. I've also looked up every pop star to see how they first made it. The biggest thing I learnt was that you have to be pro-active. You can't be scared.

If you're making too many excuses for someone, agonising over them in a way which takes up all your waking thoughts and feel so nervous around them you could be sick, then they are probably the wrong person.

Love is really my nemesis. I never really allowed myself to indulge in such basic things because I was so motivated and thought that if I did I wouldn't succeed.

My dad's quite a conservative person, and he brought me up to be very questioning of the commercial world. He looked down on pop culture. I definitely got the impression that pop was evil and that Britney Spears was evil.

Obviously when you're a teen you have no money, so you make, like, three outfits out of one dress. You're like, 'OK cut the arms here. Alright: New party, cut them to here.'

There's nothing I'd never wear, really. I've worn pink spotty pajamas from a Goodwill store onstage before. This only happens when I'm having a small breakdown!

When you are in the studio, you don't have anybody to feed off of; meanwhile, when you are playing live, you interact with people and you feel the energy in the room. When the crowd is going crazy, that definitely impacts your vocal performance. I prefer to sing live.

Blonde symbolises sexuality and power - it holds very different connotations. The archetypal star has always been blonde.

Everyone gets dumped and everyone gets hurt and there's karma to love in regards to what you've done to other people.

Hollywood infected my brain and I really valued the wrong things in life, but I changed dramatically.

I actually quite like promo, which is quite odd for an artist, but recording's not the easiest thing.

I am absolutely not a roll-on-stage kind of girl! I would be totally freaked out if I didn't warm up, and I don't know how other singers do it.

I don't think I'm an instantaneous act the whole world will love in one second - but that's how I've felt about bands I love.

I feel like everyone has the right to privacy, even if you're the most famous person in the world.

I felt connected with Madonna from a very young age. I think I share a lot of qualities from her personality. I really respect her.

I have quite a lot of plastic sunglasses. It's just a nice accessory, it adds a final thing, and it's my favorite way of figuring an outfit.

I love natural beauty, and I think it's your best look, but I think makeup as an artist is so transformative.

I love pop music because you can really see what's currently happening in society.

I quite like dark humor.

I think celebrity culture and sexuality in pop music is really important, but I want there to be an alternative for people.

I think some people just have an innate musical ability, and I'm lucky enough to be one of those people.

I turned off my Google alerts in 2009 as I learnt that following yourself on the Internet very quickly becomes unhealthy.

I want to provoke people with thoughts, not by taking my clothes off. It's time to move on from Stripperville.

I was always very creative. I was always into acting and dancing when I was younger.

I'm a very, very disciplined person.

I'm not going to lie; I'm not a huge remix person.

I'm not really part of that 'L.A. thing' or that celebrity culture. I'm more like someone who observes it, and I can't ever imagine being like that.

If you don't want to have your private life splashed everywhere, why go to the restaurants and the places you know you're going to be photographed?

Lots of narcissistic people have helped lots of other people with their music. That's such a narcissistic thing to say! Ha ha!

Music is my 90% of my life and my biggest passion. I really don't have an interest in anything else.

My style icons are Leigh Lezark, Gwen Stefani and Shirley Manson.