WHO IS AVA MAX?
Have you ever heard the song "Sweet but Psycho"? Or "Kings & Queens"? Or possibly, her latest single, "Out Of Your Mind"? The voice behind these songs is none other than the Albanian-American pop sensation Ava Max. Max was born on February 16, 1993 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Around 2006, Max began posting material on MySpace around the age of 12. In 2008, she released her debut EP Amanda Kay , featuring six original songs which failed to attract attention. In 2013, she released an independent single titled "Take Away the Pain" which was later remixed and re-released by Canadian DJ/producer duo Project 46 in 2015. In the same year, Max started releasing songs on SoundCloud under the name AVA, one of them being "Anyone But You" which helped kick off her career and caught the eye of many major record labels.
It wasn't until August 2018 that she released "Sweet but Psycho", her official debut single, through Atlantic Records. Upon release, it became an overnight hit, appearing on various Spotify playlists and subsequently reaching number one in 22 countries including Germany and the United Kingdom. Her debut studio album, Heaven & Hell, was released in September 2020, and spawned several singles including her second Billboard Hot 100 entry, "Kings & Queens". Her sophomore album, Diamonds & Dancefloors, released January 27, 2023. The album, despite being made at her lowest moments during quarantine, has a danceable rhythm to it. In Max's words, it's "heartbreak on a dancefloor". The album's most notable single is "Million Dollar Baby", which interpolates "Can't Fight The Moonlight" by LeAnne Rimes. In fact, Rimes loved the song so much that she made a video singing dancing with Max to the song, and posted it on social media.
By the time her third album came around, Max was struggling with her artistic vision as conflicts with her record label arose. After scrapping the first concept of her third album, Max released "Lost Your Faith" as the lead single from her third album, Don't Click Play . Max then released two more singles from the album, "Lovin Myself" and "Wet, Hot American Dream" in the months leading up to the album's August 2025 release.
Max officially kicked off her fourth album era in 2026 with the February release of "KiLL iT QUEEN", beginning an era which Max describes as her most cohesive era yet.
ALBUMS
Heaven & Hell
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Diamonds & Dancefloors
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Don't Click Play
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