Iggy Azalea facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Iggy Azalea
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Azalea in 2015
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Amethyst Amelia Kelly
7 June 1990 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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| Years active | 2011–2024 |
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| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Full list |
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Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born June 7, 1990), who is known by her stage name Iggy Azalea, is an Australian rapper and songwriter. Born in Sydney, Azalea moved to the United States when she was 16 to start her music career. She became famous after her music videos for her songs "..." and "Two Times" became popular on YouTube. Soon after, she released her first mixtape, Ignorant Art (2011).
Azalea's first studio album, The New Classic (2014), was a huge success. It reached the top five on music charts around the world. The album included her hit single "Fancy" featuring Charli XCX. "Fancy" went to number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
She was also featured on Ariana Grande's hit song "Problem," which reached number two on the charts. This made Azalea the second musical artist ever, after the Beatles, to have the number one and number two songs at the same time with their first chart entries. Her song "Black Widow" featuring Rita Ora also became a top ten hit.
After her first album, Azalea started her own record label, Bad Dreams. She released her second album, In My Defense, in 2019. Her third album, The End of an Era, came out in 2021.
Iggy Azalea is one of the best-selling female rappers ever. She has won many awards, including two American Music Awards and three Billboard Music Awards. Her music videos have been viewed billions of times on YouTube.
Contents
Early Life
Amethyst Amelia Kelly was born in Sydney, New South Wales and grew up in the small town of Mullumbimby. Her father, Brendan Kelly, was a painter and comic artist, and her mother, Tanya, cleaned holiday houses. Azalea lived in a house that her father built by hand from mud-bricks.
She started rapping when she was 14 years old. At first, she formed a group with two other girls from her neighborhood. She wanted the group to be like the famous group TLC. However, she decided to go solo because she felt the other girls were not as serious about music as she was.
To follow her dream of moving to America, Azalea left high school. She worked with her mother cleaning hotel rooms to save money. In 2006, just before her 16th birthday, she traveled to the United States. She told her parents she was going on a holiday but decided to stay to pursue her music career.
"I was drawn to America because I felt like an outsider in my own country, I was in love with hip hop, and America is the birthplace of that, so I figured the closer I was to the music, the happier I'd be. I was right."
After arriving in the U.S., she earned her high school diploma. In 2018, Azalea became a permanent U.S. resident.
Music Career
2006–2012: Getting Started
When Azalea first came to the U.S., she lived in Miami, Florida, and then Houston, Texas. She later settled in Atlanta, Georgia, where she worked with other musicians. It was during this time that she came up with her stage name. "Iggy" was the name of her childhood dog, and "Azalea" was the name of the street her family lived on.
On September 27, 2011, she released her first mixtape, called Ignorant Art. The mixtape included her song "...". She also released a popular music video for her song "My World," which helped her gain more attention online.
In 2012, Azalea was featured on the cover of XXL magazine as part of its "Top 10 Freshman List." This list highlights new and promising rappers. That same year, rapper T.I. signed her to his record label, Grand Hustle Records. She released another mixtape called TrapGold in October 2012.
2013–2014: Breakthrough with 'The New Classic'
In 2013, Azalea began touring with singer Rita Ora in the United Kingdom. She released her first official single, "Work". The music video for "Work" was released on March 13, 2013. Soon after, she signed a record deal with Island Def Jam.
She opened for Beyoncé on the Australian part of her Mrs. Carter Show World Tour. This experience delayed the release of her own album, but it gave her a chance to perform for huge crowds.
In February 2014, Azalea released her single "Fancy" featuring Charli XCX. The music video was inspired by the popular 1995 movie Clueless. "Fancy" became a massive hit and reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Her debut album, The New Classic, was released on April 21, 2014. It debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart. At the same time, her song "Problem" with Ariana Grande was at number two. This made Azalea the first artist since the Beatles to hold the top two spots on the chart with their first two hits.
Later that year, she released another hit single, "Black Widow", featuring Rita Ora. She also released a new version of her album called Reclassified, which had new songs like "Trouble" with Jennifer Hudson.
2015–2018: New Projects and Changes
In 2015, Azalea released the song "Pretty Girls" with Britney Spears. She also began working on her second album, which was first called Digital Distortion.
In 2016, she was a judge on The X Factor Australia. She also started her own production company, Azalea Street Productions, to create TV shows and movies.
She released new singles in 2017, including "Switch" featuring Brazilian singer Anitta. After some delays and changes at her record label, she released an EP called Survive the Summer in 2018. The EP included the popular song "Kream" featuring Tyga.
In late 2018, Azalea announced she was an independent artist and had started her own record label, Bad Dreams.
2019–Present: Recent Albums and Business Ventures
On July 19, 2019, Azalea released her second studio album, In My Defense. The album featured the singles "Sally Walker" and "Started". Later that year, she released another EP called Wicked Lips.
In 2021, Azalea released her third album, The End of an Era. After the album's release, she announced she would take a break from music to focus on other things. However, in 2022, she announced she was returning to music. In August 2023, she released a new single called "Money Come".
Besides music, Azalea has also started several businesses. In 2024, she launched a telecommunication service called Unreal Mobile and a platform for creative projects called "Dream Vault".
Artistry
Musical Style and Influences
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Even though Azalea is from Australia, she raps with an American accent. This is because she moved to the southern United States as a teenager and was influenced by the Southern hip hop music scene. Her music often mixes hip hop with electronic sounds, a style known as electro-hop.
Azalea fell in love with hip hop at age 11 after hearing the song "Baby Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II)" by Tupac Shakur. She has said that Tupac is one of her biggest inspirations. She also looks up to artists like Beyoncé and Missy Elliott. Her fashion style is inspired by stars like Gwen Stefani, Grace Kelly, and the Spice Girls.
Music Videos
Azalea is known for her creative and high-quality music videos. Many of her videos are inspired by famous movies from the 1990s and 2000s.
- "Work" (2013) was inspired by the movie Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
- "Fancy" (2014) paid tribute to the teen comedy Clueless.
- "Black Widow" (2014) was based on the action movie Kill Bill.
- "Pretty Girls" (2015) was inspired by the sci-fi comedy Earth Girls Are Easy.
She often directs her own videos and believes that the visuals are just as important as the music.
Personal Life
In 2015, Azalea shared that she had undergone plastic surgery. She said it was an "emotional journey" and that it's important for people to accept themselves.
In late 2018, Azalea began dating American rapper Playboi Carti. In June 2020, she announced that they had a son together. Later that year, she stated that she was raising her son by herself.
Discography
- The New Classic (2014)
- In My Defense (2019)
- The End of an Era (2021)
Tours
Headlining
- The New Classic Tour (2014)
Opening act
- XXL Freshmen Live Tour (2012)
- Tyga – MTV Jams Presents: Closer to My Dreams Tour (2012)
- Rita Ora – Ora Tour (2012)
- Rita Ora – Radioactive Tour (2013)
- Nas – Life Is Good Tour (2013)
- Beyoncé – The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour (2013)
- Pitbull - I Feel Good Tour (2021)
- Pitbull - Can't Stop Us Now Summer Tour (2022)
Awards and Nominations
Iggy Azalea has been nominated for many major music awards. In 2014, she won two American Music Awards and one MTV Video Music Award. She has also won three Teen Choice Awards.
She received four nominations for the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist and Record of the Year for "Fancy". In 2016, she was named Woman of the Year by GQ Australia. In 2020, Rolling Stone Australia listed her as one of the 50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time.
See also
In Spanish: Iggy Azalea para niños
- List of artists who reached number one in the United States
