Iggy Azalea facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Iggy Azalea
|
|
|---|---|
Iggy Azalea in Sydney, Australia in August 2015
|
|
| Born |
Amethyst Amelia Kelly
7 June 1990 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
|
| Occupation |
|
| Years active | 2011–2024 |
|
Works
|
|
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Full list |
| Musical career | |
| Genres |
|
| Labels |
|
| Signature | |
 |
|
Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born on June 7, 1990), known as Iggy Azalea, is an Australian rapper, songwriter, model, and businesswoman. She was born in Sydney, Australia. When she was 16, Azalea moved to the United States to start a music career.
She became well-known after sharing her music videos on YouTube. Soon after, she released her first mixtape, Ignorant Art (2011). She then signed a music deal with American rapper T.I.'s Grand Hustle label.
Azalea's first studio album, The New Classic (2014), was very popular worldwide. It reached the top five on many music charts. It even topped the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. This made Azalea the first female rapper from outside America to reach the top of that chart.
Before The New Classic, she released her first single "Work". Her song "Fancy" (with Charli XCX) became a huge hit. It reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Fancy" was even nominated for a Grammy Award for Record of the Year.
In 2014, Azalea was also featured on Ariana Grande's song "Problem". This song reached number two, right behind "Fancy". With these hits, Azalea became only the second music act (after the Beatles) to have songs at both number one and number two on the Hot 100 at the same time. She also had three songs in the top ten of the Hot 100. These included "Fancy," "Problem," and "Black Widow" (with Rita Ora).
After her first album, Azalea released several singles. She planned a second album called Digital Distortion. However, due to challenges with her music label and other personal reasons, the project was canceled. Azalea then moved to a new label, Island Records, and released the EP Survive the Summer (2018). More disagreements led her to become an independent artist. She started her own label, Bad Dreams, with Empire. Her second album, In My Defense, came out in 2019. She released another EP, Wicked Lips, that same year. Her third studio album, The End of an Era, was released in 2021. In 2024, Azalea announced on social media that she was stepping away from music.
Iggy Azalea is one of the best-selling female rappers in the world. She has won many awards. These include two American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, a People's Choice Award, and four Teen Choice Awards. She has also been nominated for four Grammy Awards. Her YouTube channel and other collaborations have received 7 billion views. Fifteen of her music videos have been viewed over 100 million times on Vevo.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Amethyst Amelia Kelly was born in Sydney. She grew up in Mullumbimby, New South Wales. Her father, Brendan Kelly, was an Irish-Australian painter and comic artist. Her mother, Tanya, cleaned holiday houses and hotels. Azalea lived in a house her father built by hand from mud-bricks. It was surrounded by 5 hectares (12 acres) of land. She has two siblings, Mathias and Emerald Kelly.
Azalea says she has some Aboriginal Australian ancestry. She explained, "My family came to Australia on the First Fleet. My family's been in that country for a long time, over 100 years. If your family's lived in Australia for a long time, everyone has a little bit of [Aboriginal blood]. I know my family does because we have an eye condition that only Aboriginal people have." Azalea also said her father "made her look at [art] as a teenager." This has always influenced her life and work. She started rapping at age 14. Before starting her solo career, Azalea formed a group with two other girls from her neighborhood. She said, "I was like, I could be the rapper. This could be like TLC. I'll be Left Eye." Azalea later decided to end the group. This was because the other girls were not taking it seriously. She felt she was too competitive.
To move to America, Azalea dropped out of high school. She worked and saved money by cleaning hotel rooms and holiday houses with her mother. She said she hated school, except for art class, and it made her unhappy. She also mentioned having no friends and being teased for her homemade clothes. Azalea traveled to the United States in 2006, just before she turned 16. She told her parents she was going "on a holiday" with a friend. But she decided to stay and soon told them she was not coming back home. She felt drawn to America because she loved hip hop music. She believed being closer to where hip hop started would make her happier.
After arriving in the U.S., she got her General Educational Development (GED). She lived in the country on a visa waiver for six years. She had to return to Australia every three months to renew it. Azalea worked in the U.S. without legal permission until February 2013. Then she was granted a five-year O visa. She chose the name Iggy after her dog. In 2018, Azalea became a permanent U.S. resident.
Music Career Highlights
Early Music Work (2006–2012)
When Iggy Azalea first arrived in the United States in 2006, she lived in Miami, Florida. Then she briefly lived in Houston, Texas. Azalea settled for a few years in Atlanta, Georgia. There, she worked with Backbone, a member of the rap group Dungeon Family. During this time, she met future collaborators FKi and Natalie Sims. She said people would laugh at her rapping at first. But she was used to being laughed at and didn't let it bother her.
She met someone from Interscope Records who encouraged her to move to Los Angeles in the summer of 2010. Interscope later managed her for a short time. This is when she chose her stage name. She combined the name of her childhood dog, Iggy, with the street she grew up on, Azalea Street. She also started making stop motion animated videos with freestyle rap. She felt she had found her unique sound.
On September 27, 2011, Azalea released her first full project, a mixtape called Ignorant Art. In November 2011, she released a music video for her song "My World." The video featured actor and former wrestler Tiny Lister. This helped her gain more attention online. Azalea said the video was meant to be like a "ridiculous '90s video, but then chopped and screwed." In December 2011, Azalea announced she would release her first studio album, The New Classic. She planned to do this once she signed a major record label deal.
On January 11, 2012, Azalea released the music video for "The Last Song." This was her third video from Ignorant Art. In a January 27 interview with Billboard, Azalea hinted at signing with Interscope Records. She also hoped to release The New Classic in June. She wanted her first single to come out in March.
Azalea reached out to rapper T.I. for help with her debut album. T.I. was set to be the main producer for The New Classic. However, Interscope did not allow T.I. to be a continuous part of her deal. So, Azalea decided not to sign with them. She chose to stay independent with Grand Hustle Records until her first album was released. The album's release was then delayed.
In early 2012, Azalea was featured on the cover of XXL magazine. She was part of their annual "Top 10 Freshman List." This list highlights new and rising rappers. On March 1, 2012, T.I. announced he signed Azalea to Grand Hustle Records. On March 26, 2012, Azalea posted "Murda Bizness" on her YouTube. This was meant to be the first single for The New Classic. The song featured a verse from T.I.
In April 2012, Azalea announced plans to release an extended play (EP) called Glory in May. She also starred in the world's first interactive shoppable music video for Canadian fashion retailer SSENSE. This was alongside producer Diplo and FKi. In May 2012, T.I. confirmed that Azalea had not yet secured a distribution deal for Grand Hustle Records. He described her as a "free agent." It was later revealed she was talking with other labels, possibly Def Jam Recordings. Azalea was also featured on Steve Aoki and Angger Dimas' electronic track "Beat Down," released on May 31, 2012.
On June 24, 2012, Azalea released "Millionaire Misfits." This was the second song from her EP Glory. On July 21, the music video for "Murda Bizness" was released. Glory was released on July 30, 2012, after a slight delay. Azalea was also part of MTV's 2012 Closer to My Dreams Tour. On September 28, 2012, Azalea announced her second mixtape, TrapGold, would be released on October 11, 2012. Diplo and FKi produced the entire mixtape. On October 9, 2012, Azalea made her U.S. national television debut. She appeared with T.I. and other Grand Hustle artists at the 2012 BET Hip Hop Awards. Later that month, she toured North America with Roc Nation singer-songwriter Rita Ora. Azalea then headlined a tour in Europe to support TrapGold. On December 16, 2012, Azalea performed live with Natasha Bedingfield and Bootsy Collins. They covered Deee-Lite's 1990 hit "Groove Is in the Heart" on VH1 Divas.
Breakthrough with The New Classic (2013–2014)
In early 2013, Azalea toured and continued working on her upcoming singles. She was the opening act for Rita Ora's Radioactive Tour in the United Kingdom. During this tour, Azalea premiered her first official single, "Work." This song was also the lead single for her debut album. It premiered on BBC Radio 1Xtra on February 11, 2013. On February 13, 2013, it was announced Azalea had signed a record deal with Mercury Records. The music video for "Work" was released on March 13, 2013. In March 2013, Azalea also joined rapper Nas on the European part of his Life Is Good Tour.
On April 15, 2013, Vevo announced Azalea as their second LIFT artist of 2013. This meant she would film live performances, fashion pieces, and behind-the-scenes interviews. It was also revealed that the music video for her second single, "Bounce," would premiere on Vevo. On March 16, 2013, it was announced that Azalea would perform at the "Chime for Change" benefit concert. This concert took place on June 1 in London, alongside Beyoncé and Jennifer Lopez. On April 23, 2013, Azalea announced she had signed a solo record deal with Island Def Jam. On April 26, 2013, "Bounce" premiered on BBC Radio 1. She also mentioned that the third international single from her debut album would be "Change Your Life." This song would feature a verse from T.I.. Azalea confirmed she was not signed to Grand Hustle Records, but she was closely connected with the label.
On May 25, 2013, Azalea performed a carnival-themed set at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Derry, Northern Ireland. The setlist included songs from her previous EPs and new album material like "Bounce" and "Work." This show was the start of her UK promotional appearances before the album release. In June 2013, Azalea confirmed the album was almost finished. It was expected to be released in September 2013. On July 29, 2013, Azalea revealed she would be the opening act for Beyoncé's The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in Australia. This tour took place in October and November. The third single from The New Classic, "Change Your Life," premiered on BBC Radio 1Xtra on August 19, 2013. On October 3, 2013, Azalea made her first appearance on BET's 106 & Park. She was interviewed and performed "Change Your Life" with T.I.
Azalea's debut album was planned for an October 2013 release. But in an interview, she said her record label would not let her release The New Classic until March 2014. This was due to other commitments, like supporting Beyoncé on her tour. She explained the delays: "It was supposed to be October but obviously I'm going on tour with Beyoncé and they said I'm not allowed to put an album out while I'm on tour because I'll be trapped in Australia and I won't be able to do any TV appearances and I thought that's fair enough, that's three weeks and then they said 'You can't put an album out around Christmas time, that's a bad time' and I said 'What about January?' 'Well nobody gets back off holidays and then it's the BRIT Awards, you can't release an album, it's terrible for marketing' which brings me to February." On November 10, 2013, Azalea performed "Blurred Lines" with Robin Thicke at the 2013 MTV Europe Music Awards.
In February 2014, Azalea announced a new single called "Fancy," featuring English singer-songwriter Charli XCX. The song premiered on BBC Radio 1 Xtra on February 6, 2014. It was later revealed that "Fancy" was the song that had previously leaked as "Leave It." On February 17, 2014, the song was sent to radio stations in the United Kingdom as the album's fourth single. The music video for "Fancy," inspired by the 1995 American comedy film Clueless, was released on March 4. "Fancy" became Azalea's most successful single. It was her first song to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100. It also reached number one on Billboard's Hot Rap Songs chart and the US Dance Club Play chart.
After many delays, The New Classic was finally released on April 21, 2014. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart. It sold 52,000 copies in the United States in its first week. The New Classic was the highest-charting female rap album since Nicki Minaj's Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (2012). It also had the highest debut sales for a female rapper's first album since Minaj's Pink Friday (2010). Azalea was then featured on American singer Ariana Grande's single "Problem," released on April 28, 2014. Shortly after, Azalea also appeared on Jennifer Lopez's single "Booty."
On May 28, 2014, The New Classic's fourth single "Fancy" reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Azalea became the fourth solo female rapper to top the Hot 100. On the same day, "Problem" rose to number two on the Hot 100. This made Azalea the only artist since the Beatles to have their first two Hot 100 entries at numbers one and two at the same time. "Fancy" also topped the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Songs chart. On June 24, 2014, Azalea's song "Black Widow," featuring Rita Ora, was sent to rhythmic contemporary radio. It became her debut album's fifth single in the US. It eventually reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. A new version of The New Classic, called Reclassified, was released in November 2014. It included five new songs, such as "Beg for It" and "Trouble."
On December 10, 2014, Azalea announced plans for an arena tour in 2015 and a second studio album. She revealed the tour title, The Great Escape Tour. The concept was Azalea seeing herself as "a musical escape artist for people." Azalea also said the tour name matched the title of her upcoming second album.
Career Challenges (2015–2018)
Azalea began working on her second studio album in January 2015. On May 4, 2015, she released a duet with Britney Spears called "Pretty Girls." On May 29, 2015, it was reported that The Great Escape Tour was canceled. A new tour was planned for Azalea's new album, set for 2016. Azalea later explained she "had a different creative change of heart." She also wanted to take a break to decide the direction for her music and visuals. In June, she said she had scrapped six months of work to start over. On August 30, she performed "Cool for the Summer" with Demi Lovato at the 2015 MTV Video Awards.
In October 2015, Azalea revealed her second album's first title: Digital Distortion. A preview song, "Azillion," was available for free streaming on SoundCloud on January 9, 2016. The album's main single, "Team," was released on March 18, 2016. An accompanying music video premiered on March 31. In March 2016, Azalea shared that she had started a production company. She bought the rights to books and Australian TV shows she liked. In July 2016, she announced her company, Azalea Street Productions, signed a deal to create content for NBCUniversal. In February 2017, it was announced the company planned a film based on the book Bad Girls Gone, but it did not happen.
On June 12, 2016, Seven Network announced Azalea would be a judge on The X Factor Australia. This was for its eighth season, from October to November 2016. In September 2016, Azalea explained she was delaying her album release to 2017. It was first set for July 2016. She said she "needed to have some me time to get my life in order and process the changes that are happening in my private life." She also wanted to record new songs that showed her current feelings.
Azalea released two singles, "Mo Bounce" and "Switch," on March 24, 2017, and May 19, 2017. "Switch" featured Brazilian singer Anitta. Azalea promoted "Switch" by performing at the 2017 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards. On November 7, 2017, Azalea stated she could not release music until January 2018. This was because she signed with a new label. She also announced the new title of her second album, Surviving the Summer. She released four new songs for free download via WeTransfer. The media called these songs a four-track mixtape or EP called 4 My Ratz. In January 2018, Azalea announced the lead single from Surviving the Summer would be "Savior" featuring Quavo. It was released on February 2, 2018.
On June 8, 2018, the rapper revealed that Survive the Summer would be an EP. She also said the release was delayed because of a change in president at her record label, Island Records. On July 5, Azalea released two songs from the EP: "Tokyo Snow Trip" and "Kream," which featured Tyga. Survive the Summer was released on August 3, 2018. It debuted at number 144 on the Billboard 200. On November 3, 2018, Azalea tweeted that she had left Island Records. She had signed with them in 2017. She then started her own record label, named New Classic Records at the time. Two weeks later, she announced a $2.7 million distribution deal with an unnamed company. She stated she would be an independent artist. She would be able to sign other artists and own all her music rights. On November 20, 2018, it was announced she signed a partnership deal with Empire Distribution. She later renamed her record label Bad Dreams in January 2019.
In My Defense and Other Projects (2019)
In early February 2019, Azalea announced she had finished her second studio album, In My Defense. She planned to release it in the spring of that year. On February 27, Azalea announced that "Sally Walker" would be the first single from the album. On the same day, her previous single, "Kream," was certified gold. This meant it sold 500,000 copies in the U.S. By the end of March 2019, "Sally Walker" had over 38 million views on YouTube. It had combined sales of over 82,000 copies across all platforms. It debuted on Billboard's Hot 100 Chart at number 62. This made it Azalea's highest-charting single since "Team" in 2016. Azalea promoted the song with a performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. On May 3, 2019, Azalea released the album's second single, "Started," with its music video. Soon after, a song with VVAVES called "Boys Like You" was released.
On June 24, 2019, Azalea announced on Twitter that her album In My Defense would be released on July 19, 2019. Pre-orders for the album began on June 28, 2019. Azalea appeared on the cover of Cosmopolitan in August. On September 27, 2019, Azalea announced she would release a new extended play. In an interview, Azalea said she was not sure if she would tour to promote the record. But she planned to start recording new music in September, hoping to release it next year. She later announced on Twitter that she planned to release a new extended play on November 15, 2019. It was titled Wicked Lips, following the release of its lead single, "Lola." After some small delays, the EP was released on December 2. Azalea wrote most of the EP. Noah Cyrus co-wrote "The Girls," which featured Pabllo Vittar.
Recent Years and Business Ventures (2020–Present)
In the summer of 2020, Azalea announced her third studio album, The End of an Era. On August 20, 2020, Azalea released the first lead single, "Dance Like Nobody's Watching," a collaboration with Tinashe. Because it didn't perform as well as hoped, Azalea removed the song from The End of an Era. She then released the album's new lead single "Sip It" with Tyga in April 2021. In June 2021, Azalea tweeted that The End of an Era would be released in August of the same year. Later in June, Pitbull announced his I Feel Good Tour with Azalea as an opening act. On July 15, 2021, Azalea announced she would take a break from music after The End of an Era was released.
On August 8, 2022, Azalea announced she would return to music. In August 2023, she released a music video for her single "Money Come." She directed it herself with Christian Breslauer. In 2022, Azalea sold her music catalog to Domain Capital in a deal worth millions of dollars. This included her share of music and future earnings from master recordings. Also in 2022, she announced her upcoming fourth album would be produced by Canadian singer and rapper Tory Lanez. However, the project was put on hold. In 2024, she seemingly announced her retirement from music again. She stated she would focus on more creative projects. In 2024, she launched her memecoin called Mother Iggy. Azalea also launched her own telecommunication service called Unreal Mobile. She also created a crowd-funding platform called "Dream Vault."
Artistry
Musical Style and Influences
.jpg)
Even though Azalea is Australian, she raps with a Southern U.S. accent. When she first moved to America, she was part of the Southern hip hop scene in Miami and later Atlanta. This helped her develop the Southern sound in her music. She explained, "I lived in the South for five years; you pick up things from your surroundings and teachers. The people who taught me to rap are all from the South and so was the music I had listened to as a teen."
While Azalea's first extended play, Glory, focused on hardcore rap, it also included other styles like electronic dance music. Music critics have described her singles "Fancy" and "Team" as electro-hop.
At age 11, Azalea became fascinated with hip hop. She heard Tupac Shakur's "Baby Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II)." She said, "It was the song that made me fall in love with music and also what sparked my Tupac fascination. That would later make me pick up my own pen and write songs." In early interviews, Azalea often mentioned Shakur's influence. She said, "I was sickly obsessed. I had every picture of Tupac ever printed on my wall." She has also credited Beyoncé as an influence. She admires Missy Elliott the most among female rappers. Outside of music, her fashion style is influenced by Grace Kelly, Lil' Kim, Gwen Stefani, Fran Drescher, Eve, Trina, Fergie, Christina Aguilera, and the Spice Girls. Azalea stated that Mel B and Victoria Beckham are her favorite Spice Girls.
Music Videos
Azalea is known for her high-quality music videos. They are often funny and include satire. Azalea has paid tribute to many cult films from the 1990s and early 2000s in her music videos. Some notable examples include Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1997) in "Work" (2013). She also referenced Showgirls (1995) in "Change Your Life" (2013). The video for "Fancy" (2014) was inspired by Clueless (1995). "Black Widow" (2014) referenced Kill Bill (2003). "Pretty Girls" (2015) paid homage to Earth Girls Are Easy (1988).
Besides film references, different eras of cinema are shown in her videos. This includes the Bollywood-themed video for "Bounce" (2013). The 1980s cop comedy-inspired video for "Trouble" (2015) is another example. Also, the video for "Murda Bizness" (2012) reminds viewers of the pageant culture seen in the reality series Toddlers & Tiaras.
Azalea has also been a director for some of her music videos. She often talks about how important visuals are to her. She says, "For me, visuals are as important as the music, I just love escapism and giving people something to escape to. To me, that's what art is."
Personal Life
Azalea claims to have some Aboriginal ancestry. She stated, "My family came to Australia on the First Fleet. My family's been in that country for a long time, over 100 years. If your family's lived in Australia for a long time, everyone has a little bit of [Aboriginal blood]. I know my family does because we have an eye condition that only Aborigine [sic] people have."
In March 2018, Azalea was approved for permanent residence in the United States. She has one child.
Discography
- The New Classic (2014)
- In My Defense (2019)
- The End of an Era (2021)
Tours
Headlining Tours
- The New Classic Tour (2014)
Cancelled Tours
- Great Escape Tour (2015)
- Bad Girls Tour (2018)
Opening Act Tours
- 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. Azalea was the first female and first non-American rapper to be featured on XXL's "Top 10 Freshman List." In 2014, she received two American Music Awards in the Rap/Hip-Hop categories. She also had four more nominations. She won one MTV Video Music Award for her song with Ariana Grande. She had seven more nominations, making her the most nominated artist at these award shows that year. She has also won three Teen Choice Awards and one MTV Europe Music Award. Azalea won the 2014 ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist. She also won the 2015 People's Choice Award for Favorite Hip-Hop Artist.
Azalea ranked at number 46 on the 2014 AMID (Australasian Music Industry Directory) Power 50 list. This list includes the most influential people in the Australasian music world. Azalea received four nominations at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. These included Best New Artist, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance for "Fancy." She was also nominated for Best Rap Album for The New Classic. Azalea joined the list of the 9th Annual Billboard Women in Music honorees as a chart-topper. In late 2014, she was placed at number one on Billboard Year-End's Top New Artists chart. In 2015, Azalea also led the 2015 iHeartRadio Music Awards nominations with five. She received twelve nominations at the 2015 Billboard Music Awards. In 2016, Azalea was given the Woman of the Year award by GQ Australia. In 2020, Iggy Azalea was listed at number 50 in Rolling Stone Australia's "50 Greatest Australian Artists of All Time" issue.
Images for kids
-
Iggy Azalea's signature
See also
In Spanish: Iggy Azalea para niños
- List of artists who reached number one in the United States
