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Ava Max was born Amanda Koci, to
Albanian-immigrant parents in Milwaukee. When she was eight, her family
moved to Virginia. Her mother was an opera singer; her dad played the
piano; her uncles were in bands. She was a Britney Spears fanatic who
wanted to pursue pop music. Max also has an older brother. In 1991, her
parents fled Albania after the fall of communism in the country and lived
in a church in Paris for a year. While in Paris, they encountered a woman
from Wisconsin and were given passports by her before immigrating to the
United States to reside in Wisconsin, where Max was born. During her
childhood, Max often saw her parents struggle to earn an income, as they
each worked three jobs without speaking English. Her mother was a
classically trained opera singer, while her father was a pianist.
After moving from several states in the United States to pursue a music
career since her childhood, Max signed with Atlantic Records in 2016,
where she released the song "Sweet but Psycho" in August 2018. It became
her breakthrough single after peaking at number one in 22 countries,
including the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, and
New Zealand. The song also peaked at number two in Australia, and at
number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. In March 2020, Max released the
song "Kings & Queens", which peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100
and at number 19 on the UK Singles Chart. It was followed by the release
of her debut studio album, Heaven & Hell, in September 2020, which charted
at number two on the UK Albums Chart and at number 27 on the US Billboard
200. In November 2020, the song "My Head & My Heart" was released, which
peaked at number 45 on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number 18 on the UK
Singles Chart. |
