AUSTIN, Texas — She may have dropped "the Diamonds" but MARINA still shines.
Formerly known as Marina and the Diamonds, pop singer MARINA brought her "LOVE + FEAR" Tour to Austin Saturday night to a packed crowd.
It's been about four years since the release of Welsh singer Marina Diamandis' latest album, "FROOT." And when she wrapped up that tour, she told the Rolling Stone she was thinking about quitting music altogether.
Thankfully, she didn't. Instead, she told the Stone she went to college and a few years later shortened her stage name.
Now, MARINA is back with a brand-new album and the similarly-named LOVE + FEAR Tour.
"LOVE is filled with a longing to enjoy life ('Handmade Heaven') and a desire for unity ('To Be Human')," says MARINA. "FEAR explores subjects that have been a lot harder for me to work through and understand, such as purpose ('Life is Strange'), insecurity in love ('Believe in Love' and 'Soft to be Strong'), and major shifts in our social conscience regarding the systematic misogyny and sexual abuse employed by powerful figures in the media ('Karma'). A companion to LOVE, these ideas cross to showcase and explore the polarising sides of human nature."
A slower and more mature departure from her pop anthems of past albums, MARINA's "LOVE + FEAR" is a big step for the singer. And with such a new direction in her career as an artist, she says the idea to change her stage name came naturally.
"Changing my artist name to the single 'MARINA' is something that feels natural to me and helps me to feel more able to present myself authentically, as a multi-faceted individual as opposed to an artistic persona," she says. "It’s something I’ve struggled with in the past when so much of what defines an artist is tied up in their visual and musical identity. Sometimes the more nuanced aspects, or non-music related parts of a person, get lost within that."
After 10 years as Marina and the Diamonds, she says presenting herself as only her first name is a way to help her feel something those who are often in the spotlight struggle to feel – human.
"LOVE + FEAR" shows that, and the tour too.
Along with help from New Zealand's Broods, they made a pit stop in Austin at ACL Live at the Moody Theater in Austin.
With a dazzling lights display, a group of backup singers and the backing of ballet dancers leaping through the air, MARINA fans were transported to another world – at least for the night – as they sang along to songs spanning all of her albums, like "Handmade Heaven," "Froot," "Primadonna" and "Oh No!"
PHOTOS: MARINA, Broods bring LOVE + FEAR Tour to Austin
MARINA is a platinum-selling artist who has amassed a number of awards over the years in multiple countries.
Since her breakthrough in 2009, she has released three UK Top 10 albums including Gold-certified "The Family Jewels" (2010) and "Electra Heart" (2012), which debuted at No. 1 on the UK’s Official Charts. Her last album, "FROOT" (2015), was a Top 10 debut on the SoundScan/Billboard 200 and reached No. 4 on the Top Albums Chart. It also reached No. 1 on the iTunes Top Albums chart in the U.S., Argentina, Greece, Ireland and the UK and hit No. 2 in Canada, Australia, Brazil and multiple other countries.
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