Photo: Courtesy of Caspar Balslev

This week, Brit singer-songwriter Marina And The Diamonds is back with her new single “Primadonna”, the latest track off her upcoming album, Electra Heart, out July 17. The pop song has tinges of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry (she opened for Katy on select dates of her California Dream Tour) with a bumping beat and entertaining tongue-in-cheek lyrics to boot. We talked to Marina about her new album, love and relationships, her personal style, and her must-have beauty products. Check out the Q&A below and click through to watch the video for “Primadonna”!

ELLEgirl (EG): How did you come up with your stage name?

Marina Diamandis (MD): My name is Marina and my surname is “Diamanti” in Greek, meaning “Diamonds”. I couldn’t find a scene to fit into at the time, so thought I liked the idea of creating my own bubble.

EG: How would you describe your sound?

MD: The new album is like a bubblegum psychodrama—lots of drama and dark humor.

EG: You’ve been compared to Kate Bush and Florence Welch. What are your thoughts on that? Do you think your sound is in line with them?

MD: Perhaps Kate Bush in regard to having quite a big vocal range. I don’t mind the comparisons. As long as they call me Marina on my tombstone, everything is fantastic.

EG: Who are your musical influences?

MD: Madonna, Dolly Parton, Fiona Apple, Britney Spears, and Daniel Johnston.

EG: How will your upcoming album, Electra Heart, differ from your first, The Family Jewels? What’s this next one about?

MD: The aim of Electra Heart was to personify heartbreak and present the experience of it in a slightly different way to what is normal in pop/love songs. There are two main themes running through it: love (ew) and identity (snore).

EG: How would you describe your personal style? What do you say to yourself when you get dressed in the morning?

MD: I channel fluffy-girly thoughts coated in the devil’s spawn. My style is very feminine right now. I feel like the project explores female identity and the female ego so it’s nice to take joy in dressing in such a hyper-feminine way. It probably won’t happen again until I’m 75.

EG: What is the message of “Primadonna”? What was your inspiration for the song?

MD: It’s about not needing anybody when it comes to love—your raison d’etre is to live for adoration. Girls usually feel like this when they are not appreciated in a relationship. The inspiration for the song came from an ex-boyfriend. He thought it was funny that I was a mega drama queen always talking “global love” this, “global love” that! He called me a prima donna. I love it but I also kind of hate it. Like they say, “You only hate in others what you hate in yourself”, so I thought I’d channel this well-known but kind of undesirable character type into a pop song. As the saying goes (that I just made up): You’ve either been one or dated one at least once in your life.

EG: You have very defined eye makeup and blush in the music video, what are your must-have beauty products you keep on hand?

MD: MAC eyelashes, Beauty Island’s ‘Summer Soufflé’ lipstick, and liquid eyeliner.