Iggy Azalea, Australian rapper
Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born 7 June 1990), known professionally as Iggy Azalea (), is an Australian rapper, singer, songwriter, and model. At the age of 16, Azalea moved from Australia to the United States in order to pursue a career in music. Azalea earned public recognition after releasing the music videos for her songs "Pussy" and "Two Times" on YouTube, both of which gained rapid popularity. Azalea signed a recording contract with American rapper T.I.'s label Grand Hustle shortly afterward and released her debut mixtape, Ignorant Art (2011).
Azalea's debut studio album, The New Classic (2014), peaked among the top five on several charts worldwide, but received mixed reviews from within the industry. The album eventually topped the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, making Azalea the first non-American female rapper to reach the top of the chart. The New Classic was preceded by Azalea's debut single "Work" and chart-topping single "Fancy", which hit the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. Azalea was featured on Ariana Grande's single "Problem", which peaked at number two behind "Fancy". With these hits, Azalea joined the ranks of The Beatles as the only act to rank at number one and two simultaneously with their first two Hot 100 entries. In addition, she achieved three top ten hits simultaneously on the Hot 100 with the aforementioned songs and the album's fifth single, "Black Widow", which debuted later that year.After her debut album, Azalea released a slew of singles to build anticipation for her intended second album, Digital Distortion. However, a series of conflicts with her label, as well as personal conflicts, resulted in the project being cancelled. Consequently, Azalea switched labels, releasing the EP Survive the Summer (2018) under Island Records. Further disagreements led to Azalea becoming an independent artist and creating her own label, Bad Dreams, through a distribution deal with Empire. Her second album, In My Defense, was released in 2019, followed by another EP, Wicked Lips, that same year. Before taking a hiatus from music, Azalea released her third and final studio album, The End of an Era, in August 2021.
Azalea's accolades include two American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, a People's Choice Award, four Teen Choice Awards and four Grammy Award nominations. Azalea's official YouTube channel has accumulated 3.4 billion views, with 15 music videos receiving over 100 million views on Vevo.