Ida Maria

Ida Maria Børli Sivertsen, known professionally as Ida Maria, is a Norwegian musician and songwriter born on July 13, 1984. Raised in Nesna Municipality, Norway, she taught herself to play guitar and began performing at local concerts at the age of 14. She experiences synesthesia, a condition that causes her to perceive colors when hearing music, which she incorporated into her early songwriting process by creating color sheets to identify guitar chords.

Maria gained national prominence in Norway in 2007 after winning two national competitions for unknown artists, Zoom urørt 2006 and Urørtkonkurransen 2007, along with performing at the By:Larm festival in 2007 and 2008. She released her initial singles in 2007, including "Oh My God", "Drive Away My Heart", "Stella", and "Queen of the World". Her debut studio album, Fortress Round My Heart, was released in July 2008, reaching number five on the Norwegian album chart, number 38 in Ireland, and number 39 in the United Kingdom.

Her single "I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked" achieved chart success in 2008, reaching number 13 on the UK Singles Chart, number 18 in Norway, and number 34 in Ireland, while also appearing on Australia's Triple J Hottest 100 list. Following a deluxe edition in early 2009, her debut album was released in the United States in March 2009. In mid-2009, "Oh My God" was re-released with a music video, followed by a remix featuring backing vocals from punk musician Iggy Pop.

To support her releases, Maria toured across Scandinavia, the UK, the United States, and Australia, making festival appearances at Glastonbury and Reading. In 2009, she performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and joined the Perez Hilton Presents tour as a co-headliner, though she withdrew in September 2009 citing exhaustion. She released her second album, Katla, in late 2010 in Norway, where it peaked at number 14 before receiving an international release in 2011.

Maria continued her recording career with her third studio album, Love Conquers All, in August 2013, followed by her debut EP, Accidental Happiness, in February 2014. Her fourth album, Scandalize My Name, was released in April 2016 and comprised a collection of American spirituals. In 2018, she competed in Norway's Melodi Grand Prix with the song "Scandilove". She later released the five-track EP Dirty Money in June 2021, followed by her fifth studio album, Seven Deadly Sins + 3, in September 2025.

Throughout her career, Maria's songs have been featured across various television series, films, commercials, and video games. Tracks such as "Oh My God", "Keep Me Warm", "Bad Karma", "Cold Blooded", and "Dirty Money" have appeared in productions including Grey's Anatomy, Skins, Scream 4, Gossip Girl, Peacemaker, and Rock Band 3. She has also collaborated with artists including Pelle Carlberg, Guillemots, DeLillos, Joddski, and Anthony Green. Her honors include winning the 2007 Alarmprisen, the 2008 Spellemannprisen for Newcomer of the Year, the By:Larm prisen, the Nesna Kommune Kulturpris, and the 2009 Nordland Fylkeskommunes Kulturpris.