Iggy Azalea

Amethyst Amelia Kelly, known professionally as Iggy Azalea, is an Australian model, businesswoman, and former rapper. She gained widespread public recognition following the release of her debut studio album, The New Classic, and her chart-topping single Fancy. During her career, Azalea became one of the best-selling female rappers globally and achieved significant chart success in the United States and internationally.

Azalea was born on 7 June 1990 in Sydney, Australia, and grew up in Mullumbimby on a 12-acre mud-brick property built by her father, a painter and comic artist, while her mother cleaned holiday houses and hotels. Influenced by her father's encouragement to study art, she began rapping at age 14. She initially formed a music group with neighborhood peers before deciding to pursue a solo career. Wanting to move closer to the birthplace of hip-hop, she dropped out of high school, saved money by working alongside her mother, and traveled to the United States in 2006 shortly before turning 16.

After arriving in the United States, Azalea lived in Miami, Houston, and Atlanta before relocating to Los Angeles in 2010. She created her stage name by combining the name of her childhood dog, Iggy, with Azalea Street, where her family resided. In 2011, she gained online recognition through YouTube videos for her songs Pussy and Two Times, followed by the self-release of her debut mixtape, Ignorant Art. She later partnered with rapper T.I., signing with his label Grand Hustle Records, and released the EPs Glory and TrapGold in 2012.

Azalea achieved mainstream success with her debut studio album, The New Classic, released in 2014. The album peaked in the top five on multiple international charts and reached number one on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making her the first non-American female rapper to top that list. Its lead single, Fancy featuring Charli XCX, topped the Billboard Hot 100, while her feature on Ariana Grande's Problem simultaneously occupied the number two spot, making Azalea the second act after the Beatles to hold the top two positions with debut entries. The album also produced successful singles such as Work, Bounce, Change Your Life, and Black Widow featuring Rita Ora.

Following her debut, Azalea encountered label conflicts and personal difficulties that led to the cancellation of her intended second album, Digital Distortion. She subsequently signed with Island Records to release her 2018 EP, Survive the Summer. Following further label disputes, she transitioned to self-releasing her music, issuing her second album In My Defense in 2019, the EP Wicked Lips in 2019, and her third studio album, The End of an Era, in 2021. In 2024, Billboard reported that Azalea announced her retirement from music via social media.

Throughout her music career, Azalea earned four Grammy Award nominations, two American Music Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, a People's Choice Award, and four Teen Choice Awards. Her music videos and collaborative work accumulated over 7 billion views on YouTube, with 15 of her videos exceeding 100 million views on Vevo.