Ava Max Artistfacts

February 16, 1994
Pop singer Ava Max was born Amanda Koçi in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Albanian parents. Thanks to her pianist father and her mother, a classically trained opera singer, she had music in her blood, and her mom encouraged her to pursue a singing career in Los Angeles. After a few false starts, she teamed up with Canadian producer Cirkut (Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus) on the track "Anyone But You," which caused a buzz on SoundCloud and caught the attention of record labels. She signed with Atlantic Records in 2017 and launched her breakthrough hit single, "Sweet But Psycho," the following year.
The upbeat dance-pop vibe of "Sweet But Psycho" was a throwback to the shiny pop hits from Katy Perry and the like that dominated the charts more than a decade earlier - which was exactly why it shouldn't have worked in 2018 when downtempo fare was in vogue. Ava's mission was to bring danceable pop songs back to the charts; she succeeded when "Sweet But Psycho" landed in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. She even refused to include any ballads on her debut album, Heaven & Hell (2020), because she didn't want to cut any of the dance tracks.
Her signature asymmetrical haircut, dubbed the "Max Cut," came about by accident. She was in the middle of cutting her own hair when she realized the chocolate chip cookies she was baking were burning in the oven and temporarily abandoned her scissors. When she viewed her handiwork in the mirror - a short bob on one side and a flowing mane on the other - she knew she found a look that would make her stand out.
Ava grew up in Virginia, where she made her performance debut at 10 years old as an opening act at The NorVa, a venue in Norfolk, singing Whitney Houston's "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)." Ava said Houston's theatrical vocal delivery in the song inspired the energy she brings to her own music.
She chose the stage name Ava Max to represent the feminine and masculine parts of her identity. The name Ava started out as a middle name she chose for herself but, never feeling like she was an Amanda, she started using it as her first name.
Ava didn't invite any famous artists to sing on her album Heaven & Hell because she wanted all the attention to be on her own voice.
After a failed attempt to make it in LA when she was 14, Ava's family moved to South Carolina, where the former homeschooler attended Lexington High School for a year. She was bullied a lot by the other students, and often hid in the bathroom to eat her lunch. At home, she sang along to "All By Myself" by Celine Dion to comfort herself.
While she was trying to make it as a singer, Ava worked at a kiosk demonstrating hair straighteners to pay the bills. Unfortunately, she wasn't very good at it and burned a customer's hair.
When touring in support of her debut album, she would often cover "Fallin'" by Alicia Keys to incorporate R&B into her pop repertoire and show off her vocal range. She also credits Fugees vocalist Lauryn Hill with getting her into soulful R&B music, particularly with the group's version of the tune "Killing Me Softly With His Song."
Ava is a big fan of music from then '80s and '90s, especially big voices like Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, but when she's in the process of recording an album, she doesn't look for outside inspiration. "I try not to let too many things influence me because I want it to come from my heart, and I want it to come from the inside of my brain where it's just, 'Who am I at the end of the day?'" she told People Magazine ahead of the release of her Don't Click Play album in 2025.
On June 20, 2023, Ava was attacked by an audience member during a concert in Los Angeles. While she was performing "The Motto," a man jumped on stage and slapped the singer, scratching the inside of her eye.
Ava Max food facts: Her guilty pleasure is chocolate cake and she loves pepperoni pizza, but you'll never find her eating mustard or coconut - she's allergic to both.
The craziest rumor she's ever heard about herself was that she's Lady Gaga's daughter. Ava's eclectic fashion sense and club-friendly pop bangers have also drawn comparisons to Gaga's "Poker Face" era.
She's allergic to cats.

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