Enya
Enya Patricia Brennan (/ˈɛnjÊŒ/; Irish: Eithne PádraigÃn Nà Bhraonáin; born 17 May 1961) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician known for modern Celtic music. She is the best-selling Irish solo artist in history, and the second-best-selling overall in Ireland behind U2. Born into a musical family and raised in the Irish-speaking area of Gweedore, County Donegal, Enya began her music career when she joined her family's Celtic folk band Clannad in 1980 on keyboards and backing vocals. She left the group in 1982 with their manager and producer Nicky Ryan to pursue a solo career with Ryan's wife Roma Ryan as her lyricist. Over the following four years Enya developed her sound with multitracked vocals and keyboards containing elements of Celtic, classical, church, new age, world, pop, and Irish folk music.
Enya's first projects as a solo artist included soundtrack work for The Frog Prince (1984) and the 1986 BBC documentary series The Celts, which was released as her debut album titled Enya (1986). She signed with Warner Music UK, which granted her considerable artistic freedom and minimal interference from the label. The commercial and critical success of Watermark (1988) propelled her to worldwide fame, helped by the UK number one and the international hit single "Orinoco Flow". This was followed by the multi-million-selling albums Shepherd Moons (1991), The Memory of Trees (1995), and A Day Without Rain (2000). Sales of the latter and its lead single, "Only Time" surged in the United States following its use in the media coverage of the September 11 attacks. After the albums Amarantine (2005) and And Winter Came... (2008) Enya took a four-year break from music. She returned in 2012 and released her eighth album, Dark Sky Island (2015).
Enya's discography has sold 26.5 million certified albums in the United States and an estimated 80 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. A Day Without Rain (2000) remains the best-selling new-age album, with an estimated 16 million copies sold worldwide. Enya has won numerous awards, including seven World Music Awards, four Grammy Awards for Best New Age Album,[8] and an Ivor Novello Award. She was nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for "May It Be", written for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001).
- Anywhere Is
- Only If
- Only Time
