Joya Marleen

Switzerland's Joya Marleen achieved a surprise climb to the summit of the national airplay rankings via her incisive, shadowy track "Nightmare." At just 18 years old, the precisely constructed pop craftsmanship and assured vocal presence in that song contradicted her youth and paved the way for further releases including "Driver" and "Softly Speaking," both featured on the self-titled EP she issued in 2021.

Marleen entered the world on April 28, 2003, in St. Gallen, where she first picked up guitar and started composing original material at age 12. Her abilities advanced rapidly, leading her within several years to deliver sets that merged jazzy, acoustic pop influences drawn from figures such as Tracy Chapman and Swiss musician Sophie Hunger. Significant concert engagements accumulated across the nation by 2018, yet her initial single from 2020 ultimately secured widespread notice. Departing from those earlier acoustic foundations, "Nightmare" emerged as a sharp-edged pop recording anchored by a potent hook, ascending to the number-one position on Switzerland's airplay chart. She continued later the same year with the introspective piano piece "It's Been a While." Additional tracks arrived in 2021, among them the polished, groove-driven "Drive," which appeared on her eponymous EP.