El Ma
El Ma | |
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El Ma in February 2026 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Elmira Marinova 21 May 2007 Sofia, Bulgaria |
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| Instrument |
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| Years active | 2023–present |
| Labels |
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Elmira Marinova (born 21 May 2007), known professionally as El Ma, is a Bulgarian singer-songwriter based in Italy.
Early life and education
Born in 2007 in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, she is the daughter of a former Bulgarian national youth soccer player and a former model committed to supporting charitable foundations.[1][2] Her brother is a drum and bass musician.[3][4]
At the age of nine, she began taking singing lessons, joining a children's choir taught by Adelina Koleva.[5] At fourteen, she moved to Italy to pursue her musical career, and at fifteen, she released her first original song, recorded at Dariana Koumanova's Studio20 Milano.[6][7]
Career
In 2023 she collaborated with MD DJ releasing the songs "Tired of Loving You (MD DJ Remix)" , "Stop This Flame" and "Say My Name".[8] In the same year she won the title of European Champion in the singing category, during the European Championship of Performing Arts, held in Rome.[9]
In 2024 she released the songs "Going Down", "Domino" and "Blow Your Mind", the latter two featuring MD DJ.[10] In the same year she decided to sign up for the casting of the eighteenth edition of the talent show X Factor, hosted by Giorgia, where she took part in Jake La Furia's team.[11][12] She was then eliminated during the third episode on 26 September.[13][14] In 2025 with MD DJ she released the singles "Blow Your Mind", "Beautiful Life", "Dilema" and "Sky" and the solo singles "Give it to me",[15] "Beats again"[16] and "Julie".[17]
El Ma joined a trio with Blind and Soniko, and together they were among the ten winning acts of the Area Sanremo contest on 12 December 2025.[18] The trio was selected to compete in the Newcomers' section of the Sanremo Music Festival 2026.[19][20] Their entry, titled "Nei miei DM",[21] was eliminated in the semi-final.[22] On 13 February 2026, the single "Dicitencello vuje" was released.[23][24]
Discography
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album or EP |
|---|---|---|---|
| ITA [25] | |||
| "Tired of Loving You (MD DJ Remix)" (with MD DJ) |
2023 | — | Non-album singles |
| "Stop This Flame" (with MD DJ) |
— | ||
| "Say My Name" (with MD DJ) |
— | ||
| "Going Down" | 2024 | — | |
| "Domino" (with MD DJ) |
— | ||
| "Blow Your Mind" (with MD DJ) |
— | ||
| "Beautiful Life" (with MD DJ) |
2025 | — | |
| "Give it to me" | — | ||
| "Beats again" | — | ||
| "Dilema" (with MD DJ) |
— | ||
| "Sky" (with MD DJ) |
— | ||
| "Julie" | — | ||
| "Nei miei DM" (with Blind and Soniko) |
67 | ||
| "Dicitencello vuje" | 2026 | — | |
| "—" denotes singles that did not chart or were not released. | |||
Television programs
| Year | Title | Network | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | X Factor | Sky Uno | Contestant (season 18) |
References
- ^ "X Factor, chi è Elmira Marinova in arte El Ma. Da Sofia a Milano per diventare una pop-star". Il Riformista (in Italian).
- ^ "Chi è Elmira Marinova, talento di X Factor 2024". Donna Glamour (in Italian).
- ^ "Chi è El Ma di X Factor 2024? Età, vero nome e Instagram". Novella 2000 (in Italian).
- ^ "X Factor 2024, la scheda di El Ma: intervista e biografia". Recensiamo Musica (in Italian).
- ^ "Nuova puntata del podcast Moda&Lifestyle, dedicata alla cantante El Ma". Radio Eterea Digital (in Italian).
- ^ "Chi è El Ma, protagonista di X Factor". Notizie Musica (in Italian).
- ^ "Musica, X Factor mette in vetrina la giovanissima El Ma". vetrina tv (in Italian).
- ^ "El Ma è la stella di X Factor! Sapete che origini ha e da dove viene? Conosciamo la sua famiglia". DonnaPOP (in Italian).
- ^ "Chi è El Ma, in gara al Festival di Sanremo 2026 nelle Nuove proposte con Blind e Soniko". TAG24 (in Italian).
- ^ "Alla scoperta di Elmira "El Ma" Marinova, il talento bulgaro che ha già conquistato X Factor". Euromusica (in Italian).
- ^ "Elmira Marinova: il talento di X Factor che ha conquistato i giudici volando da Sofia a Milano". All Music Italia (in Italian).
- ^ "Chi è El Ma Elmira Marinova concorrente X Factor 2024? / La cantante bulgara di 17 anni di Jake La Furia". ilsussidiario.net (in Italian).
- ^ "X Factor 2024, El Ma eliminata: cosa è successo nella terza puntata dei Live Show". Fanpage.it (in Italian).
- ^ "X Factor, El Ma eliminata. E sui social un po' di critiche per il "buonismo" dei quattro giudici". la Repubblica (in Italian).
- ^ "El Ma celebra la bellezza della vita nel brano Give it to me". All Music Italia (in Italian).
- ^ "El Ma, in arrivo il singolo estivo Beats again". Recensiamo Musica (in Italian).
- ^ "El Ma racconta un'estate di passione e segreti nel suo primo singolo in italiano: Julie". All Music Italia (in Italian).
- ^ "Area Sanremo 2025: scelti i dieci vincitori, da Albe a Tomasi. Tra loro i due che andranno al Festival". All Music Italia (in Italian).
- ^ "Sanremo 2026: i finalisti di Area Sanremo e le altre novità". Rockol (in Italian).
- ^ "Area Sanremo 2025, annunciati i due vincitori: Mazzariello e il trio Blind, El Ma & Soniko vanno al Festival". All Music Italia (in Italian).
- ^ Da Area Sanremo al Festival, Blind, El Ma & Soniko cantano Nei miei DM. Rai News (in Italian). RAI.
- ^ Gugliotta, Jacopo (25 February 2026). "Nuove proposte, subito fuori Area Sanremo". Riviera24 (in Italian). Retrieved 26 February 2026.
- ^ "El Ma in gara al Festival di Sanremo esce con Dicitencello vuje". Radio Subasio (in Italian).
- ^ "Dicitencello vuje El Ma". BitSound (in Italian).
- ^ "El Ma in FIMI charts" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
External links
- El Ma's channel on YouTube
- Elmira Marinova at IMDb
- El Ma at AllMusic