Hollywood - Single Version

This is the second single from part-Greek, part-Welsh singer Marina and the Diamonds' debut album, The Family Jewels. Marina and the Diamonds is the stage name of Marina Diamandis, who rose to fame after reaching #2 on the BBC Sound of 2010 poll list, behind Ellie Goulding. Her eponymous name consists of Diamandis' first name and the translation of her surname, which means "Diamonds" in Greek. She explained to Digital Spy: "Well, my surname means 'diamond' in Greek. At the time it wasn't some big decision - I just thought 'Marina and the Diamonds' sounded really natural. As the years went on, I started attracting fans and thought, 'Maybe the Diamonds could be the fans?' It sounds really cringey but if I didn't have fans, I wouldn't be able to do this, so this is kind of placing the importance on them."

In this song Marina portrays a Polish girl in America with dreams of Hollywood fame. The keyboard-playing songstress told the BBC that at one time she was "obsessed with America." She admitted: "I'm saying: 'This is who I was. Hollywood infected my brain and I really valued the wrong things in life, but I changed dramatically.' This obsession with celebrity culture is really unhealthy. I don't want to live my life like that, and I don't want to be a typical pop star."

Marina expanded on the song to The Sun February 5, 2010: "That track is a sarcastic and cynical take on everything that's commercial about America. I love the country and people dearly and can't wait to tour there but I hate the way it brainwashes you. I am seduced by its pop culture but I don't want my brain to be infected."