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Maya Cumming (born 2001), known professionally as May-a (stylised in all caps), is an Australian singer-songwriter from Sydney.

On 2 February 2022, Cumming was featured on the single "Say Nothing", a collaboration with Australian electronic musician and producer Flume.

Early life

May-a grew up in Sydney, but moved to Byron in 2010. She moved back to Sydney age 13. While living in Byron Bay she competed in songwriting competitions, and performed street busking around the ages of 11 to 14. She started out posting videos on YouTube under the username Heyit'smaya.

Prior to discovering her attraction to women, May-a stated she was in a "super awkward" relationship with a boy that inspired her song "Apricots".

Career

May-a released her debut single "Fools Paradise" in September 2019. This was followed by "All Girls Aren't the Same", which is a twist of Juice WRLD's "All Girls Are the Same" and is a song about how women should know their worth, everyone is an individual with different quirks."

On 1 May 2020, May-a released her third single, "Green" saying "'Green' is an outlook on the way that validation fuels the way we live, especially in green teens. Young, impressionable and desperate to be accepted by people they don't even like." adding "I wrote it when I was 15 and bored by the hierarchy of high school. It paints a picture of the things that teenagers think are important until they realise they aren't."

In August 2020, May-a toured with Wafia and signed with Sony Music Australia.

Her debut EP, Don't Kiss Ur Friends, was released on 6 August 2021. The EP debuted at number 31 on the ARIA Charts.

In January 2023, May-a released "Sweat You Out My System".

May-a topped Triple J Hottest 100, 2022 with a feature on Australian musician Flume's song "Say Nothing". The song was also featured in the 2022 Netflix show Heartbreak High.

In June 2023, May-a released "Lola" and announced her second EP Analysis Paralysis.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

As featured artist

Awards and nominations

AIR Awards

The Australian Independent Record Awards (commonly known informally as AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's Independent Music sector.

APRA Awards

The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters". They commenced in 1982.

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual ceremony presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.

J Awards

The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.

Rolling Stone Australia Awards

The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of Rolling Stone magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year.

Vanda and Young Global Songwriting competition

The Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition is an annual competition that "acknowledges great songwriting whilst supporting and raising money for Nordoff-Robbins" and is coordinated by Albert Music and APRA AMCOS. It commenced in 2009.

References

1. ^ Langford, Jackson (6 October 2020). "May-a unveils her new single, 'Apricots'". NME Australia. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
2. ^ Challenor, Jake (7 October 2020). "MAY-A signs with Sony Music, drops new single "Apricots"". The Music Network. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
3. Fuamoli, Sose (7 October 2020). "First Spin: MAY-A's newie sees the artist emerge as a proper pop whiz". Triple J. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
4. Raza-Sheikh, Zoya (28 July 2021). "Meet MAY-A: the YouTuber turned indie-pop star making unapologetically queer bangers". GAY TIMES. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
5. Newstead, Al (23 September 2021). "First Play: Future stars Budjerah & MAY-A join forces on suave collab 'Talk'". triple j. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
6. "Maya Unearthed Feature Artist Green All Girls Arent The Same". triple j. 15 June 2020.
7. "Apricots May-a Song Interview". 7 October 2020.
8. Cahill, Mikey (19 May 2021). "MAY-A: Singer-songwriter parlaying YouTube success into heart-on-sleeve indie pop confessionals". NME. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
9. Robinson, Kristin (20 October 2020). "MAY-A Tells Her Queer Coming-of-Age Story in "Apricots" Video". Ones to Watch. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
10. ^ "Get to know pop wunderkind MAY-A". Tone Deaf. 1 May 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
11. "Making Waves Radio Plays Tiktok Youtube Maya Mia Headon Tyne". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 19 August 2020.
12. "Wafia 170 Russell Guido Farnell".
13. Brandle, Lars (7 October 2020). "Sony Music Signs Hotly Tipped Youngser May-a". The Industry Observer.
14. "Billie Eilish holds ARIA Charts #1 album for second week with Happier Than Ever". ARIA Charts. 13 August 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2021.
15. ^ "MAY-A enters new era with 'Sweat You Out My System'". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
16. ^ "MAY-A Has Announced NE EP for September. Check out new single 'LOLA' now". Read Dork. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 2 July 2023.
17. Peaks in Australia:
    • Don't Kiss Ur Friends: "Discography May-a". australian-charts.com. Retrieved 12 September 2023.
    • Analysis Paralysis: "Polaris take pole position". ARIA Charts. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
18. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 23 January 2023. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
19. "'Fools Paradise' Is An Incredibly Strong Start For Byron Bay Teen MAY-A". The Interns. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
20. "MAY-A Speaks Hard Truths On New Song 'All Girls Aren't The Same'". The Interns. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
21. "First Spin: New love and sweet memories are at the centre of MAY-A's new tune". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
22. Langford, Jackson (20 May 2021). "Listen to May-a's raw new single 'Swing of Things'". NME Australia. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
23. "MAY-A – Central Station [Official Music Video]". YouTube. 5 August 2021. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
24. Triscari, Caleb (23 September 2021). "Budjerah joins forces with MAY-A on new pop single "Talk"". NME Australia. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
25. "DMA's link up with MAY-A for "Junk Truck Head Fuck" rework". NME Australia. 17 December 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
26. "MAY-A has shared a new single, 'Your Funeral'". read Dork. 24 March 2023. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
27. "May—A Has Released Something Familiar". Read Dork. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 31 July 2023.
28. "ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
29. "NZ Hot Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
30. "Flume Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard. 19 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
31. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2023" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
32. "Nominees Announced for the Australian Independent Music Awards 2023". Music Feeds. 31 May 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
33. "King Stingray and Genesis Owusu Win Big at 2023 AIR Awards". Music Feeds. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
34. "APRA History". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) | Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society (AMCOS). Retrieved 25 April 2022.
35. "These 20 songs are up for 2023 APRA Song Of The Year". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 25 January 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
36. "Nominees revealed for the 2023 APRA Music Awards". APRA Awards. 30 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
37. "APRA AMCOS: 2023 APRA Music Awards". APRA AMCOS (Australasian Performing Right Association and Australasian Mechanical Copyright Owners Society). Retrieved 28 April 2023.
38. "2024 APRA Music Awards nominees announced: Paul Kelly, Troye Sivan, Tex Perkins, and more". Mumbrella. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
39. Kelly, Vivienne (20 October 2021). "ARIA Awards nominees revealed: Amy Shark & Genesis Owusu lead the charge". The Music Network. Archived from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
40. Lars Brandle (12 October 2022). "Rüfüs Du Sol Leads 2022 ARIA Awards Nominees (Full List)". The Music Network. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
41. "Nominees Announced for 2023 ARIA Awards". Music Feeds. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 24 September 2023.
42. "Here's all the J Awards 2022 nominees!". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022.
43. Barnes, Amelia (5 December 2011). "Rolling Stone Magazine Australia announces 3rd annual awards event". The AU Review. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
44. "Have Your Say in This Year's Rolling Stone Australia Reader's Choice Award". au.rollingstone.com. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 17 February 2022.
45. "About the Vanda Young Global Song Writing Competition". APRA AMCOS. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
46. "Genesis Owusu wins 2021 Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition". The Music Network. 10 March 2022. Retrieved 14 March 2022.

• 2001 births
• 21st-century Australian women singers
• APRA Award winners
• Australian women pop singers
• Living people
• Sony Music Australia artists
• Australian LGBTQ singers
• Australian LGBTQ songwriters
• People from Byron Bay