Editing Enya (section)

{{Short description|Irish singer (born 1961)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=May 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| background        = person
| name              = Enya
| image             = Enya - The Orlando Sentinel (1989) (cropped).jpg
| alias             = {{hlist|Enya|Eithne Brennan|Eithne Ní Bhraonáin|Enya Patricia Brennan}}
| website           = {{URL|enya.com}}
| caption           = Enya in 1988
| native_name_lang  = ga
| birth_name        = Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin
| birth_date        = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1961|5|17}}
| birth_place       = Dore, [[Gweedore]], [[County Donegal]], Ireland
| genre             = {{Flatlist|
* [[New-age music|New-age]] (disavowed by artist)<ref name="Enyafaq" /><ref>{{cite web|last=Thomas |first=Stephen |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/enya-p4197 |title=Enya |work=AllMusic |date=17 May 1961 |access-date=11 May 2012}}</ref>
* [[Celtic music|Celtic]]
* [[Pop music|pop]]
* [[world music|world]]}}
| occupation        = {{hlist|Composer|singer|songwriter|}}
| instrument        = {{hlist|Vocals|piano|keyboards|synthesisers}}
| years_active      = 1980–present
| label             = [[Warner Music|Warner]]
}}
'''Eithne Pádraigín Ní Bhraonáin''' (born 17 May 1961; [[anglicised]] as Enya Patricia Brennan) known [[mononym]]ously as '''Enya''', is an [[Irish people|Irish]] singer and [[composer]]. With an estimated equivalent of over 80 million albums sold worldwide,<ref>{{Cite web|last=English|first=Eoin|date=2016-11-23|title=Hark! The herald Enya sings in historic Cork chapel|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-20431919.html|access-date=2024-03-18|website=Irish Examiner}}</ref> Enya is the best-selling Irish solo artist, and the second-best-selling music act from Ireland overall, after only the rock band [[U2]]. Her music has been widely recognised for its use of multi-layers of her own vocals and instrumentation, lengthened [[Reverberation|reverb]], and interwoven elements of [[Celtic music]].

Raised in the [[Gaeltacht|Irish-speaking]] region of [[Gweedore]], Enya began her musical career in 1980 playing alongside her family's [[Irish language|Irish]] folk band [[Clannad]]. She left Clannad in 1982 to pursue a solo career, working with the former Clannad manager and producer, [[Nicky Ryan]], and his wife [[Roma Ryan|Roma]], as their lyricist. Over the following four years, Enya further developed her sound by combining multitracked vocals and keyboards with elements from a variety of musical genres, such as [[Celtic music|Celtic]], [[Classical music|classical]], [[Gregorian chant|church]], [[Jazz music|jazz]], [[hip-hop]], [[Ambient music|ambient]], [[World music|world]], and [[Irish traditional music|Irish folk]]. Her earliest solo releases were two piano/[[Synthesizer|synthesiser]] instrumentals for the ''Touch Travel'' T4 cassette compilation (1984) composed around 1982–83.<ref>{{Citation|title=Various - Touch Travel|date=1984-01-10|url=https://www.discogs.com/release/223688-Various-Touch-Travel|access-date=2023-08-24}}</ref> The majority of the [[soundtrack]] for ''[[The Frog Prince (1985 film)|The Frog Prince]]'' (1985) was composed by Enya, and she sang two songs with lyrics for the project. Enya also composed a body of work for a [[Documentary film|documentary]] series by the [[BBC]] named ''[[The Celts (1987 TV series)|The Celts]].'' A selection of Enya's pieces for ''The Celts'' were released as her [[Enya (album)|self-titled debut album]] in 1986, with the documentary and [[BBC Records]] releases in 1987.

The [[chairman]] of Warner Music at the time, [[Rob Dickins]], enjoyed listening to Enya's music for ''The Celts'' and signed her with [[Warner Music Group|Warner Music UK]]. The initial record deal granted her considerable [[artistic freedom]] and minimal interference. The success of her second studio album, ''[[Watermark (Enya album)|Watermark]]'' (1988), propelled Enya to worldwide fame, primarily through her international hit single "[[Orinoco Flow|Orinoco Flow (Sail Away)]]". In the following [[decade]] and up to the [[new millennium]], she released the multi-million-selling albums ''[[Shepherd Moons]]'' (1991), ''[[The Memory of Trees]]'' (1995), and ''[[A Day Without Rain]]'' (2000). Sales of ''A Day Without Rain'' and its lead single, "[[Only Time]]", surged in the United States following its use in media coverage of the [[September 11 attacks]]. Her subsequent releases included ''[[Amarantine (album)|Amarantine]]'' (2005), ''[[And Winter Came...]]'' (2008) and ''[[Dark Sky Island]]'' (2015).

"Boadicea", a track from her eponymous album, appeared in the soundtrack of [[Stephen King]]'s 1992 horror film ''[[Sleepwalkers (1992 film)|Sleepwalkers]]'' and has since been sampled in several hit songs, including "[[Ready or Not (Fugees song)|Ready or Not]]" (1996) by [[Fugees]] and "[[I Don't Wanna Know]]" (2004) featuring [[Mario Winans]], which became the second Number 1 single featuring Enya, in the UK charts. The song, featuring both the synthesiser and Enya [[humming]] the melody, continues to be sampled almost 4 decades since its first release in 1986.

Enya's accolades include four [[Grammy Awards]], six [[World Music Awards]], and she holds the record as the most-nominated female Irish artist at the [[Brit Awards|BRIT Awards]], with four nominations. "[[May It Be]]", her composition from the soundtrack of [[The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring|''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'']] (2001), received a nomination for an [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]] for Best Original Song. In March 2025, Enya received the [[RTÉ Choice Music Prize]] Classic Irish Album award, with her 1988 breakthrough album ''Watermark''. Enya's latest public appearance was on 16 May 2025[https://www.facebook.com/ThomasandEmilyColangelo/posts/pfbid02iHEeqNzyaE95VEm2dbYTUx38WAc5txeFQt2LnhwmwZwqbj7jvR8m3bu4YjfEhasHl .]