Eithne Patricia Ní Bhraonáin (born 17 May 1961), better known as Enya, is an Irish vocalist, instrumentalist and composer. Her name is sometimes presented in the media as Enya Brennan; Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in her native Irish.
She began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad, before leaving to pursue her solo career. Her album Watermark, which was released in 1988, propelled her to international recognition and Enya became known for her unique sound, which was characterized by voice-layering, folk melodies, synthesized backdrops and ethereal reverberations.
She continued to enjoy steady success during the 1990s and 2000s; her 2000 album A Day Without Rain achieved tremendous record sales (16 million) and she was named the world's biggest selling female artist of 2001. She is Ireland's best-selling solo artist and is officially the country's second-largest musical export after the band U2. Her album sales stand at 85 million as of 2009. Her work has earned her, among other things, an Academy Award nomination. She is known to have performed in 10 different languages during her career thus far.
Enya is the 9th best selling female artist in America with combined sales of over 30 million records sold in the US alone.
This entry is from 
© MMIX