Enya (born
Eithne Ní Bhraonáin; , anglicised as
Enya Brennan; 17 May 1961) is an Irish singer, instrumentalist, and songwriter.
Enya began her musical career in 1980, when she briefly joined her family band Clannad before leaving to perform solo. She gained wider recognition for her music in the 1987 BBC series
The Celts. Shortly afterwards, her 1988 album
Watermark propelled her to further international fame and she became known for her distinctive sound, characterised by voice-layering, folk melodies, synthesised backdrops and ethereal reverberations.
Enya continued to enjoy steady success during the 1990s and 2000s; her 2000 album
A Day Without Rain sold 15 million copies, and became the top selling new age album of the 2000s in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan. She is Ireland's best-selling solo musician. including over 26.5 million in album sales in the US, making her one of the world's best-selling artists of all time. Her work has earned her four Grammy Awards and an Academy Award nomination.