Born in Los Angeles, Ava Maybee Cardoso-Smith is a singer-songwriter who began singing before she could walk. She grew up in a house surrounded by musical influence, performing in choir, musical theatre, and at charity concerts as a child. She has notably performed the National Anthem for the Lakers in Los Angeles and was a 2022 contestant on American Idol, making it to the top 10. Ava graduated from The Clive Davis Institute at NYU/Tisch in May of 2023.

Ava’s maximalist style pairs well with her strong, melodic voice. Her influences stretch genres, from alt-rock to classic soul artists such as The Strokes, Amy Winehouse, and Sam Cook. “I grew up with so many different musical influences, so I think it took me a long time to really find sonically where I wanted to go,” the artist elaborated in an interview with Culture Cabinet. Ava finally nailed down her sound with her 2025 EP Orange Drive, vulnerably covering friendship breakups and romantic fall-out with an indie-rock edge.

In addition to singing and songwriting, Ava is a youth ambassador for Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, a co-founder of the Unicef Young Ambassadors, and serves on the teen board of Heartbeats of VIP; a teen group promoting anti-violence in schools. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.