She released her debut album Arular in 2005 and second album Kala in 2007 to wide critical acclaim. Her debut album charted in Norway, Belgium, Sweden, Japan and the USA, where it reached number 16 on the Billboard Top Independent Album Chart and number 3 on the Dance/Electronic Albums Chart. Kala was certified silver in the United Kingdom and gold in Canada and the United States, where it topped the Dance/Electronic Albums Chart. It also charted in several countries across Europe, in Japan and Australia. The album's first single "Boyz" reached the top ten in Canada and on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales in 2007, eight places higher than "Galang", becoming her first top-ten charting single. The single "Paper Planes" achieved much commercial success, peaking in the top twenty worldwide and number four on the Billboard Hot 100. "Paper Planes" has been certified Gold in New Zealand and three times platinum in Canada and the US where, as of November 2011, it is ranked the 59th most downloaded song in the digital era. It has become her label XL Recordings best selling single to date. M.I.A.'s third album Maya was released in 2010 soon after the controversial song-film short "Born Free". This became her highest-charting album in the UK and the US, reaching number nine on the Billboard 200, topping the Dance/Electronic Chart like its predecessor and debuted in the top ten in Finland, Norway, Greece and Canada. The single "XXXO" was also a critical and commercial success, reaching the top forty in Belgium, Spain and the UK. She has embarked on four global headlining tours and is the founder of her own multimedia label, N.E.E.T..
A major influence in the rise in popularity of female musicians and electronic music in the 21st century, her trailblazing contributions to music and fashion culture through her distinct compositions, videos, artwork and style helped revitalise British and world music. Her work has been placed highly in both listener polls and critics' lists. M.I.A.'s early compositions relied heavily on the Roland MC-505 sequencer/drum machine, while her later work marked an evolution in her sound, presenting layered textures of instruments, electronics and unusual sound samples to form her acclaimed and distinctive avant garde music style. Lyrically incorporating a range of political, social, philosophical and cultural references that have defied existing pop music conventions, M.I.A. was one of the first acts to come to public attention through the internet.
She is a philanthropist and humanitarian outside of her musical career. Her activism has been met with both appreciation and criticism. In 2002, she received an Alternative Turner Prize nomination for her art. She is the only artist in history to be nominated for an Academy Award, Grammy Award, Brit Award, Mercury Prize and Alternative Turner Prize, and the first artist of Asian descent to be nominated for an Academy and Grammy Award in the same year. M.I.A. is named as one of the defining artists of the 2000s decade by Rolling Stone in its "Best of the Decade" list. Esquire magazine ranked M.I.A. on its list of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century and Time magazine named her one of the world's most influential people.
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