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Who is Amber Mark, one of today’s boldest R’n’B divas?
One of the most exciting R’n’B voices of our time is back with a new sultry album, Pretty Idea, released on October 10th, 2025. After her kaleidoscopic debut record Three Dimensions Deep, which added fresh layers to the genre that made her famous, Sabrina Carpenter’s friend is once again proving her gift for addictive melodies. Portrait.
By Violaine Schütz.
It takes guts to brilliantly cover both Nirvana’s untouchable 1993 rock anthem Heart-Shaped Box and Sisqo’s cheeky Thong Song (1999), a sexy R’n’B hit from the 2000s that celebrates the thong in all its “small” glory. The latter, notorious for its macho tone, is completely turned into a sensual, dreamlike lesbian ballad by singer, director, composer, and prodigious producer Amber Mark.
Amber Mark, the R’n’B diva who covers Nirvana and Sisqo
It says a lot about this 31-year-old artist from Tennessee, now based in New York. In just two albums, two EPs, a series of catchy singles and sleek videos, not to mention her Colors session and standout performance on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concert or opening for her friend Sabrina Carpenter, Amber Mark has cemented her place as one of the most vital voices in today’s R’n’B. You can’t get rid of her voice once you’ve heard it.
Opening shows for Sabrina Carpenter
Clear, deep, sensual, addictive, her voice captivates the audience from the first note. It echoes that of Rihanna, Prince, Abra, the Ibeyi sisters, and Aaliyah. It’s her greatest asset on her debut album, Three Dimensions Deep (2022), but far from being the only one.
The ambitious artist released a series of colourful, sexy videos in 2021 and 2022 that were meant to form a short film for her album Three Dimensions Deep. Nominated for a Grammy Award, the record proves to be just as bold as the concept behind it. Breaking all boundaries and blending genres, it merges 1990s and 2000s R’n’B with funk, soul, pop, disco, and hip-hop. A joyous kaleidoscope of influences and emotions.
An ambitious artist in the vein of Janelle Monáe and Teyana Taylor
In a meticulous approach reminiscent of Beyoncé’s, Janelle Monáe’s, or Teyana Taylor’s conceptual projects, Amber Mark’s seventeen multidimensional tracks are divided into three acts centred on personal growth: “Without,” “Withheld,” and “Within.”
At the beginning of her album, the artist openly acknowledges her insecurities and anxieties before exploring possible responses to the world’s negativity and traumas. She ultimately finds a sense of peace and spirituality through astrophysics and the cosmic dimension. Seen by Amber Mark as a love letter to herself, a form of therapy and a meditation on the universe all at once, this daring, shimmering, melancholic, yet euphoric album perfectly mirrors the vibrant personality of its composer.
A pivotal encounter with Jay-Z’s sister
Born in 1993 on a farm in Tennessee to a Jamaican father and a German mother, Amber Mark grew up a nomad. The family moved to Miami, New York, and Berlin before settling in a monastery in Darjeeling, India, where her mother studied thangka painting, a traditional form of Tibetan Buddhist art. Her mother, Mia, who passed away in 2013, had given her a guitar at a young age, which Amber quickly learned to play.
In high school, she joined the school choir and realized she wanted to become an artist when she grew up. A few years later, she met Michelle Carter, Jay-Z’s sister, a regular at her aunt’s hair salon, who encouraged her to intern at Roc Nation, the New York label founded by the rapper.
In 2016, the young songwriter’s dreams came true when she uploaded her first single, S P A C E, on SoundCloud. Praised for her diva-like voice and melodic instinct, she released her impressive debut EP 3:33am on major label EMI the following year.
Each track on that mini-album represents a stage of grief. Since then, everything Amber Mark releases feels deeply cathartic. In healing her own doubts and traumas, her songs also help us feel better. One of the single, released last summer and extracted from her new album Pretty Idea, is aptly titled Sweet Serotonin. It feels like a sensual, pillowy soft remedy for melancholy.
Pretty Idea (2025) by Amber Mark, available now.
