 As a child , Diamandis took inspiration from the differing musical tastes of her parents – Dolly Parton , Enya and George Michael from her mother , and Haris Alexiou from her father – while also admiring pop acts of the era including the Spice Girls , Britney Spears and S Club 7 . Diamandis has revealed that " Madonna was the reason I wanted to be a pop star from the age of 15 , " however she also stated that she did not listen to music " properly " until the age of 19 , when she took influence from acts including PJ Harvey , Fiona Apple and The Distillers . She began smoking two years later in an attempt to sound like The Distillers ' frontwoman Brody Dalle , " but it never worked , and now I 'm just stuck with a bad habit . " She has cited Dalle and Spears as her musical influences , and has expressed a particular interest in Daniel Johnston and the lo @-@ fi production he uses . She has jokingly stated that " I probably have a bit of a different sound because I don 't really know what I 'm doing ! , " referencing her lack of formal musical training . Diamandis has synesthesia , and as a result associates particular colours with musical notes and days of the week . 
