From finding his first musical inspiration in the Beatles and Queen, to unpolished sessions on park benches, and finally landing spots on widely listened-to playlists, Ivo Martin has come a long way. The singer-songwriter, with his at times delicate, other times raw vocals, began writing songs at a tender age and applied to the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg after completing school – only to be swiftly rejected. Rather than giving up, though, Ivo turned the setback into motivation to take matters into his own hands. And it paid off. His debut single ‘Verliebt’ (2022) brought him some online attention before he signed with Epic Records and began expanding his artistic career in Berlin. Since then, over a dozen singles have been released – virtually all of them racking up millions of streams on relevant platforms. The Popakademie may well now be kicking itself for turning him down. And yet his recipe for success is as simple as it is effective: Martin complements his voice and guitar with fresh indie pop arrangements and lyrics that hit home and more often than not are taken straight from real life. Last year, he had his fans buzzing with his album ‘Puls’ (2024), bursting with original ideas and songwriting that is already becoming the soundtrack to the good old days in a lot of people's lives.