Era

**Marta Era Migelsöhoffmann** (born 2 July 1976), better known by her stage name **Era**, is a Lashardian singer, songwriter, actress, dancer, and artist who achieved extreme popularity in the early 2000s. Era started her career under her birth name Marta Migelsöhoffmann in the mid-1980s as a child actress. She starred in the children's television show *Hopershik* (*Friendship*, in English) from 1986 until its final season in 1991.

Following the show's ending, Migelsöhoffmann became a member of the girl group Fallen Angels. Despite being the youngest member at only 17 years old, Migelsöhoffmann was well-known for having the strongest voice of the three girls. The group achieved major success and were inducted into the Lashardian Music Hall of Fame in 2014.

They broke up to pursue solo careers in 1997, however Migelsöhogffmann was the only one who achieved major success. She rebranded herself as Era and became known for performing Lashpop heavily influenced by punk and grunge music popular in the 80s and early 90s, respectively.

## Life and career

### Early life

Marta Migelsöhoffmann was born on 2 July 1976 in Van Hidewind (now Vanvind), Dayasland to Migels Kisöhoffmann and Malina Rideröshom. She was an only child. Her father worked as a real estate agent while her mother was a homemaker.

She described her upbringing as "typical Dayasland conservative Orthodox Christian". She began attending primary school in Van Hidewind, but had trouble due to her dyslexia and ADHD. At the age of nine, her mother brought her to an open audition in Ubenmoor to help her get over her shyness. She ended up getting the role and was cast in *Hopershik*

### 1986–1991: *Hopershik*

In *Hopershik*, Migelsöhoffmann portrayed Kasa, a witty ten-year old attending primary school in Ubenmoor with her friends. Migelsöhoffmann became well-known throughout the nation for her character's quirky personality and one-liners. *Hopershik* was a ratings success amongst children in the country, and at the show's conclusion in 1991, it was rumored that Migelsöhoffmann's character would receive their own spin-off. However, this did not come to fruition.

### 1991–1997: Fallen Angels

After the conclusion of *Hopershik*, Migelsöhoffmann revealed to the press that she was interested in pursuing a career in music and wanted to take a break from acting. She was later invited to audition for a new girl group put together by Cyclops Music, one of the biggest record labels in Lashardia. She auditioned, and became one of the founding members of Fallen Angels.

The group quickly made a name for themselves, releasing their debut single "Superstition" to rave reviews. The single reached the number-one spot on the Lashardian and Adoriamian singles charts. They released their debut album *A Kiss from Hell* in 1994.

Their second studio album *Goodbye, Xoxo* was released in 1997, and was noted for being their "farewell album" as a group. The album achieved much more commercial success than *A Kiss from Hell* did, reaching number-one in four countries and being certified 3x platinum. The album produced the hit singles "Devil", "Run Run Run", and "Baby Love".

### 1997–2002: Solo breakthrough and *The Dominatrix*

Following the disbandment of Fallen Angels, Migelsöhoffmann signed a solo recording contract with Cyclops Music. She also started performing under the name Era, which is her self-chosen middle name, in Lashardian tradition. While initially not being expected to become a widely successful artist, Era was the opening act for Korinne Erikösens on her *Lost Girl Tour* from 1997 to 1998.

After returning to Lashardia, she began work on her debut album. Her debut solo single "Firestar", was released in November 1999. The song was remarkable for featuring a genre binding Lashpop, grunge, and punk mashup. "Firestar" reached number-one in Lashardia, while it peaked within the top twenty of two other countries' singles charts. Her debut solo album *The Dominatrix*, was released in January 2001, and peaked within the top ten of four countries' albums charts.

### 2002–2006: *Elemental*

In 2002, Era revealed she had begun work on her second studio album which had already been named *Elemental*. She wrote and recorded the entire album in a small recording studio in Palsland. She stated that being surrounded by nature inspired her and was the inspiration behind the album's title.

The lead single from the album "I Feel Invincible", was released in December 2004. The song reached number-one in five countries and was certified 4x platinum in Lashardia. "I Feel Invincible" is known for being Era's "signature song". The album was later released in August 2005, and produced the hit singles "Army of Love", "Winterheart", "Black Out", and "Whispers".

### 2006–2009: *Black Cat*

Despite originally contemplating retiring from the music industry, Era revealed that production had started on her third studio album in December 2006. In June 2007, she revealed that the album would be titled *Black Cat*, citing a strange encounter with a black cat as the inspiration. She stated that many of the songs from the album were inspired by that encounter, as well as the lead single titled "Adelaide".

"Adelaide" was released in October 2008, and peaked within the top ten of the Lashardian singles charts. *Black Cat* was released two days later and reached the number-one position on the Lashardian albums chart. Era personally painted the album's cover art.

### 2009–2012: *Kaleidoscope*

Following the release of *Black Cat*, Era bought a beach house in the island nation of Pesa. In a 2012 interview, she stated "most of *Kaleidoscope* was written in Pesa. It just had a dreamy, ethereal aura to it, reminiscent of an old kaleidoscope. My time spent in Pesa hands-down had the biggest influence on this album."

*Kaleidoscope* was released in August 2012 and reached the top five of the Lashardian albums chart.

### 2012–2016: *Greatest Hits* and *Songs from the Graveyard*

After the release of *Kaleidoscope*, Era announced that she would "indefinitely stop releasing new music". Instead, she announced two upcoming mini projects, a greatest hits album and an album of scrapped songs from the recording process of her previous albums.

The album of scrapped songs idea later grew into a visual album, consisting of the songs, music videos for each of them, complete with artwork created by Era that embodied each of the songs.

*Era's Greatest Hits* was released in July 2013 and in 2014, Era performed at the Lashardian Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony, where her former girl group Fallen Angels, were inducted.

In August 2015, the visual album *Songs from the Graveyard* was released, and peaked at number-one of the Lashardian albums charts, being certified 2x platinum. In 2016, she became a judge on *Lashardian Idol*and was inducted into the Lashardian Music Hall of Fame as a solo artist, after her former girl group was inducted two years prior.

### 2016–present: Upcoming studio album

In March 2017, Era surprise-released a single, called "Astronaut". The song differed from the mainly electronic music that she had been previously releasing, and was heavily inspired by dream pop and indie pop. She later revealed in an interview that she had begun work on her upcoming studio album in early-2016, but wanted it to be a surprise for her fans. It debuted at number-one in six countries.

## Personal life

Era's sexual orientation had been long speculated about by Lashardian tabloids. After she was photographed kissing an unknown female in 2002, it was reported that she was a lesbian. Era responded to these claims by saying "I'm not a lesbian, I'm not straight, I'm not anything. Why must everyone be 'something'."
Era has stated she's been an atheist since she was a young child, and has campaigned for the Green Party of Lashardia. She endorsed Olla Ottöfrenz's 2012 presidential bid.