Maria Louise Joensen (born 21 January 1985), formerly known as Aura Dione, now just Aura, is a Danish singer and songwriter. In 2008 she released her debut album, Columbine. The album spawned the hit single "I Will Love You Monday (365)" which reached number one in Germany, achieved over 80 million video views and was certified platinum.
After winning the European Border Breaker Award in 2011, Dione won Best Female Artist and Hit of the Year for "Geronimo" at the Danish Music Awards 2012 and Female Artist of the Year in 2013; she is one of Denmark's top two female recording artists and one of Germany's top three.
Aura Dione was born Maria Joensen on January 21, 1985 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her mother is of Faroese and French descent, while her father is of Danish and Spanish descent. Her parents introduced her to music, and she began writing songs when she was as young as 8 years old. Her parents were hippies who with Aura as a child sailed all the world's oceans, until the 7-year-old was given residence on Bornholm. Here, she began her formal schooling and as a teenager enrolled to Secondary school, but in the middle of her education she chose to move to Australia where she sought inspiration from the Aborigines. This later resulted into a song "Something From Nothing".