Mali-koa Hood

Mali-koa Hood was born on May 19, 1991, in Sydney, Australia. Her father, David Hood, is Scottish, while her mother, Joy, is Maori. She has a younger brother named Calum, who is the bassist in the band 5 Seconds of Summer.

According to Hood, her parents were not particularly musically inclined as neither of them sang or played an instrument. However, her father loved music and was a fan of the Scottish band The Proclaimers. Hood and her brother grew up in an environment that encouraged them to pursue whatever they liked. As it turned out, they both had musical aspirations.Her first experience with singing was as a member of the local church choir. She enjoyed the experience immensely and in time, came to consider music as a legitimate career option. Hood is currently dating photographer Tom Payne. She has cited Lianne La Havas, Kwabs, Emeli Sande, and Sam Smith as her musical inspirations.

In 2012, Mali-koa Hood gave an audition for the very first season of ‘The Voice Australia.’ She sang ‘American Boy’ by Estelle during her blind audition and eventually joined the group coached by Joel Madden, the lead vocalist for the American pop punk band Good Charlotte. Hood made her appearance on episode four of the season but after performing 4 Non Blondes’ ‘What’s Up’ with Laura Bunting, she was eliminated in the battle round.

Hood defines her sound as a blend of acoustic, pop, R&B, and soul. After she was featured on ‘The Voice Australia,’ she gradually began to build up a fan base for herself. In 2013, she and South African rapper Neo Pitso worked together on his track, ‘Outlier’. She then was featured in Xan Müller’s dance/electronic number, ‘Filter Dreams’ in 2014 and ‘Home Planet’ in 2015. More recently, she collaborated with New Zealand rock singer Ben Hazlewood on the song ‘Paint Me Black’ (2016).

In 2014, Hood moved to London where she met Vice fashion editor Kylie Griffiths. They soon became best friends. Deciding to do something together, they combined their mutual love for music and hanging out by setting up a DJ-ing collaboration and named it Double Trouble. They have since become a constant feature in the London nightlife and have worked in several parties in and around the city, including the Reading Festival.

Besides music, Hood has gained fame as a fashion blogger, vlogger, and stylist. In an interview, she described her personal style as laid back, fun, comfortable, and sexy with maybe a tinge of awkwardness!