Maya Kuriel (formerly known as Maya) is a Korean-American singer-songwriter. She was born on March 20, 1999 in Seattle and is currently based in Los Angeles. She has been singing since she was four years old and started posting covers on YouTube at the age of fourteen. A few years later, she started writing original songs. Her first single, “Intoxicated”, was released on February 28, 2020.

Maya’s third single “Bittersweet”, a dance-pop song about a one-sided relationship, gained significant traction online. She released her first EP, 21 Years to Realize, on May 7, 2021. In the following years, she has released several popular singles, such as the emotionally charged “Helpless”, the introspective “Hostile” and the dark pop song “Victim Complex”. She obtained a Bachelor of Music degree in Songwriting and Music Production at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood in March 2023. In 2025, she collaborated with Italian producers KAJ and Dawell on the singles “Undercover” and “Talking In My Sleep”.

On March 21, 2025, Maya released her new single “DEAD WEIGHT”. The raw, emotional dark pop song about the suffocating impact of a toxic relationship is the first single of what she describes as her new era. On Instagram, she said: “This new era, it’s a little bit more experimental, more dark, beautiful at the same time. […] [“DEAD WEIGHT”] is my favorite song I’ve ever written. […] I found it really therapeutic to write this. It’s okay to walk away from a presence or someone that is not doing you justice, that is not healthy for you, that makes you feel like you’re being dragged down. It’s okay to put yourself first and walk away.”

After “DEAD WEIGHT”, Maya has released two more singles: “ALIBI” and “WORLD SPINNING”.