Ayliva is a German singer and songwriter. She was born on April 4, 1998, in Recklinghausen, Germany. Her real name is Elif Akar. Ayliva has Turkish roots and grew up in Recklinghausen with her older sister and younger brother. She learned to play guitar, keyboard, and violin and started writing her own songs at the age of ten. After finishing school, she studied philosophy and German language and literature to become a teacher at the University of Bochum. Later, she switched to social work but did not complete her studies as she decided to pursue a career in music. Ayliva's music career began in October 2020 when she released a singing sample on Instagram called "Deine Schuld". A few days later, she released another sample called "Plastik". Both songs were produced by Lukas Piano, who has worked with rappers like Samra. In December 2020, Ayliva released her first single "Deine Schuld" under the label Whiteheart Records, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. The song is about toxic relationships and reached number 10 on the German singles chart. The music video for "Deine Schuld" starts with a voice note in which her alleged ex-boyfriend threatens her and tries to prevent the release of her song . This clip had gone viral on TikTok before the release of the song and led to many other women sharing pictures and videos about their experiences with violence from their ex-partners. Ayliva's second single "Wenn ich wein'" was released in June 2021 and reached number 31 on the German charts. In November of the same year, she released a new interpretation of the song "When I Cry" with Canadian singer Ali Gatie, on which she also contributed an additional part in English. Her third hit was achieved through the single "Schmetterlinge". The chorus of the song is sung in Arabic while the verses are in German. In July 2022, Ayliva released her first studio album "Weißes Herz", which landed at number 6 on the German album charts Ayliva's latest album, "Schwarzes Herz", was released on August 25, 2023.