SOUND PROJECTIONS
AN ONLINE QUARTERLY MUSIC MAGAZINE
EDITOR: KOFI NATAMBU
FALL, 2016
VOLUME THREE NUMBER TWO
ERIC DOLPHYAN ONLINE QUARTERLY MUSIC MAGAZINE
EDITOR: KOFI NATAMBU
FALL, 2016
VOLUME THREE NUMBER TWO
BOBBY HUTCHERSON
September 10-16
GEORGE E. LEWIS
September 17-23
JAMES BLOOD ULMER
September 24-30
RACHELLE FERRELL
October 1-7
ANDREW HILL
October 8-14
CARMEN McRAE
(October 15-21)
PRINCE
(October 22-28)
LIANNE LA HAVAS
(October 29-November 4)
ANDRA DAY
(November 5-November 11)
ARCHIE SHEPP
(November 12-18)
WORLD SAXOPHONE QUARTET
(November 19-25)
ART BLAKEY
(November 26-December 2)
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/sdut-andra-day-interview-2016feb25-htmlstory.html
Andra Day rises up to music stardom
How dizzying have the last six months been for fast-rising singer and songwriter Andra Day, who delivered a standout performance during the 2016 Grammy Awards telecast last week?
“There’s been a lot to process and absorb!” said the 2003 San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts graduate, who performs a homecoming concert Tuesday at Observatory North Park.
Andra Day, with special guest
When: 7:30 p.m. TuesdayWhere: Observatory North Park, 2891 University Ave., North Park
Tickets: $20 (attendees under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian)
Online: observatorysd.com
Indeed, many music-biz veterans would be envious about the events that followed the Aug. 28 release of her 2015 Warner Bros. debut album, the vintage-soul-, jazz-, blues-, doo-wop- and gospel-fueled “Cheers to the Fall.”
In August and September, the smoky-voiced Day did her first national tour, opening for Lenny Kravitz.
In October, she performed her inspirational song “Rise Up” at the White House. Her appearance accompanied first lady Michelle Obama announcing “Better Make Room,” a public awareness campaign for teenagers to embrace education.
In November, Day sang the gospel-drenched “Rise Up” again, this time as a duet with the vocally outclassed Nick Jonas, on the A&E TV special “Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America.” She held her own alongside headliners Bruce Springsteen, Alicia Keys and John Legend.
In November and December, Day co-starred in an Apple TV commercial with Stevie Wonder, singing his lilting 1967 ballad “Someday at Christmas.” Wonder, who was instrumental in encouraging Day early in her career, plays harmonica on a song on her album.
On Dec. 7, barely a month after her sold-out San Diego show at the Casbah, Day earned two Grammy Award nominations: Best R&B Performance (for “Rise Up”); and Best R&B Album (for “Cheers to the Fall”).
“It’s all been really exciting, but I’m just continuing to put one foot in front of the other,” she said Friday from New York, where she was shooting an eight-page photo spread for InStyle magazine.
Day didn’t win a Grammy. But she sang “Rise Up” with such élan and passion that she stood out in a big way at the Grammys. After the telecast, online streams of her music on Pandora jumped by 661 percent, surpassing the concurrent Pandora surges for 2016 Grammy performers Lionel Richie, Alabama Shakes, Little Big Town and Bonnie Raitt.
“There was a moment during the Grammys when my father clasped my hand and said: ‘This is crazy!’ And it was!” Day, 31, said. “I thought of all my years of working at this, trying to do this, making music, growing and trying to establish myself. And I thought about my parents’ support, and how they went with me to every singing, acting and modeling audition I did.
“When you’re getting ready to go onstage at the Grammys, well, I’m a very spiritual person. And being there made me feel like there was a (divine) plan.”
Day, whose 2016 winter tour kicks off Monday in San Francisco, will have more to reflect on soon.
On Wednesday, she performed at the White House with Usher, Demi Lovato, The Band Perry and an all-star lineup to film “Smithsonian Salutes Ray Charles: In Performance at the White House.” It debuts Friday on PBS.
Next Wednesday, Day performs at New York’s Radio City Music Hall, with Elton John and Katy Perry, at Hillary Clinton’s “I’m With Her” concert.
This spring, Day will be one of the faces of fashion designer Marc Jacobs’ spring collection marketing campaign. Then comes more touring, including summer dates at such major music festivals as Bonnaroo and Sasquatch.
“It’s been an amazing ride,” said Day, who cites Billie Holiday and Lucille Ball as two of her biggest inspirations, albeit in a very different ways.
Born in Washington state, Cassandra Monique “Andra” Batie (Day is her stage name) moved to San Diego when she was 3.
“I always loved music and was drawn to it and affected by it,” Day said. “But it wasn’t until I got to San Diego that I started exploring music more. The elementary school I went to, Valencia Park, was focused on the arts.”
She honed her vocal chops singing gospel music at First United Methodist Church in Chula Vista. Day began studying dance at age 5, and continued doing so for two decades. She also dabbled in musical theater, a pursuit unrelated to the first concert she attended here as a teenager, by NSYNC, at the invitation of a friend.
Day’s musical epiphany came at 12 when she was introduced to the work of such iconic jazz singers as Billie Holiday (who was also known as “Lady Day”), Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington.
“Hearing those voices ... I was like: ‘Wow! I want to do stuff like this, stuff with that impact’,” recalled Day, whose best songs about heartbreak and resilience evoke Holiday and Nina Simone.
“When I graduated at 18, I heard from people who said: ‘You gotta do straight-ahead pop and R&B to make it.’ I said, ‘OK, I’m young, I’ll try it out.’ But my voice didn’t quite fit in those places. So I started to incorporate what I loved — jazz, blues, soul — at the core of the music I make.”
She got her first break six years ago, when Stevie Wonder’s then-wife, Kai Millard Morris, saw a YouTube video of Day singing at a strip mall. Impressed, Morris had Wonder listen to the video. He then phoned her to suggest they collaborate.
“I was living with my mom in a tiny apartment in Chula Vista, near Third and H Street behind the 7-Eleven,” Day recalled. “It was crazy to be on the phone with Stevie Wonder. I felt like a meteor hit our apartment!”
Wonder turned out to be too busy to team up then. But, 18 months later, he introduced her to veteran producer Adrian Gurvitz, who ended up collaborating on much of Day’s debut album. She got an album deal with Warner Bros., in part, because of the buzz from the memorable unplugged music performances she filmed in her sister’s San Diego bedroom and posted on Facebook.
Gurvitz proved to be an instantly compatible collaborator for Day. As a guitarist in England in the 1960s, he and his brother, Paul, led the band Gun. In the 70’s, the Gurvitz brothers co-led a band with former Cream drummer Ginger Baker.
Adrian Gurvitz moved to the U.S. in the 1980s and has since worked with artists as varied as Wonder, former Journey singer Steve Perry, Youssou N’Dour, CeCe Wynans, Eddie Money and Pixie Lott. He also wrote the song “Even if My Heart Would Break,” which was recorded by Aaron Neville and Kenny G, and was featured on “The Bodyguard,” one of the best-selling film soundtrack albums of all time.
“Working with Adrian was really incredible, because he was already a rock star by the time he was 19,” Day said. “And he played with everybody — Ginger Baker, Buddy Miles, Jimi Hendrix — so he comes from this legendary world of music. To have have that depth in the recording studio, when we were creating my album, have us a collaborative energy that was really invaluable.”
Day laughed when asked if singing with Wonder on “Someday at Christmas” was intimidating, exciting, or a combination of the two?
“Working with him on the Apple commercial was just amazing!” she said. “You would think it would be more intimidating. You know what? I was intimidated going into it, but he has a way of making you feel comfortable. He’ll do things to sort of relax everyone in the room.”
Day’s music is not jazz, in any conventional sense. But her vocal phrasing is clearly inspired by the singing of Holiday, Nina Simone and other enduring greats, including the trumpet playing of Miles Davis in his ballad work. As her own popularity grows, she is eager to encourage young fans and aspiring musicians to embrace the artists who influenced her.
“One hundred percent,” Day said.
“I was a dancer for long time. And you always hear that ballet is the core of dance, and that — once you have that down — you can do everything else. For me, jazz is like that for music. I always tell people to absorb the music of (pianist Thelonious) Monk, (bassist Charles) Mingus, (saxophonists) Charlie Parker and (John) Coltrane, and all of those legends.
“I also tell them to not be so rigid. Because, people forget that it was through experimentation that we got from big-band music to bebop with Monk and Parker.”
Day’s fashion sense also harkens back to an earlier era.
She favors large hoop earrings, head scarves, retro-chic dresses or rockabilly-inspired ensembles. The gardenia she sometimes wears in in her hair onstage is a direct homage to Holiday.
“That’s always an homage to Billie,” she affirmed. I didn’t have a flower in my hair at the Grammys, but I did have a star-burst. Star-bursts were a big thing in the 1950s. People then were very into other galaxies, so there’s a lot of that ‘Jetson-esque’ nostalgia for me from that time.
”For the Grammys, I was a little more elegant. But, usually, it’s more rockabilly. The rockabilly subculture in Southern California is a big one. So my look is sort of rockabilly, with different eras mixed in. I love tons of jewelry, and glass and furs. I like to say I was established in in 1950s, and got dragged through the (subsequent) decades! It’s also a part of the music and pop culture I studied.
”Lucille Ball is one of my biggest inspirations, not just style-wise, but for her character as a woman and being such a pioneer, and for talking about pretty taboo issues on her TV show. And I’d also go to classic car shows with my father in San Diego, and see women dressed up as ‘50s pinups, with bouffant hair, and I was drawn to that the art and entertainment of that era, and the subculture.”
And now? What comes next for this rising star?
“I’m retiring after one album!” Day quipped, then grew more serious.
“I’ll be doing this for however long I’m supposed to. I definitely want to come out with a few more albums. I eventually want to get into artist development, and help other artists grow and develop, and achieve their goals and dreams. I love what I do. But, eventually, I’d like to take a back seat to someone else’s success and someone else’’ passion.”
Copyright © 2016, The San Diego Union-Tribune
http://www.essence.com/2016/05/11/7-things-about-andra-day-you-need-to-know
7 Things We Learned About Andra Day From Her ESSENCE Cover Story
Photo by Nino Munoz
Andra Day is easily one of the most captivating artists of today. Her voice is uniquely her own, and her retro-inspired style is everythaaang.
But how much do you know about the Cali girl? Did you know that she’s a trained dancer? How about that she got her start with a little help from Stevie Wonder? Check out seven fun facts we learned about Andra from our June 2016 cover story, and be sure to pick up a copy of the magazine, on stands now!
Andra Day: 'No Hateration or Holleration' at Empowering ESSENCE Fest
Originally from San Diego, Day would regularly drive to Los Angeles when she booked a gig. Her lucky break came, though, when her manager at the time crossed paths with fashion designer Kai Millard Morris—who was then married to Stevie Wonder. Upon hearing Day “sang,” Wonder connected her with a producer, who signed her to his company and, well, the rest is history.
Day admits that it took some time to debut
her signature voice. “I was shrinking my voice and trying to do runs,
but it just wasn’t me,” she said. She even dabbled in both pop and
R&B before accepting that neither genre was her. We’re happy she
stuck to her passion!
In case you haven’t noticed, Day’s style is
on point (come through red lip and pompadour!). The “Rise Up” singer—who
has a deep admiration for Lucille Ball—said that she finds inspiration
in every single decade. “I like to say I was established in the cities,
dragged through the decades and picked up a couple of things [from every
era],” she said.
As a child, Day was an avid dancer—ballet, tap, jazz, modern and even river dance. She quickly abandoned dance, though, after enrolling in the San Diego School for Creative and Performance Arts at the age of 10, where she discovered signers like Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald. “Listening to the stories told in jazz music and how those artists expressed their truths about the times and what they were dealing with is what struck me the most,” she said.
Though her parents aren’t singers, they both grew up with artistic dreams. Day says that perhaps that explains why they were always encouraging her to pursue her musical dreams. “I always joke that I don’t think my parents thought I was capable to doing anything else,” Day said, adding that she and her father would regularly sing together. “There were times when I’d play around with different things I was interested in and they’d say, ‘Oh, okay, sweetie. Just go ahead and keep on singing in your room.’”
ESSENCE Festival Artist Andra Day to Appear on 40 Million McDonald’s Cups
(No, it’s not an ode to autumn.) Day admits that her album title is all about opening herself up to the possibility of failure—a scary possibility but one that she believes has allowed her to flourish. “I’m going for it without allowing fear to keep me from being who I’m really supposed to be,” she said. Cheers to that!
Day admits that she wasn’t proud of her
behavior during her early 20s—she says she was “selfish and
promiscuous”—but since then, she has learned to be honest with herself,
something that she calls the “power of surrender.”
“I was imprisoned by the lies I’d been telling and by the fact that I’d been finding my sense of identity in other people,” she said. “…You become more powerful when you surrender, because you’re not a slave to anything.”
For more on Andra Day, pick up our June issue, on newsstands tomorrow!
http://www.vibe.com/2015/08/andra-day-interview/
Related Content:
As a child, Day was an avid dancer—ballet, tap, jazz, modern and even river dance. She quickly abandoned dance, though, after enrolling in the San Diego School for Creative and Performance Arts at the age of 10, where she discovered signers like Nina Simone and Ella Fitzgerald. “Listening to the stories told in jazz music and how those artists expressed their truths about the times and what they were dealing with is what struck me the most,” she said.
Though her parents aren’t singers, they both grew up with artistic dreams. Day says that perhaps that explains why they were always encouraging her to pursue her musical dreams. “I always joke that I don’t think my parents thought I was capable to doing anything else,” Day said, adding that she and her father would regularly sing together. “There were times when I’d play around with different things I was interested in and they’d say, ‘Oh, okay, sweetie. Just go ahead and keep on singing in your room.’”
ESSENCE Festival Artist Andra Day to Appear on 40 Million McDonald’s Cups
(No, it’s not an ode to autumn.) Day admits that her album title is all about opening herself up to the possibility of failure—a scary possibility but one that she believes has allowed her to flourish. “I’m going for it without allowing fear to keep me from being who I’m really supposed to be,” she said. Cheers to that!
“I was imprisoned by the lies I’d been telling and by the fact that I’d been finding my sense of identity in other people,” she said. “…You become more powerful when you surrender, because you’re not a slave to anything.”
For more on Andra Day, pick up our June issue, on newsstands tomorrow!
http://www.vibe.com/2015/08/andra-day-interview/
Get Familiar: Andra Day Is A Big Voice In Bloom
Features
by Stacy-Ann Ellis @stassi_x
August 28, 2015
VIBE
CREDIT: VIBE/ Stacy-Ann Ellis
As the summer months draw to a close, temperatures slowly transition from upper 80s down into the high 60s. Tree leaves tint, brown and fall from their branches into heaps on the floor. This change of scenery signals the ushering in of autumn and the time for Andra Day’s debut album, Cheers to the Fall, to flourish. The 14-track album—which features production from Adrian Gurvitz, Raphael Saadiq, and ?uestlove—is audio documentation of the Warner Bros. singer’s years before this shining moment. In the extremely honest LP, Day frees all the stories stored on her heart, including the time she was the reason for a relationship gone awry.
Cheers to the Fall, out today (Aug. 28), is definitely a body of work that sticks out like a sore thumb alongside some of the major music releases of 2015, and that’s a great thing. It signifies timelessness, embodying all the things to love about nostalgia when it comes to vintage-style music. As evidenced by standout tracks “Only Love,” “Not Today,” “Rise Up” and the single “Forever Mine,” her sound stems directly from blues, jazz and soul. The project attracts ears familiar with the power and melancholy texture of Amy Winehouse’s voice mixed with the grandiose nature of a Broadway showgirl.
And the beauty of it all is that Day is still a talent slowly by surely being discovered by the masses. Her growth is clear as her last name. This summer alone, Day has been spending her time getting the nation familiar with her pipes at Essence Music Festival, the Special Olympics, Cannes Lions, Life Is Beautiful Festival and the BET Experience. Now, she’s embarking on her first national tour opening up for 11 shows on Lenny Kravitz’s Strut Tour, which goes on until mid-September.
The blossoming singer sat down with VIBE to talk about her approach to the project, feeling blessed by her influential supporters and where she sees herself and her career in a few years.
VIBE: Tell us about your entry point into music. How did you get into it and who introduced you to it? Do you have a musical background in your family?
Andra Day: My family wasn’t in the music business, but they loved music. My father loved music. He loved Motown and R&B, and my mother loved Journey and Fleetwood Mac, so they were always listening to it and playing it. Then, I went to a performing arts school when I was young and that’s when I really got into jazz, Billie Holiday and those sorts of voices. When I attended that school, I was about 11 years old.
How would you describe your sound or the type of music that you’re attracted to making?
If I had to put a label on it, I would call it soul music. I like big voices like Billie Holiday and Nina Simone, so listening to those records when I was in school really attracted my ear. But when I got older, people were like we have to do pop music or R&B. But my voice didn’t really fit, so it was like, why can’t I do certain things? I questioned if I was good at this. Then I found my pocket. So I try not to box it in too much, but this first album is a mix of a lot of different things. Jazz is really the core of it.
Which is a welcome change to the scope of music right now. What was the first show that you ever did that let you know that this is the profession for you? Was it during school for school or separate?
Definitely during school, but probably even way earlier. Originally, I started doing music while I was young, but I was a dancer for a very long time, too.
What kind of dance?
I started in ballet, tap and jazz. So I thought, maybe I’ll be a dancer and go to Julliard. But really performing on that stage let me know that I wanted to be a performer in some capacity. Then doing shows when I went to a school called School for Creative and Performing Arts in San Diego, doing shows there and on the side like Babes in Arms and Gypsy. Doing that really solidified for me that I want to be a performer.
Do you not get stage fright anymore, or have you ever?
I still do. It’s not as bad as it used to be, but I still get it at random times. I’ll get stage fright maybe before I go on stage, but then sometimes I’ll get it as I’m already three or four songs into the set. I’m like, why? I should be fully comfortable on this stage! But it’s fleeting; it goes away
quickly.
CREDIT: VIBE/ Stacy-Ann Ellis
Tell us about Cheers to the Fall.
The album is a lot about not being seized up by fear. For me, telling the truth is one of those things. I always think how people can jump out of airplanes and climb mountains, but being vulnerable and telling the whole truth while allowing yourself to be judged or criticized is one of the scariest things to do. That’s something I had to do because I wasn’t living right. I was in a relationship and I was unfaithful to him and being very reckless with his emotions. It was kind of going through that, feeling guilty, getting my heart broken and understanding the weight of this which was really heavy. Having to take that storm, face it, and look at it to say, dang, this is who I was. Growing from it was a scary thing, but the freedom that I experienced on the other side of that is something I’ll never go back from. No matter the criticism or the backlash. So it’s really about truth, vulnerability and fearlessness.
It’s kind of cool how you said the opposite situation of what a lot of people experience.
Yeah, I tell people it’s heartbreak told from the other side of the story. The funny thing is that I prayed about what I was going to write before I even started this album. I felt God was just telling me to tell the truth, but the whole thing. Don’t shy away from even the shameful stuff because there are people out there experiencing this and feel like there is no redemption or moving on from that guilt for them.
Who have you worked with for this album? Not just on the singing side, but production and guidance.
There’s a few cool features on the album, but they are very subtle. I didn’t want it to be full of all these names. It’s a story, not a biography, and I want it to be told that way. Adrian Gurvitz was one of the producers I worked on with it and Raphael Saadiq as well, which was amazing. Questlove is on it. Jazzy Jeff is on it. There are very random features on it, but people that I love. Stevie Wonder is on a record as well, too, but subtle.
Did you reach out to them, did they reach out to you, or was it a mutual circumstance?
A little bit of both. For some of them, it was us reaching out. James Poyser from The Roots is on the record as well, and he wanted to work on a few records with me. So, that’s how it came about. I loved working with him. I wasn’t actually in the studio when Questlove was drumming; Poyser and him put that together. Then, with Stevie, he and his wife discovered me. He brought me to the producer that I worked on the project with. He introduced me to him, we worked on the album, and then he had his harmonica. There’s a harmonica feature on one of the songs. With Raphael, it was wanting to reshape the album and refocus some of the music. They asked me, ‘Who do you love, who do you admire, or who would you love to work with?’ He was the person that I brought up, and he was willing to do it. He was like, ‘I just like your voice, I want to work with you.’ What we came up with was great. I’m really excited about it.
Have you gotten any other major cosigns from other artists that have just said that they like what you’re doing?
Being asked that question, I think back like, wow, it really is a blessing. You don’t expect these things. The first music video for “Forever Mine” was directed by Spike Lee. We were at Sundance just having a friendly banter backstage, and he’s like, ‘You better kill it when you get on stage!’ And I’m already so nervous because I’m in the lineup with Erykah Badu, Common—crazy. When I came offstage, he liked it and he asked me, ‘Who’s directing the first video?’ and I’m like, ‘Maybe you!’ So, he directed the first video that we did at the Standard hotel. Michael Ealy is another one who’s a big supporter. We worked together for the 24 Hour Plays show that we did together. Aloe Blacc is a huge supporter. Friend, really. Oh, Erykah Badu, she called me the B-word—it was great. In a good way. Someone told me when I was on stage singing that she was like, “That’s that b**ch.” So, I’m like I will hang on to that! So, Erykah, Quest, and Patti LaBelle. I couldn’t believe meeting her, but it’s been really cool.
Taking a step back to the video, what was the concept of “Forever Mine?”
First, I was completely opposed to doing it in “Da Box” because he said, “Meet us at The Standard [Hotel] we have an idea to go into this box and do it there.” When I walked in, I’m like, this is objectification of women! This is crazy! But then we talked about it and he asked me, “What can it mean to you?” And we came to the conclusion that “Da Box” is actually my sanctuary, and it represented going through all of those experiences in life and finding my faith in a relationship with God. Every morning I wake up and I do devotion time. I pray, read the word and then creative stuff happens here. Problem solving and all of that comes into that space. So “Da Box” actually represents my sanctuary and that time. I might look trapped in a box, but I’m actually more free in that box than anyone on the outside looking in, or in any other space in my life. That is when I’m the most candid, the most honest, the most open and the most free. My role in the short film is a box girl; I’m the employee.
And what about the exchange with the guy at the bar?
He’s really like a patron. He had me sit down and speak with one of the employees there and she said she had people come in on her shift regularly and just sit there and watch her the whole time. When she leaves, they get up and leave. He was portraying that. It was an analysis of people, and also my perspective on those things.
Any dream collaborations?
Now, the whole Stevie Wonder thing or Questlove thing would have been a dream. Still, to do more work together would be amazing. Lauryn Hill would be amazing. Also, there’s two new girls I really love. Laura Mvula, she is incredible. Then, Alessia Cara. She’s really good. I heard a song that from her that someone played for me, and the lyrics were just amazing. It spelled out everything that I was thinking in that moment. It was really good. And I would love to do something with Nas.
What were the last three songs or the last three albums you’ve listened to?
I’ve listened to a lot of gospel lately. So, I listened to Tye Tribbett’s “Better.” Israel Houghton’s “Moving Forward” is another one. The last one is Alessia Cara’s “Here.” I don’t know if that’s an album yet. I believe she only has a single right now.
Where do you see yourself in the next two years and then the next five years?
In the next two years, I’m hoping to be touring and hopefully a successful one. I just want the music to be growing, knowing that people are enjoying the message, and that it’s reaching people. I’m very much a proponent of taking time to live and to experience before just diving into the next project, so the next 2-3 years will be touring, building a fanbase. Then, taking a break to live and experience before diving into the next thing I give you guys. In the next five years, I hope to be starting work on my second album. And then just getting more involved in the organizations I work with as well. Then, doing God’s work.
Lastly, for the people that don’t know you yet, why should they listen to you now?
[Because of] the themes of the album both musically and lyrically: truth, vulnerability and fearlessness. Lyrically, I say it’s an autobiography told in the form of 13 soul music songs and then there’s a story that’s hopefully healing and encouraging for people. Musically, I try not to box things in. I try to just play around this spectrum of influences: soul, jazz, and hip-hop. That melds together nicely with the producers I worked with.
https://www.wired.com/2016/08/song-exploder-andra-day/
by K.M. McFarland
Culture
Song Exploder: Andra Day Breaks Down Her Rad Mix of Doo-Wop and Hip-Hop
On the Song Exploder podcast, host Hrishikesh Hirway talks to musicians who take apart their songs and, piece by piece, tell the stories of how they were made. Listen below.
Singer/songwriter Andra Day put out her first record in August 2015. Since then, the Obamas have invited her to perform at the White House on multiple occasions, and the record was nominated for a Grammy for Best R&B Album. In this episode of Song Exploder, Day talks about her song “Forever Mine” along with the track’s producer, Rob Kleiner. They break down their mix of “doo-wop and hip-hop,” as Day puts it, from Kleiner constructing the backing sounds to Day’s improvisations during production. There’s even the story behind the sly Mobb Deep reference in the lyrics.
https://soundcloud.com/hrishihirway/song-exploder-andra-day :
Buy “Forever Mine” on iTunes.
More at SongExploder.net
http://www.ebony.com/entertainment-culture/andra-day-sings-back-to-the-future-333#axzz4P6FCFOKf
Andra Day Sings Back to the Future [INTERVIEW]
The retro soul chanteuse enlists Raphael Saadiq, The Roots, Spike Lee and others for her debut, Cheers to the FallNovember 19, 2015
Despite the star-studded affair, it’s Day’s songwriting that makes the album stand out. Within a bed of liquid, melancholic melodies, somber piano lines and redemptive strings, her willingness to expose personal tales of infidelity (“Gold”), yearning (“Forever Mine”) and addiction (“Gin and Juice”) speaks to her bravery and ability to connect with the people.
EBONY: When did you realize that you had this unique voice?
Andra Day: I think it was over a period of time, actually. I knew that I could sing when I was young. I would listen to a lot of jazz; I’m a big jazz fan. When I first got to high school and studied musical theater, I could sing. But I added certain things to my voice, and I realized after graduating high school that this is the kind of voice I had. It’s not very nimble but it’s heavy.
EBONY: Who were some of those jazz artists that influenced you?
AD: Billie Holiday is pretty much number one. Nina Simone is another one. Dinah Washington, I loved her versatility. I remember hearing their voices for the first time and thinking how completely in contrast they were to these big powerhouse Delta singers that would use their inner voice that would croak through the speakers. I just remembered that they reached out and grabbed me.
EBONY: Billie, Nina and Dinah were jazz singers with blues tendencies, and Cheers to the Fall has a blues undercurrent.
AD: That’s why I loved Dinah Washington. She sung jazz but they called her the Queen of the Blues. She had the control and sophistication of jazz in her note selection and how to attack a song or certain lines, but then attacked it with a painful force of blues behind it. That’s why I admired her so much, because of that versatility.
EBONY: It’s said that Stevie Wonder’s wife discovered you at a performance and told him about you. Do you remember that performance?
AD: Yeah, I do. Actually, that was in front of a strip mall in Malibu. It was a very low key, tiny performance with only a handful of people there. Somebody recorded it and she’d heard a clip of the recording that she liked. She played it for Stevie and he said, “get her on the phone.”
EBONY: Stevie actually spoke with you?
AD: Yes! That was a really surreal moment. I was living in this tiny, tiny studio apartment with my mom at the time and he reached out and talked about how he wanted to record a song together. My mom asked who is it, I said, “I’m on the phone with Stevie Wonder,” and she said “You are a liar and a half!” [laughs] It was amazing. It didn’t work out at the time, but he held onto my information, and a year later they reached out to me to see if I was available to work, and I was. That’s when Stevie brought to me up to L.A. to meet with the producer of my album, Adrian Gurvitz. It actually worked out very well.
EBONY: Your YouTube channel has some eclectic songs, from Lionel Richie to Eminem. Tell me about the song selection process and how it helped build your audience.
AD: We’d basically finished the album at that point [2012]. You get out of something what you put into it, so we sat down and decided, “let’s do some YouTube covers to engage the audience, to see how they felt about me as a singer.” Some people would suggest songs to me, like “Big Poppa” and Eminem [“Lose Yourself”]. I love hip-hop and everybody knows that. It was all really about picking songs that weren’t necessarily in my lane, but that I could make into something in my lane, putting my stamp on it as an artist.”
EBONY: How did Raphael Saadiq get involved with the project, and how was it collaborating with him?
AD: It was amazing. He came into the project later. Actually I was a little reluctant, because I was really loving where things were fitting. So people said, “you want to try this person? that person?” and I said no. Then my day-to-day manager said, “How about Raphael Saadiq?” I said, “There’s no way we could get Raphael Saadiq, but I’d love to get his spin on some of these songs and do some other stuff with him.” In my mind, it was like, “What if we get the president?” and I’m like, “Whatever.” But they sent him the music and he loved it and said, “I want to work with her.” So we got in the studio. As far as creating music goes, it was so organic, easy and natural. He was so nurturing and we’d start writing songs together.
EBONY: One of those songs is “Gin and Juice,” which you said once was inspired by a scripture: Romans 7:19. How does religion play a role in your artistry?
AD: It’s more than just a role; it really is who I am. It’s a means and the end. I’ve been blessed with so many opportunities and so many amazing things throughout this process. But all the while, I remember that the reason that I’m here and the reason that I do music and tell these stories is that people come to know the love the God that I know.
It’s to talk about the things we all deal with, the addictions that we struggle with, be it substance, alcohol or sex. We don’t have to be ashamed to talk about these things because they’re all very real. “Gin and Juice” is one of those things. For me at the time, it was a sexual thing, that thing that holds onto you that you don’t want to engage in, but for some reason I continue to go back to the same thing even though I feel like it’s hurting me.
EBONY: You wrote all the songs on Cheers to the Fall. How did you develop your writing?
AD: Early on, it was an arduous process for me. When I was young, I hadn’t experienced a ton of life and I didn’t quite see the value in it. It wasn’t until this album cycle that I really sat down and really prayed about what am I going to write about, what am I going to tell. That’s when I realized that I’m a storyteller, because I was really telling the story of my life over the past 13 years. I said I’m going to be completely frank, honest and tell it in clever ways. Songwriting, in the past couple years, I truly, truly enjoy it, but I realize that I have to experience something in order to tell its story.
EBONY: Tell me about your wardrobe. It ties together very well with your musical style.
AD: It’s a definitely a mirror to the style of music, and I’m kind of obsessed with anything from mid 20th century—not just in music, but it’s cinema and everything from 1950s and 1960s pop culture that I love. When I was young, I’d see rockabilly sub-culture in Southern California. And I see women dress like that all the time, because my father would take me to car shows where they’d have all these classic cars, and leaning on the front of the car would be women in victory roles with her hair tied up in a bandana. I just remember them looking amazing. So since I was 21, it grew. And then I started adding my own style to it. I like a lot of chunky jewelry from the 1970s. I was established in the 1950s and I dragged through the decades, picked up a couple things and I was dropped here. [laughs]
EBONY: Do you think it’s limiting your reach when you’re referred to as a “retro” or “throwback”?
AD: I don’t think any artist likes the idea of boxes, but it’s never bothered me. I just feel like we make music that hopefully transcends and people can identify with it. I love it, to be honest. It’s those actual classic records that I listen to, so I love when people say that, and I don’t think it’s limiting at all. If you just go in and try to make good music, classic music, then whatever labels people put on it, it’s their interpretation.
See Andra Day at this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade next Thursday.
Matthew Allen is a Brooklyn-based broadcast professional and music journalist whose work can be found in The Village Voice, Wax Poetics and elsewhere. Follow Allen on Twitter @headphoneaddict, and visit his music blog, The Well-Dressed Headphone Addict.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-cook/andra-dayits-been-a-year-_b_8798492.html
THE BLOG
Andra Day — ‘It’s Been A Year Full Of Miracles’
Entertainment edito
Huffington Post
That is very sweet, thank you. It has been a year full of miracles. I was actually discovered by Kai Millard and Stevie Wonder. She heard a clip of me singing from a show I did in front of a little strip mall in Malibu, CA and she played it for Stevie. He liked what he heard and they orchestrated a call between the two of us. It was one of the most insane and uncomfortable experiences of my life. I was excited to be on the phone with one of my biggest musical inspirations, but the thought of saying the wrong thing or something inappropriate did cross my mind. Some time went by after the call and eventually, they reached out again to invite me to dinner in L.A. at Mr. Chow’s. At dinner, he introduced me to Adrian Gurvitz, the producer I worked on the album with and I signed to Buskin Records. We went into the studio some time after that and began making music.
You’re a hybrid of so many different sounds and types of music. How would you describe your sound or the type of music that attracts you?
It’s simple really. I call it soul music. I really like jazz and soul, but I also love so many other types of music and I didn’t want to be afraid to blend and experiment. We just agreed that if it feels good, feels real, and it’s from the heart, then we’ll do it. So that’s why I call it soul because that’s where it really came from.
You were also a dancer for quite some time. Tell me about that. Did it help you make the transition to music?
I was a dancer for about 20 years. It didn’t really help me transition into music. I danced for a while and I knew I could sing, so I just began singing in a praise band at church, and doing musical theater and jazz vocal performance in school. One didn’t really lead to another I was just always interested in the performance arts.
“Cheers to the Fall” is one of the most buzzed about albums of the year. What was the entire creative process like for you? Does the album have a specific message?
Thank you so much! The process was liberating, challenging, and deeply emotional for me. I was writing about my life so I remember facing myself and having to accept that I was the kind of person who could be so dishonest, or I remember being with someone who made me feel completely expendable. But after praying about it all, putting it on record was the natural thing to do. It reminded me not to accept defeat and instead take my ashes and make something beautiful with them. Getting into the studio everyday with producers Adrian Gurvitz and Raphael Saadiq to create these songs was a lot like sitting on the therapists couch. It also taught me how to make a record. We would create the shell of what we wanted, and then take the song into a big studio with the players we wanted to create the final production. I learned a lot about how to pick great musicians from them.
“Rise Up” is one of the most gorgeous and achingly wonderfully structured songs that has come around in quite some time. What is the history of this single?
“Rise Up” is a simple message about perseverance, hope, and selflessness. It was a song I prayed a lot about, and when we did the record I sang over the piano that Jenn Delcevio played before writing anything down to see what would come out naturally, and the bulk of the song actually came out in that take. We realized we didn’t want to change much and it was meant to be simple. People always ask what I was going through at that moment that was particularly challenging, but it wasn’t that. I just needed to be reminded to continue to hope, and continue to persevere. It’s something we all need no matter what we are going through.
It was truly an honor. He has been immensely supportive and is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. I love the song and working with him on this particular record was great because it is a Christmas song that embodies not just the joy of the holiday, but it is also a very true statement of hope. It doesn’t pretend that things are all good but it does hope and believe, in the spirit of the holiday, that things will get better. It’s definitely not your run of the mill Christmas tune, but that’s what I love about it.
What does 2016 hold for Andra Day? Any specific things you want to accomplish? Resolutions?
We have the Grammy’s and NAACP Awards. We start a radio promo tour in January and another headline tour at the end of February. We also start touring with Leon Bridges in May. A lot of things I have to be grateful for. No real resolutions, I live my life one moment at a time. My goal is to just be present in each and everyone one of them.
2015 has been an absolutely monumental year for you. What is one word that describes you and your life right now?
Blessed...
http://andraday.com/
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/posts/la-et-ms-andra-day-el-rey-review-20160331-story.html
Rising soul singer Andra Day makes flaws seem beautiful at the El Rey
by August Brownhttps://www.bustle.com/articles/142177-who-is-andra-day-the-2016-grammy-performer-is-one-artist-to-remember
Who Is Andra Day? The 2016 Grammy Performer Is One Artist To Remember
There were probably a number of stars that you recognized at the 2016 Grammy Awards. The usual suspects, were all present, like Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, The Weeknd, and Justin Bieber — but there were also a few stars at the show that were relatively unrecognizable. They were the musicians who are new to the spotlight or relatively unknown, and whose names will probably be on everyone's lips as the year goes on. Chances are you thought that when Selena Gomez announced that Ellie Goulding would be performing with an artist named Andra Day. Like me, you probably asked yourself, “Wait. Who is Andra Day?” Well, it turns out that the artist who blew the Grammys crowd away with her performance of “Rise Up” is a rising star that we all should keep an eye on.
The star has already released one album and two singles, but her performance at the 2016 Grammy Awards is sure to set her star to rising. And fast. Her debut album was released just last summer and has already been making waves in the music industry.
You might also recognize her face from the Apple commercial she starred in with Stevie Wonder over the holidays. In it, the two performed heartwarming holiday songs together. Considering she’s already performing with Stevie Wonder and at the Grammys, I’d say this girl has it seriously made.
And it’s not for want of talent. Her voice is absolutely stunning, and her success has been largely because of her incredible sound. In fact, the star was honored at the 2016 Grammy Awards with two: One for Best R&B Performance and one for Best R&B Album.
Clearly Andra Day is a star to watch. With her debut album already nominated for two Grammy Awards (and her performance at the same awards show being a huge hit), Andra Day is definitely someone to keep an eye on.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/tavissmiley/interviews/singer-songwriter-andra-day/
TAVIS SMILEY SHOW
PBS
Singer & Songwriter Andra Day
The singer-songwriter joins us for a conversation and a performance from her Grammy-nominated debut album “Cheers To The Fall.”
TRANSCRIPT:
Tavis: Pleased to welcome singer-songwriter, Andra Day, to this program. Her distinctive style has been described as an amalgamation of Billie Holiday, Dinah Washington, Nina Simone and the queen, Aretha Franklin.She joins us to talk about her Grammy-nominated debut album, “Cheers to the Fall” and her upcoming European tour. We caught you just in time before you get on that plane and cross over the other side, so I’m glad you took time to come see us.
Andra Day: Oh, thank you for having me. It’s very exciting.
Tavis: You and I were starting to chat before we came on the air here about the fact that you’re from San Diego. I was a bit shocked myself when I heard you were from San Diego and you said to me, “I get that often. People are shocked when they hear that I’m from San Diego.” So tell me what it is about the art scene, the music scene, that we’re missing in San Diego.
Day: I think it’s because the city is obviously looked at more as a vacation destination, you know, and I think a lot of people may or may not know it’s a military town. You know, my father was actually–also he’s retired Navy. But I think not many people equate San Diego with the soul music.
You know, I’d say the music scene in San Diego was diverse, you know. You have everything from hip-hop artists to reggae to indie rock to R&B and soul. So there’s a lot of that out there, but I think just speaking candidly, I think the musical community in San Diego could be more supportive of each other.
I’m starting to see changes, but I’m hoping that’s what happens in the next few years as well and that people who come from San Diego and who are in the arts or entertainment begin to highlight the city a little bit more.
I think sometimes people will make it and often leave and say, oh, they’re from California or they’re from L.A. or something like that. So I think it’s important for people to know that opportunities do come from San Diego and that great artists come from San Diego.
Tavis: If you were from a different location, a different city, I might be able to cheat this question because I would in part know the answer.
Day: Okay.
Tavis: The question is, how then in that environment did Andra Day go about developing, defining, her own unique style? Now if you’re from Chicago or Brooklyn or the Bay Area where Rafael Saadiq is from who works on your project, I would get that. So how then in that kind of scene did you go about developing your own song stylings?
Day: I think I attribute it, first of all, my parents love music and I grew up listening to Motown, obviously. But my mother loved, you know, artists like Carole King and Fleetwood Mac and The Carpenters, but I also was fortunate enough to go to a really great performance art school when I was very young.
I started attending when I was about 10 years old and, at that school, I was exposed by a few really great teachers. My musical theater teacher, Bill Doyle, my choral ensemble teacher, Gil McKinney, and my dance teacher, Donna Robinson, and they exposed me to amazing jazz singers.
My musical theater teacher was the first person who told me about Billie Holiday and I remember I said, “I’m asking about female singers. Who’s that guy?” I mean, I was really young [laugh].
Tavis: Who’s that guy, Billie Holiday [laugh]?
Day: Right. Billie Holiday. What does that have to with me? He was like, “You got to listen.” Billie Holiday and Nina Simone and, in the same breath, he told me about like Janis Joplin as well too. But singers with really incredible character, you know, characteristic to their voices.
So that I attribute a lot of my creativity in places that I go when I’m creating music or art to that school. They did a lot there. I was a dancer for a very long time, like I said, in musical theater. We did a lot of shows and I was just exposed to a lot of different types of music.
Tavis: I’m thinking about how life comes full circle because your teachers, to your point now, Andra, expose you to one Nina Simone. You know where I’m going with this, right?
Day: Yes [laugh].
Tavis: And then you end up on the soundtrack. Tell me how that happened, yeah.
Day: It was incredible. I mean, the opportunity that it came from was amazing in itself. We were doing a tribute. A documentary had just released and we were doing…
Tavis: We’re talking about “What Happened, Miss Simone?”. We jumped ahead. “What Happened, Miss Simone?”, Academy-nominated documentary. I wish it had won, but it was a great, great film. But, anyway, go ahead.
Day: It was an incredible film, yes, and I wish it had won as well too [laugh]. But I actually cracked a joke the other day. I told someone that the funny part is if Amy were here today, she would have voted for the Nina Simone documentary [laugh]. It was amazing, Amy Whitehouse too.
Tavis: The Amy Whitehouse project won the documentary, but the Nina Simone thing was so beautiful.
Day: It was incredible, yeah. So we got the opportunity. They knew, the people who were putting on the show, which was a tribute to Nina Simone for the film at Sundance Film Festival last year. They heard about me and her, that I was a Nina Simone fan, so they asked if I would join the show.
The lineup was amazing. It was Erykah Badu, who I am also a huge fan of. I’m so inspired by her. Common, Aloe Blacc, Kate Davis, Leon Bridges.
After I did the performance, I came offstage and I met Jason Jackson who was the producer of the documentary. He said, you know, “I feel the spirit of Nina Simone has been guiding me on who to involve in this soundtrack, so you would sing ‘Mississippi Goddam’ on the soundtrack?”
Of course, without hesitation, I was like yes, with no regard for schedule, nothing. I was like it’s done. We’ll figure it out. It was an incredible experience and I’m a huge fan of Robert Glassburn, so to hear that he was producing the project, it was just perfect, a perfect way.
Tavis: You have listed a number of names here in talking about the Nina Simone project. It’s impossible to look at the liner notes, which I always do on your project, and not see how–I’ll use this word with you because I think you’ll appreciate how blessed you have been–to have collaborated with so many people.
I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a debut project that had so many, I mean, brilliant, artistic geniuses collaborating with you.
Day: I think blessed is absolutely the appropriate word because there’s no other reason or incentive for why they would have said yes to this project other than hearing the music and it resonating with them. So we worked with amazing people.
First, the person I produced the album with was Adrian Gurvitz, and Rafael Saadiq as well. We got in the studio for quite some time, Rafael and I, and we reworked some songs we already had.
We wrote some new stuff and everything about the way he works is just incredible. And he’s so nurturing and encouraging. You know, encouraged me to just pursue ideas and different things, so it was really a great experience. And then we did–The Roots actually is playing on a few of the songs as well too.
That came through James Poyser of The Roots, the keyboard player, and he just heard the project and he loved it and he wanted to be a part of it. He got in the studio and reworked some things and he got Questlove as well too. I wasn’t in the studio when Quest was in the studio, but I did go to Philly and work with Poyser on a couple of things.
Tavis: It’s going to be fascinating to see what the sophomore project is because you pulled everybody out for the freshman project [laugh].
Day: It will just be me and myself.
Tavis: There you go [laugh].
Day: You know, just playing [laugh].
Tavis: You can do that, though. Let me now try to convince you of how brilliant an artist she is and will be. You can hear her for yourself in just a moment after I tell you that the new project from Andra Day is called “Cheers to the Fall”, Grammy-nominated a couple of times over this season.
And now you get to hear her for yourself, if you’ve not heard this beautiful voice. She’s going to perform from this new project, “Rise Up”. Andra, good to have you on the program.
Day: Yes, likewise.
Tavis: Have a great European tour.
Day: Thank you so much.
Tavis: Thanks for coming by to see us. And don’t you move because here comes Andra performing “Rise Up”. Goodnight from L.A. Thanks for watching and, as always, keep the faith.
[Live Studio performance]
Announcer: For more information on today’s show, visit Tavis Smiley at pbs.org.
[Sponsor Ad]
Announcer: And by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you. Thank you.
http://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/schedule-for-friday-march-18-2016-1.3497076/andra-day-s-long-journey-to-overnight-success-1.3497087
Friday March 18, 2016
Andra Day's long journey to 'overnight success'
Andra Day has gone from singing in front of a strip mall to stealing the show at the Grammy's. Her star is rapidly rising — attracting the interest of Stevie Wonder, Spike Lee and Barack Obama — so if today marks your introduction to her talent, prepare yourself.
The powerful R&B singer joins Shad to discuss her incredible story and perform two songs from her stunning debut, Cheers to the Fall.
Her sound blends jazz, soul and a dash of hip hop spirit with a voice that could knock down a building. Her music contains echoes of past greats but also visions of a bright future.
The New Lady Day: The Wax Poetics Interview with Andra Day
Directed by Nana Felix
Interview by Nana Felix
Videography by Ray Rael Yau
© 2015 Wax Poetics
Special thanks to
Warner Bros. Records
Netflix
March 22, 2016https://www.facebook.com/The-Panopticon-Review-342702882479366/
All,
Andra Day is yet another extraordinary young black female singer/songwriter/musician/composer and arranger that I’m really crazy about. She has a tremendously expressive and dynamic voice first of all. This woman can flat-out SANG and is already better than anyone else I’ve heard in this country in a very long time (what I mean is that she is in that extremely rare and rarefied dimension where only truly great singers hang out: i.e. Aretha, Chaka, Etta, Abbey, Carmen, Ella, Sarah, Billie, Dinah, Betty, the lead singer of the Marvelettes, Martha Reeves from the Vandellas, Minnie Riperton, Gladys Knight, Shirley Bassey etc.—oh you get the picture). At 31 Andra has already mastered the fundamental techniques of both vocal phrasing and sheer musicianship that distinguishes only the best singers from everyone else). Check out the video performance here. When I heard the magnificent strains of that 1959 CLASSIC by the Flamingos “I Only Have Eyes For You” (one of my favorite songs of all-time) peeking out at the very beginning of this video I was already completely fucking hooked and “all in” as the expression goes. Enjoy and pass the word…
Kofi
Andra Day - 'Forever Mine’-- [Official Music Video]:
‘Forever Mine’
(Music and lyrics by Andra Day and Rob Kleiner)
My heart has been a chessboard
Making moves and losing out
Played so many times before
And there ain’t nothing to brag about
But this must be a new brew
When you’re gone I’m singing Blue Moon
You turn me all the way around
And I’m tired of the fine line
I just want you to be, be
Forever mine (Be forever mine)
Be forever mine (Be forever mine)
Oh and there’s nothing I can sing now
That ain’t been sung before
Oh but your love is a standout
So go on ahead and take the floor
You had to Jimi my heart loose
Now I’m stuck in your voodoo
Pick me up, don’t ever put me down
Look I’m tired of the fine line
I just want you to be, to be
Forever mine (be forever mine)
I want you to be forever mine (be forever mine)
The way that you move, never seen it before
Looking for my head, can’t find it no more
You ransom my heart and I get the reward
Winning the crown like a Trojan horse
I come back, back, back every time
You got me shook like the Mobb when they rhyme
Come out of nowhere come blessing my life
I just want you to be forever mine, oh oh
(Be forever mine)
(Be forever mine)
But you was cooking up a new stew
Must have put something in my food
’Cause now I’m lost up in the clouds
Oh and I’m tired of the fine line
I just want you to be, be, be
Forever mine (be forever mine)
Oh you gotta be, be forever mine (be forever mine)
(Be forever mine)
(Be forever mine)
Andra Day-- LIVE Interview at the Grammy Museum:
Andra Day - "Rise Up"-- (Live):
Andra Day - "Big Poppa" vs. "Let's Get It On" [The Notorious B.I.G. & Marvin Gaye Mash-Up Cover]:
Andra Day - "He Can Only Hold Her" vs. "Doo-Wop" [Amy Winehouse & Lauryn Hill Mash-Up Cover]:
http://www.pbs.org/video/2365677667/Andra Day Performs "Drown in My Own Tears"
Andra Day - Cheers to the Fall
Andra Day: NPR Music --Tiny Desk Concert
October 13, 2016
Set List:
"Forever Mine" 00:00
"Rise Up" 03:42
"Gold" 08:00
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andra_DayAndra Day
Cassandra Monique "Andra" Batie (born December 30, 1984),[1] known professionally as Andra Day, is an American singer and songwriter from San Diego, California who is currently signed to Warner Bros. Records.[2] Her debut album, Cheers to the Fall, was released in 2015[3] and peaked at number 48 on the US Billboard 200 chart.[4] The album was nominated for Best R&B Album and the album's main single, "Rise Up", was nominated for Best R&B Performance at the 2016 Grammy Awards.[5] Day also notably appeared alongside Stevie Wonder, who is partially credited for her discovery, in an ad for Apple TV in late 2015.[2][6] Her Cheers to the Fall Tour is set to begin in November 2016.[7]
Contents
Early life and education
Day was born in Spokane, Washington on December 30, 1984,[8][6] but moved to Southern California at age 3. She grew up in and around San Diego, California with her family and began singing at a young age at the First United Methodist Church in Chula Vista, California. Day also began taking dance lessons at age 5 (a discipline she continued into her 20s). She attended Valencia Park Elementary School which she credits with fostering her interest in performing arts. At age 12, Day was introduced to the sounds of prominent soul and R&B vocalists like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dinah Washington, all of whom she counts as early influences on her sound. Day attended the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts where she graduated in 2003.[2]Career
After high school, Day worked about 20 different jobs including one as a children's entertainer.[3] In 2010, Stevie Wonder's then wife, Kai Millard, noticed Day performing at a strip mall and brought her to the attention of her husband.[9] Day received a call from Wonder himself soon after. No immediate partnership was formed, but the two reconnected around a year later. Wonder introduced Day to producer, Adrian Gurvitz, at that time. Gurvitz would eventually collaborate on Day's debut album a few years later.[3][5]Day earned a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in part because of the popularity of her numerous unplugged covers and mashups on her YouTube channel, most of which were filmed in her sister's bedroom in San Diego.[2][3][5] Her covers include Jessie J's "Mamma Knows Best",[10] Eminem's "Lose Yourself",[11] and Muse's "Uprising" among others.[12] She was also known for mashups including one that patched together The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Big Poppa" with Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" and another that combined Amy Winehouse's "He Can Only Hold Her" and Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)".[9]
During that time, Day was also working with Gurvitz on around 40 original songs. Other producers and contributors to what would eventually become her debut studio album included Raphael Saadiq, Questlove, James Poyser, DJ Jazzy Jeff, and The Dap-Kings. Day performed at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and caught the eye of director, Spike Lee. He volunteered to direct the video for her single, "Forever Mine".[5] Day has also performed at the 2015 BET Awards,[11] the closing ceremonies of the 2015 Special Olympics,[13] the Essence Music Festival,[14] and on television shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live!,[15] Good Morning America, and numerous others.[16] She also performed Nina Simone's "Mississippi Goddam" for the soundtrack for the Netflix documentary, What Happened, Miss Simone?.[17]
Her first national tour took place in August and September 2015 when she opened up for Lenny Kravitz. In October 2015, she sang "Rise Up" at The White House and again performed the song for A&E's live special, Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America.[2]
In May 2016, Day entered into an agreement with McDonald's and Coca-Cola that saw her image on around 50 million cups at McDonald's. The partnership is part of the "Share a Cup" lyrics program and will also feature lyrics from Day's "Rise Up." Purchasers of the cups at McDonald's could enter a sweepstakes that would have allowed them to see Day perform at the Essence Music Festival in June 2016.[19] Her Cheers to the Fall Tour is set to begin in November 2016 and will start in her hometown of San Diego.[7]
Day performed on the second day of the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia to rousing applause. She followed immediately after a moving address by Mothers of the Movement, a group of black mothers who had lost a child through encounters with police and gun violence.
Discography
Studio albums
R&B/Hip-
Hop [21]
Singles
R&B/HH [22]
R&B [22]
adult
r&b [22]
adult
pop [22]
Awards and nominations
Grammy Awards
NAACP Awards
Notes
References
External links