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Andra Day

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Andra Day
Background information
Birth nameCassandra Monique Batie
Also known asAndra Day
Born (1984-12-30) December 30, 1984 (age 39)
OriginSan Diego, CA, United States
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
InstrumentVocals
Years active2012–present
Labels
WebsiteOfficial website

Cassandra Monique "Andra" Batie[1] (born December 30, 1984), 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]

Early life and education

Day was born in Spokane, Washington on December 30, 1984,[1][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.[8] 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",[9] Eminem's "Lose Yourself",[10] and Muse's "Uprising" among others.[11] 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)".[8]

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,[10] the closing ceremonies of the 2015 Special Olympics,[12] the Essence Music Festival,[13] and on television shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live!,[14] Good Morning America, and numerous others.[15] She also performed Nina Simone's "Mississippi Goddam" for the soundtrack for the Netflix documentary, What Happened, Miss Simone?.[16]

Andra Day performing at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, March 2016.

Her first studio album, Cheers to the Fall, was released on August 28, 2015.[2] It was met with critical acclaim with NPR's Katie Presley saying Day's voice has "Eartha Kitt's unflappable confidence, Amy Winehouse's effortless grasp of classic jazz, Billie Holiday's access to raw emotion and Adele's range and pop sensibility."[17] The album was nominated for Best R&B Album and "Rise Up" was nominated for Best R&B Performance at the 58th Grammy Awards in 2016 (an event at which she also performed).[2] The album also peaked at number 48 on the Billboard 200 list.[4] In September 2015, "Rise Up" was used in an advertisement for Beats by Dre that featured tennis player, Serena Williams.[11] In November and December 2015, Day appeared alongside Stevie Wonder in an Apple TV commercial in which the two sang Wonder's song, "Someday at Christmas".[6]

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.[18] 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 their children in encounters with the police.

Discography

Studio albums

List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
Title Album details Peak chart positions
US 200
[4] 		US R&B
[19] 		US
R&B/Hip-
Hop
[20] 		AUS
 UK
Cheers to the Fall 48 3 6 — —

Singles

Title Year Peak chart position Album
US
[21] 		US
R&B/HH
[21] 		US
R&B
[21] 		US
adult
r&b
[21] 		US
adult
pop
[21]
"Forever Mine" 2015 — — — — —
Cheers to the Fall
"Rise Up" 101 31 13 6 26
"Someday At Christmas"
(featuring Stevie Wonder) 		— —[A] 24 — — Non album-single
"Gold" 2016 — — — 29 —
Cheers to the Fall

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2016 "Rise Up" Best R&B Performance Nominated
Cheers to the Fall Best R&B Album Nominated

NAACP Awards

Year Nominee / work Award Result
2016 Andra Day Outstanding New Artist Nominated

Notes

  1. ^ "Someday At Christmas" did not enter the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 12 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs chart.[citation needed]

References

  1. ^ a b "Mistakes Work ID No. 888648708 ISWC No. T9166826068". American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Retrieved December 27, 2015. Work ID No. 888648708 ISWC No. T9166826068
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Varga, George (February 25, 2016). "Andra Day rises up to music stardom". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d Phull, Hardeep (December 18, 2015). "This singer was shocked by Stevie Wonder's blind jokes". New York Post. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c "Andra Day - Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ a b c d McCarty, Sarah A. (December 2015). "Andra Day: The Best of What's Next". Paste. Retrieved July 8, 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ a b c Johnson, Laura (December 21, 2015). "Spokane-born singer gets Christmassy with Stevie Wonder". The Inlander. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  7. ^ a b Varga, George (June 21, 2016). "Andra Day sets new tour, will begin in San Diego". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Gamboa, Glenn (March 14, 2016). "Andra Day: Rising star opens up about newfound fame". Newsday. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  9. ^ Goodman, William (October 17, 2012). "Listen to a stunning cover of "Mamma Knows Best"". CBS News. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  10. ^ a b "10 New Artists You Need to Know: July 2015 - Andra Day". Rolling Stone. July 13, 2015. Retrieved July 8, 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ a b Horwitz, Josh (September 7, 2015). "Andra Day, the voice behind the Serena Williams Beats ad, is the latest born-on-YouTube star". Quartz. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  12. ^ Kunthara, Sophia (August 3, 2015). "Special Olympics World Games Come to a Close". KNBC. Retrieved July 8, 2016.
  13. ^ "San Diego native Andra Day to appear on 40 million Coke cups at McDonald's". San Diego Voice & Viewpoint. April 29, 2016. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  14. ^ Brodsky, Rachel (October 2, 2015). "Andra Day Belts 'Rise Up' and 'Gold' on 'Kimmel'". Spin. Retrieved July 9, 2016. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  15. ^ Robin Roberts (host), Andra Day (performer) (August 27, 2015). Andra Day Performs Live on 'GMA'. Good Morning America. Retrieved July 9, 2016. {{cite AV media}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  16. ^ Dederko, Michelle (March 2, 2016). "Andra Day roars in pajamas at homecoming show". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  17. ^ Presley, Katie (August 11, 2015). "First Watch: Andra Day, 'Gold'". NPR. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  18. ^ Landrum, Jr., Jonathan (April 25, 2016). "Andra Day to appear on 50 million Coke cups at McDonald's". MSN. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  19. ^ "Andra Day - Chart History - Top R&B Albums". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  20. ^ "Andra Day - Chart History - Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  21. ^ a b c d e "Andra Day - Search Results". Billboard. Retrieved July 8, 2016. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
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