• Celebrity
    • OTE – Meagan Good
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United

WHERE BLACK CULTURE, COMMUNITY AND CONSCIOUSNESS MEET

Sign up for ESSENCE Newsletters the keep the Black women at the forefront of conversation.

Your email is required.
Your email is in invalid format.
Confirm email is required.
Email did not match.
Select the newsletters you'd like to receive:
Please select at least one option.
By clicking Subscribe Now, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Skip to content
SUBSCRIBE
  • MAGAZINE
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Celebrity
    • OTE – Meagan Good
    • Daniel Kaluuya Digital Cover
    • Digital Cover Method Man
    • Digital Cover Zazie
    • Celebrity News
    • ‘Yes, Girl!’ Podcast
    • Entertainment
      • Paint The Polls Black
    • Black Celeb Couples
    • Celebrity Moms
    • Red Carpet
    • If Not For My Girls
  • Fashion
    • ESSENCE Fashion House 2022
    • Fashion News
    • Street Style
    • Accessories
    • Fashion Week
  • Beauty
    • Best In Black Beauty 2023
    • ESSENCE Hair Awards 2022
    • AVEENO Skin Health Startup Accelerator
    • Beauty News
    • Skin
    • Makeup
    • Nails
    • Girls United: Beautiful Possibilities
  • Hair
    • Hair News
    • Natural
    • Relaxed
    • Transitioning
    • Weave
    • 4C
  • Love
    • Love & Sex News
    • The Solve Podcast
    • Weddings
    • Parenting
    • Relationships
  • Lifestyle
    • Black History Month
    • ESSENCE Gift Guide 2022
    • ESSENCE + smartwater Live Well Challenge
    • Build Your Legacy 2022
    • Dream & Plan with Confidence Prudential
    • AMEX Platinum Travel
    • Homecoming Season 2022
    • Lifestyle News
    • Health & Wellness
    • ESSENCE Eats
    • Money & Career
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Travel
    • Food & Drink
    • Black Travel Guide
  • News
    • Paint The Polls Black
    • Sponsors Recognition Page 2022
    • Latest News
    • Raise Your Voice
    • Culture
    • Politics
  • Video
  • Festival
    • 2023 ESSENCE Festival Of Culture
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Fest Videos
  • Events
    • 2023 Wellness House
    • 2023 Black Women In Hollywood
    • 2023 HOLLYWOOD HOUSE
    • 2023 ESSENCE Film Festival
    • 2022 Girls United Summit
    • 2022 ESSENCE Fashion House
    • 2022 Homecoming Season
    • She Got Now
    • Dear Black Men
    • I Am Speaking
    • Power Tools
  • Studios
  • Girls United
Home · Celebrity

Grammy Nominee Andra Day: 'Nina Simone and Billie Holiday Are Why I Do What I Do'

Since her debut album came out last August, Andra Day has been rising up in the music game.
Grammy Nominee Andra Day: ‘Nina Simone and Billie Holiday Are Why I Do What I Do’
Tibrina Hobson/WireImage
By Chuck Arnold · Updated October 27, 2020

Since her debut album, Cheers to the Fall, came out last August, Andra Day has been rising up in the music game. On Feb. 15, the jazzy chanteuse with the retro-soul vibes will be taking it to the next level when she performs at the Grammys, where she is up for Best R&B Album and Best R&B Performance (for her inspirational single “Rise Up”). And this Thursday, the 31-year-old diva will rock the stage at the annual ESSENCE Black Women in Music celebration in Los Angeles. As if that wasn’t enough, Day will be launching a headlining tour on Feb. 29 in San Francisco. No doubt about it—she is one of the hottest Black women in music right now.

What does performing at the ESSENCE Black Women in Music celebration mean to you?
It’s an exciting moment in my career to be invited to sing at an event like this. We are supporting each other. It’s a stark opposition to how we are portrayed often in the media. It puts to rest a lot of stereotypes to have this community of black women embrace me like this.

Jazmine Sullivan and Andra Day to Perform at ESSENCE Black Women in Music Pre-Grammy Event

What can we expect from your BWIM performance?
It’s definitely going to be a conversation. We’re going to connect. I’ll be engaging, and I believe the audience will be engaging too. And I’m hoping to do a surprise cover. You know I’m a fan of flipping hip-hop songs!

Who are some of your favorite Black women in music, past or present?
Nina Simone and Billie Holiday are pretty much the reasons I do what I do now. Nina Simone particularly because of her activism: She used her music as her platform. She was willing to speak up for the race issues that were going on at the time, even to the detriment of her own career.

This is your first year as a Grammy nominee. How are you feeling about everything?
I’m not nervous—yet. [Laughs.] Right now I’m excited and very grateful. I’m focused on the process of working out my performance with Ellie Goulding. I’m really looking forward to seeing Kendrick Lamar and Adele perform too. And I’m actually rooting for [other] people in my categories as well!

What was the inspiration behind “Rise Up”?
What I wanted it to be is a song about perseverance. It wasn’t a particular instance in my life or in anyone’s life that made me write it. It was just a culmination of everything, a simple message to remind people that giving up is not an option. It was a song that I prayed about before [cowriter] Jenn Decilveo and I came up with it.

What special experiences have you had through the song connecting with people?
There was a young black woman who came up to me in the airport in Atlanta. She told me she had been diagnosed with cancer. She said she listened to my song every day, and it really helped her get through chemo, and she’s now in remission. And I had a similar situation in Nashville when a man confided in me that his wife was battling cancer, and they both listened to the song every day, and it’s really helping them get through dealing with the disease. To hear that is like, “Wow. It had a purpose.”

Since your album is called Cheers to the Fall, what is your favorite drink to toast with?
I am as dry as the Mojave Desert! So my favorite thing to toast with might be like a ginger ale.

Any thoughts on your second album yet?
Honestly, it’s the furthest thing from my mind right now. People feel the pressure to hurry up and come out with a second album. I will start the creative process whenever I feel like it should happen. I have to take the time to just live.

Andra Day will join Jazmine Sullivan for a special performance at ESSENCE’s 7th Annual Black Women in Music event this Thursday, Feb 11, in Los Angeles.

COMPANY INFORMATION
  • Our Company
  • Customer Service
  • Essence Ventures
  • Change Your Address
  • Contact Us
  • Job Opportunities
  • Internships
  • Media Kit
  • tag
SUBSCRIBE
  • Newsletters
  • Give a Gift of ESSENCE
  • Magazine Tablet Edition
FOLLOW US
MORE ON ESSENCE
  • Home
  • Love
  • Celebrity
  • Beauty
  • Hair
  • Fashion
  • ESSENCE festival

ESSENCE.com is part of ESSENCE Communications, Inc.

Essence may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.

©2023 ESSENCE Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Essence.com Advertising Terms

Get The ESSENCE Newsletter and
Special Offers delivered to your inbox

By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

Get The ESSENCE Magazine
by subscribing below
subscribe now