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Andra Day
For Andra Day, singing and writing songs is how she finds freedom and redemption… especially after admitting that she was the villain in her first break-up. There are innumerable songs about heartbreak from the perspective of a person’s whose heart has been broken but not so much from the person doing the damage. But through writing songs, reading books, and prayer, Andra realized that she had a purpose, to save herself. As a kid in Southeast San Diego, she sang in the church choir and studied, dance, theater and music at the School of Creative and Performing Arts. By 16 years old, Andra knew she wanted to sing professionally. Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Etta James, Lauryn Hill and Janis Joplin were the women whose voices spoke to Andra and her own raspy, full-bodied alto. Specifically, listening to the High Priestess of Soul, the young singer felt Simone had poured her very being into records like “Mississippi Goddam.” She aimed to make her own work mixture of light and darkness, just as those who preceded her, but also wants her listeners to be gentle with themselves and others. Andra joined Adrian Gurvitz, who has worked with Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Nicks, and his partner Jeffrey Evans’ label, Buskin Records, in 2011. Now, after building a following on YouTube with left-of-center covers of artists like Eminem and Muse, as well as recording tracks with Ziggy Marley and the Dap-Kings, Andra released her debut album Cheers To The Fall via Buskin and Warner Bros. Records in August of 2015. On the way to release, heavy-weight soul man Raphael Saadiq joined her in the studio to sharpen the nearly 40 songs she and Gurvitz had created together. The singer-songwriter’s first single is called “Forever Mine,” and Spike Lee jumped on board to direct its music video after the two crossed paths at the Sundance Film Festival during the winter of 2015. Andra recalls meeting the director before she took the stage in Park City. “We had a little friendly banter before I went on,” she says, “but right before I was about to perform he yelled out, ‘You better represent!’ I started sweating buckets, but I kept it real smooth so he wouldn't be able to tell. When I came off stage he asked who was doing the first video, I said no one and he basically said, ‘I am.’" Lee wasn’t the only early adopter to Andra’s talent. She’s performed around the world alongside artists like ?uestlove, Erykah Badu and Mary J. Blige, and garnered the attention of diehard music fan Ellen DeGeneres. Andra’s also contributed to the soundtrack for the Netflix documentary What Happened, Miss Simone?, singing “Mississippi Goddam” alongside rapper J. Cole’s rhymes on the track. GAP included the singer-songwriter in their 2014 international #SummerLove campaign thanks to her signature rockabilly style. The look has been an integral piece of her creative genetics since her teenage years. “In school, we studied jazz as well as a lot of the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s and I was drawn to that era’s style,” she says, referencing her ever-present scarf and red lipstick. “I realized [rockabilly] was a subculture here in Southern California and I just loved how highly stylized the style icons all were, like Billie Holiday and Lena Horne, Marilyn Monroe and Lucille Ball.” With a vintage flair and a voice for the ages, Andra Day is ready to take her place in the pantheon of soulful vocalists and deliver her truth to the world. For this woman with a throwback voice in a modern era, it’s her truth that may set you free.

Songs

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1
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Rise Up
Andra Day
2
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Glory Days
Andra Day
3
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Probably
Andra Day
4
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The Only Way Out
Andra Day
5
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Stand up for Something (feat. Common)
Andra Day

Albums

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CASSANDRA (cherith)

2024
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The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Music from the Motion Picture)

2021
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Marshall (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

2017
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Cheers to the Fall

2015

Singles & EPs

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Bricks (From "Exhibiting Forgiveness")

Single • 2024
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Probably

Single • 2024
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Tigress & Tweed (Music from the Motion Picture "The United States vs. Billie Holiday")

Single • 2021
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I Know Who Holds Tomorrow (From "The Deliverance")

Single • 2024
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Where Do We Go

Single • 2024
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Strange Fruit (Music from the Motion Picture "The United States vs. Billie Holiday")

Single • 2021
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Chasing

Single • 2024
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All Rise (from the Netflix Series "We The People")

Single • 2021
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Lift Every Voice and Sing

Single • 2024
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Phone Dies (feat. Refi Sings)

Single • 2021

Videos

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Rise Up (Inspiration Version)

Andra Day • 131M views
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Stand up for Something (feat. Common)

Andra Day • 5.5M views
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I Know Who Holds Tomorrow (From "The Deliverance")

Andra Day • 61K views
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Andra Day - The Only Way Out [Official Music Video]

Andra Day • 4M views
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Bricks (From "Exhibiting Forgiveness")

Andra Day • 81K views

Featured on

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Celebrating Kwanzaa: Ujima

Playlist • YouTube Music
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Today's R&B Christmas

Playlist • YouTube Music
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Black Lives Matter

Playlist • YouTube Music
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Old School's New School

Playlist • YouTube Music
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Freedom Songs

Playlist • YouTube Music
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'10s Adult R&B

Playlist • YouTube Music
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Winter Soulstice

Playlist • YouTube Music
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New & Timeless Soul Hits

Playlist • YouTube Music

Artist-made playlists

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Andra Day Top Official Music Videos

Playlist • Andra Day • 883K views
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Andra Day Originals

Playlist • Andra Day • 31K views
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The United States vs. Billie Holiday (Music from the Motion Picture)

Playlist • Andra Day • 133K views
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The United States Vs. Billie Holiday (Official Performance Videos)

Playlist • Andra Day • 17K views
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Covers & Mashups

Playlist • Andra Day • 80K views
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CASSANDRA (cherith)

Playlist • Andra Day • 10K views
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Andra Day Live

Playlist • Andra Day • 59K views

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