Artist Thumbnail
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

Songs

See All
1
thumbnail
Rise Up
Andra Day
2
thumbnail
Glory Days
Andra Day
3
thumbnail
Someday at Christmas
Stevie Wonder
4
thumbnail
Stand up for Something (feat. Common)
Andra Day
5
thumbnail
The Only Way Out
Andra Day

Albums

thumbnail

CASSANDRA (cherith)

2024
thumbnail

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

2021
thumbnail

Marshall (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

2017
thumbnail

Cheers to the Fall

2015

Singles & EPs

See All
thumbnail

Let Freedom Ring

Single • 2025
thumbnail

Lift Every Voice and Sing

Single • 2024
thumbnail

Phone Dies (feat. Refi Sings)

Single • 2021
thumbnail

Bricks (From "Exhibiting Forgiveness")

Single • 2024
thumbnail

Probably

Single • 2024
thumbnail

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

Single • 2021
thumbnail

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow (From "The Deliverance")

Single • 2024
thumbnail

Where Do We Go

Single • 2024
thumbnail

Chasing

Single • 2024
thumbnail

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

Single • 2021

Videos

See All
thumbnail

Rise Up (Inspiration Version)

Andra Day • 135M views
thumbnail

I Know Who Holds Tomorrow (From "The Deliverance")

Andra Day • 80K views
thumbnail

Stand up for Something (feat. Common)

Andra Day • 5.5M views
thumbnail

Make Your Troubles Go Away

Andra Day • 693K views
thumbnail

Andra Day - The Only Way Out [Official Music Video]

Andra Day • 4.1M views

Live performances

See All
thumbnail

Andra Day - Mamma Knows Best [Jessie J Cover]

Andra Day • 4M views

Featured on

thumbnail

Celebrating Kwanzaa: Ujima

Playlist • YouTube Music
thumbnail

'10s Adult R&B

Playlist • YouTube Music
thumbnail

Black Lives Matter

Playlist • YouTube Music
thumbnail

'10s R&B

Playlist • YouTube Music
thumbnail

Winter Soulstice

Playlist • YouTube Music
thumbnail

New & Timeless Soul Hits

Playlist • YouTube Music
thumbnail

Freedom Songs

Playlist • YouTube Music

Playlists by Andra Day

thumbnail

Andra Day Top Official Music Videos

Playlist • Andra Day • 885K views
thumbnail

Andra Day Originals

Playlist • Andra Day • 32K views
thumbnail

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

Playlist • Andra Day • 133K views
thumbnail

The United States Vs. Billie Holiday (Official Performance Videos)

Playlist • Andra Day • 17K views
thumbnail

Covers & Mashups

Playlist • Andra Day • 81K views
thumbnail

CASSANDRA (cherith)

Playlist • Andra Day • 13K views
thumbnail

Andra Day Live

Playlist • Andra Day • 59K views

Fans might also like

thumbnail

MAJOR.

1.41M monthly audience
thumbnail

Joss Stone

414K monthly audience
thumbnail

Tracee Ellis Ross

5.07K subscribers
thumbnail

Yebba

4.26M monthly audience
thumbnail

Macy Gray

625K monthly audience
thumbnail

Judith Hill

46.6K subscribers
thumbnail

Laura Izibor

3.24K subscribers
thumbnail

Hamzaa

63.3K monthly audience
thumbnail

Lianne La Havas

337K monthly audience
thumbnail

Clark Beckham

63.7K monthly audience