Daya | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Daya in 2024 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Grace Martine Tandon (1998-10-24)October 24, 1998 (age 27) Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Origin | Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instrument | Vocals |
| Years active | 2015–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | dayaofficial |
Grace Martine Tandon (born October 24, 1998),[1] known professionally asDaya (stylizedDΛYΛ; pronounced/ˈdeɪ.ə/), is an American singer and songwriter fromMt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania.[2][3] She released her self-titled debutextended play (EP),Daya, on September 4, 2015. The album includes the song "Hide Away," which peaked at number 23 on theBillboard Hot 100.[4][5] She released her debut studio albumSit Still, Look Pretty on October 7, 2016. She is currently signed toONErpm.[6]The Chainsmokers' "Don't Let Me Down", for which she provided vocals, was a worldwide top-ten song and became one of thebest-selling singles of all time.
Grace Martine Tandon was born on October 24, 1998 inPittsburgh, and grew up in the suburb ofMt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania. Her paternal grandfather was aPunjabi Indian immigrant fromDelhi, India. She has four siblings, Lou, Mariana, Celia, and Avery. Her stage name Daya ([dɐˈjaː]ⓘ) is theSanskrit word for "compassion" or "kindness".[7] She attended grade school at St. Bernard School and later graduated fromMt. Lebanon High School.[8][9] At the age of three, Daya began to learn the piano, and started jazz piano at the age of 11. By this time, she had also learned to play the guitar, ukulele, saxophone, and flute.[8] Daya also spent a summer studying songwriting atInterlochen Arts Camp.
At 11, Daya enrolled as a student at the Accelerando Music Conservatory, owned by Christina Chirumbolo,[10] in Pittsburgh. There, she met songwriter and producer Gino Barletta,[2] a colleague of Chirumbolo who visited the school as a lecturer. Chirumbolo and Barletta foundedINSIDE ACCESS, a music camp where the two worked with Daya and eventually invited her to Los Angeles in February 2015 to work on original material.
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Daya's professional career began when her parents accompanied her toLos Angeles to work with Christina Chirumbolo and Gino Barletta, founders of INSIDE ACCESS by Accelerando,Brett McLaughlin, Britten Newbill and Noisecastle III at Paramount Recording Studios. It was during one of these writing sessions that her debut single "Hide Away" was written and recorded, and Barletta consequently introduced Daya to Steve Zap of Z Entertainment. Daya, who was a junior in high school at the time, said she didn't think anything would happen for a while, and went back to school the next day.[9] A radio promotions veteran, Zap liked the song and was interested in helping to promote the singer, leading to forming an independent label with Barletta called Artbeatz.
Daya released her song "Hide Away" on April 22, 2015.[11] The song was well-received online, enjoyed support from a number of notable bloggers includingTyler Oakley andPerez Hilton, the latter commenting "There is something very special about Daya's voice".[12] Jason Lipshutz ofBillboard also featured the single on their official website, labelling it "a gorgeous debut".[13]
Daya made her television debut performing "Hide Away" onToday with Kathie Lee and Hoda on August 21, 2015, asElvis Duran'sArtist of the Month.[14] She returned toToday for their summer concert series on June 28, 2016.[15]
Following a successful debut, Daya released her self-titled EP,Daya, which features six songs, including "Hide Away", on September 4, 2015.[5] The EP was premiered in full a day early byBillboard, and debuted at number 161 on theBillboard 200, propelling "Hide Away" to number 40 on theBillboard Pop Songs chart.[16][17][18]
On October 30, 2015, Daya released the physical version of her debut EP throughTarget.[19]
In 2016, Daya was the opening act for Americanpop-rap duoJack & Jack's US tour.[20] In February 2016, she was featured onThe Chainsmokers' song "Don't Let Me Down", which eventually peaked at number 3 on the Hot 100, becoming her second top 40 entry and her first top 10. This was the only song by Daya that reached the Billboard Hot 100 Decade-End Chart. She also released the second single from her self-titled EP, "Sit Still, Look Pretty", which debuted at number 100 and peaked at number 28, her third top 40.
Daya was invited to perform at the 2016White House Easter Egg Roll, where she and her family met PresidentBarack Obama and the First LadyMichelle Obama.[9] On November 15, 2016, Daya released her song "Words" as her third single from her debut albumSit Still, Look Pretty.
On December 6, 2016, it was announced that "Don't Let Me Down" had been nominated for the59th Annual Grammy Awards.[21] On February 12, 2017, it won theGrammy Award forBest Dance Recording making it the singer's first Grammy Award.[22]
In March 2017, she worked forGryffin's song "Feel Good" along withIllenium.[23] On October 11, 2017, she released a new single, "New", throughInterscope Records.[24]
In March 2018, Daya was featured onRL Grime's song "I Wanna Know" which was released on March 16, 2018.[25]
On June 22, 2018, Daya released her single "Safe".[26] On July 18, 2018, she released the video for the single.[27]
Daya released five singles in 2019. Two of the singles, "Insomnia" and "Left Me Yet", were originally intended to be on her second studio album. "Forward Motion" was intended for the movieLate Night. "Keeping It in the Dark" is on the soundtrack of theNetflix series13 Reasons Why. "Wanted" is a collaboration with Swedish music production duoNOTD.
On October 9, 2020, she released "First Time", which was rumored to be related to a new album.[28] It ended up being on her EPThe Difference, released on May 14, 2021, together with "Montana", which she released a little earlier, on April 30 and "Bad Girl", which already charted on theMainstream Top 40.[29] She released her next EPIn Between Dreams on September 16, 2022.[30] On 8 September 2024, Daya performed atPrinceton University's biannual lawnparty, alongsideNLE Choppa.[31]
Daya came out publicly asbisexual in October 2018 forNational Coming Out Day.[32] On April 2, 2021, Daya went public onInstagram with her girlfriend of three years, Clyde Munroe, after releasing a single about her titled "Bad Girl."[33]
| Year | Title | Role | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | School of Rock[34] | Herself | "I Put a Spell on You" (Season 2: episode 5) |
| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Radio Disney Music Awards | Best New Artist | Herself | Nominated |
| MTV Video Music Awards | Best Electronic Video | "Don't Let Me Down" | ||
| Latin American Music Awards | Favorite Dance Song | |||
| American Music Awards | Collaboration of the Year | |||
| 2017 | Grammy Awards | Best Dance Recording[22] | Won | |
| iHeartRadio Music Awards[35] | Dance Song of the Year | Nominated | ||
| Best Collaboration | ||||
| Best Music Video | ||||
| Best New Pop Artist | Herself | |||
| Kids' Choice Awards[36] | Favorite New Artist | |||
| WDM Radio Awards[37] | Best Electronic Vocalist | |||
| Best Trending Track | "Don't Let Me Down" | Won | ||
| Radio Disney Music Awards | Best Dance Track (Best Song to Dance To) | Nominated | ||
| Song of the Year | "Sit Still, Look Pretty" | |||
| Breakout Artist of the Year | Herself | |||
| Billboard Music Awards | Top Hot 100 Song | "Don't Let Me Down" | ||
| Top Selling Song | ||||
| Top Radio Song | ||||
| Top Collaboration | ||||
| Top Dance/Electronic Song | ||||
| 2020 | Spotify Awards[38] | Most-Streamed EDM Female Artist | Herself | Nominated |
| 2025 | Electronic Dance Music Awards[39] | Female Artist Of The Year | Pending | |
| Dance / Electro Pop Song of the Year | "Don't Call" | Pending |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |