Andra Day | |
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.jpg) Day at the 2025New York Film Festival | |
| Background information | |
| Born | Cassandra Monique Batie (1984-12-30)December 30, 1984 (age 40) Edmonds, Washington, U.S. |
| Origin | San Diego, California, U.S.[1] |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2012–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | andraday |
Cassandra Monique Batie[2] (born December 30, 1984), known professionally asAndra Day, is an AmericanR&B andsoul singer, songwriter, and actress. She is the recipient ofvarious accolades, including aGrammy Award, aChildren's and Family Emmy Award, and aGolden Globe Award, along with a nomination for anAcademy Award.
In 2015, she released her debut album,Cheers to the Fall.[3] At the2016 Grammy Awards, the album was nominated forBest R&B Album and the single, "Rise Up", was nominated forBest R&B Performance.[4] To promote "Rise Up", she performed the song onThe View, earning aDaytime Emmy Award nomination for the performance.[5] Day also appeared alongsideStevie Wonder, who is partially credited for her discovery, in an ad forApple TV in late 2015.[6][7] In 2020, Day became one of the most-requested artists among Jazz Joy and Roy Global Radio listeners.
In 2021, Day made her acting debut with her portrayal ofBillie Holiday inLee Daniels' biopicThe United States vs. Billie Holiday, winning theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, and received a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Actress. Day received theGrammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for the film's accompanying soundtrack.[8]
Day was born on December 30, 1984, inEdmonds,Washington.[7][9] She moved toSouthern California at age three, and grew up inSoutheast San Diego, California, with her family.[6][1] She began singing at a young age at the First United Methodist Church inChula Vista, California. Day also began taking dance lessons at age 5 (a discipline she continued into her 20s). She attendedValencia Park Elementary School which she credits with fostering her interest in performing arts. At the age of 12, Day was introduced to the sounds of jazz vocalists such asBillie Holiday,Ella Fitzgerald, andDinah Washington, all of whom she counts as early influences on her sound. Day attended theSan Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts inParadise Hills, where she graduated in 2003.[6] On July 11, 2019, Day was inducted as an honorary member ofDelta Sigma Theta sorority.[10]
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.[11] 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 producerAdrian Gurvitz at that time. Gurvitz would eventually collaborate on Day's debut album a few years later.[3][4]
Day was signed in 2011 to a development deal with Buskin Records founded by Jeffrey Evans, who Day asked to be her manager in 2013. Later Day & Buskin earned a record deal withWarner Bros. Records in part because of the popularity of her numerous unpluggedcovers andmashups on herYouTube channel, most of which were filmed in her sister's bedroom in San Diego.[6][3][4] Her covers includeJessie J's "Mamma Knows Best",[12]Eminem's "Lose Yourself",[13] andMuse's "Uprising" among others.[14] She was also known for mashups including one that patched togetherThe Notorious B.I.G.'s "Big Poppa" withMarvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" and another that combinedAmy Winehouse's "He Can Only Hold Her" andLauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)".[11]
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 includedRaphael Saadiq,Questlove,James Poyser,DJ Jazzy Jeff, andThe Dap-Kings. Day performed at the 2014Sundance Film Festival and caught the eye of director,Spike Lee. He volunteered to direct the video for her single, "Forever Mine".[4] Day has also performed at the 2015BET Awards,[13] the closing ceremonies of the 2015Special Olympics,[15] theEssence Music Festival,[16] and on television shows likeJimmy Kimmel Live!,[17]Good Morning America, and numerous others.[18] She also performedNina Simone's "Mississippi Goddam" for the soundtrack for theNetflix documentary,What Happened, Miss Simone?.[19]
Her first studio album,Cheers to the Fall, was released on August 28, 2015.[6] It was met with critical acclaim withNPR's Katie Presley saying Day's voice has "Eartha Kitt's unflappable confidence, Amy Winehouse's effortless grasp of classicjazz, Billie Holiday's access to raw emotion andAdele's range and pop sensibility".[20] 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).[6] The album also peaked at number 48 on theBillboard 200 list.[21] In September 2015, "Rise Up" was used in an advertisement forBeats by Dre that featured tennis playerSerena Williams.[14] 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".[7]
Her first national tour took place in August and September 2015 when she opened forLenny Kravitz. In October 2015, she sang "Rise Up" atThe White House and again performed the song forA&E's live special,Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America.[6]
In May 2016, Day entered into an agreement withMcDonald's andCoca-Cola that saw her image on around 50 million cups at McDonald's. The partnership was part of the "Share a Cup" lyrics program and featured 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.[22] Her Cheers to the Fall Tour began in November 2016 in her hometown of San Diego.[23] Day performed on the second day of the2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia to rousing applause. She followed immediately after a moving address byMothers of the Movement, a group of black mothers who had lost a child through encounters with police and gun violence.
In December 2016, Andra Day received the Powerhouse Award at theBillboard Women in Music event. When asked what makes a 'powerhouse' powerful to others, Day responded, "I think you just remind them of their value, you remind them of their purpose. You remind them that you are not here just to exist, you're here to impact people in their lives...I think it just reinforces that."[24]
In 2017, Day appeared on the song "Stand Up for Something" with rapperCommon for the filmMarshall. The single was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Original Song; Day and Common performed the song at the90th Academy Awards in March 2018.[25] Day performed with the Baltimore Children's Choir for the opening musical performance at theMarch for Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C., on March 24, 2018.[26][27]
In 2024, Andra Day performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” on the pregame show ofSuper Bowl LVIII.[8][28][29] This performance was produced and arranged byAdam Blackstone.
In her first major film role, Day starred as the iconic singerBillie Holiday in the biographical dramaThe United States vs. Billie Holiday,[30][31] for which she won aGolden Globe forBest Actress – Drama, aBET Award for Best Actress and received her firstAcademy Award nomination for Best Actress. Day also composed and performed thesoundtrack, which won theGrammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media.[32] The original song "Tigress & Tweed" being nominated for Best Original Songs at theGolden Globe,Critics' Choice Movie Award andBlack Reel award.[33]
In 2021, Day was involved as writer and song performer on American educational television seriesWe the People, winning theChildren's and Family Emmy Awards for Outstanding Short Form Program.[34] In 2022, it was announced that Day will be starring in theLee Daniels' horror/thrillerThe Deliverance withMo'Nique,Omar Epps,Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor andGlenn Close.[35] In 2024, Day was announced to be portraying the Greek goddessAthena for theDisney+ seriesPercy Jackson and the Olympians.[36]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Marshall | Nightclub Singer | |
| Cars 3 | Sweet Tea | Voice | |
| 2021 | The United States vs. Billie Holiday | Billie Holiday | Nominated:Academy Award for Best Actress Won:Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Drama |
| 2024 | Exhibiting Forgiveness | Aisha | |
| The Deliverance | Ebony Jackson | ||
| 2025 | Is This Thing On? | Post-production |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | We the People | Voice | Episode: "The Courts" |
| 2022 | RuPaul's Drag Race[37] | Herself | Episode: "Moulin Ru: The Rusical" |
| 2024 | Bel Air | Episode: "Save the Best for Last" | |
| TBA | Percy Jackson and the Olympians | Athena | Season 2 |
Day has received threeGrammy Award nominations for her R&B Album,Cheers to the Fall and her performance for "Rise Up" in 2016, and forBest Song Written for Visual Media for "Stand Up for Something" fromMarshall. In 2018, she received aDaytime Emmy Award nomination for her live performance of "Rise Up" onThe View. For the 2020 filmThe United States vs. Billie Holiday, at theGolden Globes, she received a nomination forBest Original Song for "Tigress and Tweed", and wonBest Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama for her title performance asBillie Holiday. She also received a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Actress for the role.
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| People | |
