#BlackGirlMagic: 8 Reasons Why We Love Andra Day
The soul singer slays for days.
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Introducing Ms. Day - If you watched the Grammys this week, it was hard to not notice soul singer Andra Day steal the show with her duet with Ellie Goulding. She absolutely slayed! Along with her crazy talent, the rising star gives us plenty to be in awe of. Keep reading. By Kellee Terrell (Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for NARAS)
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She’s a Soldier - You may not have been able to tell, but Day was suffering from strep throat during the Grammys, says Glamour.com. But that still didn’t stop her from turning it out. Talk about overcoming an obstacle and rising to the occasion. (Photo: Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for Warner Music Group)
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She Has Modest Beginnings - Before Andra Day signed with Warner Brothers, she was posting videos of herself on her YouTube channel doing covers of Florence and the Machine, Biggie and even Eminem, garnering more than one million followers. And she never gave up. (Photo: Michael Buckner/Getty Images for Smashbox Studios)
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She Has a Unique Personal Style - Part Lucille Ball rocking pompadour, part punk via Gwen Stefani, Day has this amazing '50s vintage look on a modern rock tip. And it’s nice to see Black women have such a great range of influences and personal style. (Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images for NARAS)
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Stevie Wonder and Spike Lee Stan for Her - Six years ago Wonder's (now ex) wife Kai Millard Morris saw Day on YouTube and showed Wonder, and he helped her rise to stardom. Plus, Day recently wowed Spike Lee while performing at the Sundance Film Festival and he ended up directing her video for "Forever Mine." Major!(Photos from left: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images, Jason Merritt/Getty Images for NARAS)
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She Refuses to Be Put in a Box Musically - While she says that her deepest influences are Nina Simone and Stevie Wonder, musically she is also a fusion of Eartha Kitt, Adele, Amy Winehouse and Billie Holiday. She told Rolling Stone, “I'm not going to put myself in a box. Whichever chord progressions move me, whether it's rock, jazz, doo-wop or soul, I'm going to put it together and not be worried about whether people can put it in a lane or not." (Photo: Earl Gibson III/Getty Images for ESSENCE)
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Her Music Makes Us Be More Honest - Day’s music can be fun, but it’s also honest. She told Vibe, regarding her new album, Cheers to the Fall, “I always think how people can jump out of airplanes and climb mountains, but being vulnerable and telling the whole truth while allowing yourself to be judged or criticized is one of the scariest things to do.”If that doesn’t inspire you to be authentic, nothing else will. (Photo: Joshua Blanchard/Getty Images for The Guild of Music Supervisors)
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'Rise Up' Reminds Us What a Great Time It Is to Be Alive - With so much going on in our lives as people of color, “Rise Up” reminds us that that we are resilient and that our resistance is one beautiful thing! Perhaps that's why the song was used on numerous television programs for Black History Month and even for the Serena Williams's Beats By Dre commercial. (Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for CNN)