Andra Day facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Andra Day
Day in 2016
Background information
Birth name	Cassandra Monique Batie
Born	(1984-12-30) December 30, 1984 (age 40) Edmonds, Washington, U.S.
Origin	San Diego, California, U.S.
Genres	R&B soul pop blues
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter actress
Years active	2012–present
Labels	Warner Buskin

Cassandra Monique Batie (born December 30, 1984), known as Andra Day, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She sings R&B and soul music. Andra Day has won many awards, including a Grammy Award, a Children's and Family Emmy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. She was also nominated for an Academy Award.

In 2015, she released her first album, Cheers to the Fall. This album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album in 2016. Her song "Rise Up" was also nominated for a Grammy. To promote "Rise Up", she sang it on the TV show The View. This performance earned her a Daytime Emmy Award nomination. In 2015, Day also appeared in an Apple TV ad with Stevie Wonder. He is partly credited with helping her get discovered.

In 2021, Day started her acting career. She played the famous singer Billie Holiday in the movie The United States vs. Billie Holiday. For this role, she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. She was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Day also won a Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for the movie's soundtrack.

Early Life and School

Andra Day was born on December 30, 1984, in Edmonds, Washington. When she was three years old, her family moved to Southern California. She grew up in Southeast San Diego, California. She started singing at a young age at a church in Chula Vista. Day also began taking dance lessons at age 5 and continued until she was in her twenties.

She went to Valencia Park Elementary School. She says this school helped her love performing. When she was 12, Day discovered jazz singers like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, and Dinah Washington. These artists greatly influenced her music style. Day graduated from the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts in 2003.

Andra Day's Career

Music Journey

After high school, Day worked many different jobs. In 2010, Stevie Wonder's wife, Kai Millard, saw Day performing at a shopping center. She told her husband about Day. Soon after, Stevie Wonder called Day. They didn't start working together right away, but they reconnected about a year later. Wonder then introduced Day to producer Adrian Gurvitz. Gurvitz later helped create Day's first album.

In 2011, Day signed a deal with Buskin Records. She asked Jeffrey Evans, who founded Buskin Records, to be her manager in 2013. Later, Day and Buskin signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records. This happened partly because her YouTube channel became popular. She posted many unplugged covers and mashups of songs. Most of these videos were filmed in her sister's bedroom in San Diego.

Her covers included songs like Jessie J's "Mamma Knows Best" and Eminem's "Lose Yourself". She also made mashups, like mixing The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Big Poppa" with Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On". Another popular mashup combined Amy Winehouse's "He Can Only Hold Her" and Lauryn Hill's "Doo Wop (That Thing)".

During this time, Day also worked with Gurvitz on about 40 original songs. Other famous artists and producers helped with her first album. These included Raphael Saadiq, Questlove, and DJ Jazzy Jeff. Day performed at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival, where director Spike Lee noticed her. He offered to direct the music video for her song "Forever Mine". Day has also performed at events like the 2015 BET Awards and the 2015 Special Olympics. She has also appeared on TV shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Good Morning America.

Andra Day performing at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, March 2016

Her first album, Cheers to the Fall, was released on August 28, 2015. Critics loved it. One reviewer said Day's voice had the confidence of Eartha Kitt, the jazz style of Amy Winehouse, the emotion of Billie Holiday, and the range of Adele. The album was nominated for Best R&B Album at the 2016 Grammy Awards. Her song "Rise Up" was also nominated for Best R&B Performance. Day performed at the Grammy Awards that year. The album reached number 48 on the Billboard 200 chart, which lists the most popular albums.

In September 2015, "Rise Up" was used in an ad for Beats by Dre featuring tennis star Serena Williams. In late 2015, Day appeared with Stevie Wonder in an Apple TV commercial. They sang Wonder's song "Someday at Christmas" together.

Her first national tour was in August and September 2015. She opened for Lenny Kravitz. In October 2015, she sang "Rise Up" at The White House. She also performed the song for a live TV special called Shining a Light: A Concert for Progress on Race in America.

In May 2016, Day partnered with McDonald's and Coca-Cola. Her picture appeared on about 50 million McDonald's cups. This partnership was part of the "Share a Cup" program and featured lyrics from her song "Rise Up". People who bought the cups could enter a contest to see Day perform at the Essence Music Festival. Her "Cheers to the Fall Tour" started in November 2016 in her hometown of San Diego. Day performed at the 2016 Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. She sang after a speech by a group of mothers who had lost children.

In December 2016, Andra Day received the Powerhouse Award at the Billboard Women in Music event. She said that a "powerhouse" reminds people of their value and purpose. She believes it helps people remember they are here to impact others' lives.

In 2017, Day sang on the song "Stand Up for Something" with rapper Common. This song was for the movie Marshall. The song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Day and Common performed it at the 90th Academy Awards in March 2018. Day also performed with the Baltimore Children's Choir at the March for Our Lives rally in Washington, D.C., in March 2018.

In 2024, Andra Day performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before Super Bowl LVIII.

Acting Roles

Andra Day's first big movie role was playing the famous singer Billie Holiday in the movie The United States vs. Billie Holiday. For this role, she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. She also won a BET Award for Best Actress and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Day also created and performed the music for the movie's soundtrack. This soundtrack won a Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media. Her original song "Tigress & Tweed" from the movie was nominated for several awards.

In 2021, Day helped write and perform songs for the educational TV series We the People. She won a Children's and Family Emmy Award for this work. In 2022, it was announced that Day would star in the horror movie The Deliverance. In 2024, it was announced that Day would play the Greek goddess Athena in the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Andra Day's Music

• Cheers to the Fall (2015)
• The United States vs. Billie Holiday (soundtrack) (2021)
• CASSANDRA (cherith) (2024)

Andra Day's Movies and TV Shows

Movies

Television Shows

Awards and Nominations

Andra Day has received many awards and nominations for her music and acting. She was nominated for three Grammy Awards. These include nominations for her album Cheers to the Fall and her song "Rise Up" in 2016. She was also nominated for "Stand Up for Something" from the movie Marshall. In 2018, she received a Daytime Emmy Award nomination for her live performance of "Rise Up" on The View.

For the 2020 movie The United States vs. Billie Holiday, she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama for playing Billie Holiday. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for "Tigress and Tweed" from the movie. Andra Day also received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in the film.

See also

In Spanish: Andra Day para niños