Who Is Andra Day? 5 Things About the Singer and Actress – Hollywood Life

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Andra Day’s breakout appearing position was taking part in the legendary jazz and blues singer Billie Holiday in the Hulu movie The United States vs. Billie Holiday. Her highly effective efficiency (and vocals) have earned rave opinions since the movie’s launch. The actress and singer extraordinaire is now nominated for Best Actress at the 2021 Oscars. While this was Andra’s first Oscar nomination, she’s no stranger to awards reveals. She’s now a Golden Globe winner, and her music has been nominated for a number of awards.

Now, due to her success as a musician, Andra is performing two songs at this yr’s Super Bowl in Las Vegas.

Hollywood Life has rounded up 5 key issues that you must find out about Andra.

‘The United States vs. Billie Holiday’ Is Her Feature Film Debut

Andra’s appearing debut as Billie Holiday virtually didn’t occur. When she met with the movie’s director, Lee Daniels, they each initially didn’t suppose she was proper for the position. “He’s like, ‘I don’t want to work with her, she’s not an actress,’” Andra informed Deadline. “And I had a horrible idea that I would be a stain on her legacy. So, I was trying to convince him, like, ‘I’m so glad to meet you, but make sure you just get the right person and do what you need to do.’” Eventually, Andra received him over, and the relaxation is historical past. Andra’s function movie debut earned her the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.

She Is an Established Singer

Andra launched her debut album, Cheers to the Fall, in 2015. The album was nominated for Best R&B Album in 2015, and her music “Rise Up” was nominated for Best R&B Performance. She earned a 3rd Grammy nomination for the music “Stand Up for Something” in 2018. The official music video for “Rise Up” has hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.

As an set up music artist, Andra was requested to carry out two songs at the 2024 Super Bowl.

Stevie Wonder Helped Launch Andra’s Career

In 2010, Kai Millard Morris, who was married to Stevie Wonder at the time, noticed a video of Andra acting at a California strip mall. After studying about the video, Stevie known as Andra himself. “I was living in a tiny little studio apartment with my mom. I didn’t believe it,” Andra informed Live Nation about the day Stevie known as. Stevie helped join Andra to a producer, and that’s when her profession took off.

Andra’s Stage Name Is an Homage to Billie Holiday

Andra was born Cassandra Monique Batie. She was ultimately impressed to pay tribute to Billie Holiday along with her stage identify, in accordance with Deadline. Day comes from Billie Holiday’s nickname, Lady Day. Andra was launched to Billie’s music at a younger age, and “Strange Fruit” had an affect on Andra. “All I knew was that whatever I was listening to was extremely powerful and I could hear the sacrifice,” she informed Deadline. “I was like, ‘Wow, she’s giving up something.’ It wasn’t until I was about 18 when I started to dive into who she is.”

She Was a Part of Joe Biden’s Inauguration

Andra carried out her hit music “Rise Up” throughout President Joe Biden’s inauguration at his digital inaugural parade. Months earlier, she sang a duet of “Greatest Love of All” with John Legend at Joe’s “Celebration for Change” reside streaming fundraiser. She additionally sang “Rise Up” at the White House in 2016 throughout a rally for Hillary Clinton.