LOS ANGELES – LOS ANGELES (AP) — Andra Day won raves as an actress after her starring role in a 2021 Billie Holiday biopic, but the soulful singer nearly lost the strength of her powerful voice in the process.
Day injured his voice after smoking cigarettes as part of his role in the Lee Daniels film “The United States vs. It took some time to recover after she suffered a vocal cord hemorrhage, but now the singer appears to be returning to form with her latest album “Cassandra,” released earlier this month.
“Cassandra,” which is Day’s legal first name, is her first album in nine years since her 2015 debut “Cheers to the Fall,” which earned a Grammy nomination along with the standout single “Rise Up.” On her new album, she explores the complexities of her past relationships and her spiritual walk with God.
Day has been on a journey to regain confidence in her voice since the film “Holiday,” which helped her win a Grammy and a Golden Globe for her acting and musical work. She’s been practicing her vocals in studio sessions and on some big stages, including several performances during Grammy week and before the Super Bowl game, where she sang “Lift Every Voice and Sing” earlier this year.
In a recent interview, Day spoke with the Associated Press about her latest album, how her faith helped her overcome heartbreak and her desire to play a villain.
Comments have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
DAY: Faith is my entire foundation. It’s who I am. If someone asked me to summarize my identity, I would say “I am a follower of Christ. I’m a son of god.” It’s important how you appear. Nobody is perfect. When making this album, I wanted people to experience the mistakes I made. You don’t want to stay in that place. You want to grow from it. No matter what mistakes were made or if I didn’t perform well, I was loved dearly.
Day: I am intensely reminded this season that I am loved. That’s the thing for me. I feel like I’m hard to love. I feel like when people meet me, they’re going to think, “Oh, God, she’s really not that good or interesting.” I’ve dealt with this kind of imposter syndrome a lot. It’s love that I really need. There is a scripture that talks about how God’s plans are to not harm you. But they are there to give you hope and a future. I stay with it. I believe that. It’s very painful for me because I love so much – which I recently discovered. But at the same time, it’s a reminder that God’s plan for me isn’t just for me in this romantic relationship. That may be part of it. This is amazing. But it’s a holistic thing for everyone’s life. Your plans for me are good. God’s love and plans for me. This is what really helps me eventually.
DAY: There was some bleeding. You may see inflamed blood vessels. I have one that’s kind of bad right now, but it hasn’t completely hemorrhaged, which is great. That has been my saving grace. It’s just drier, with bleeding, more damage and rupture.
DAY: It made me question whether it was the right decision. I was really desperate. It was my first role. But it definitely had… impact. I left Billie feeling more confident, because of who she was and how she walked into the room and dealt with her own confidence issues. My voice as a singer, I’ve been dealing with my confidence a lot over the last two years. It’s really hard when you know your voice is one-directional and all of a sudden you’re like, “Oh my God, I can’t hit these (notes) or I’m struggling to hit these (notes). You kind of have to figure out how to sing again. It’s completely new. It definitely took a toll on my self-confidence. Recently, things really seem to be starting to recover.
DAY: I didn’t need to smoke because of Billie. I’m just an extra. It seemed like one of those roles where you need dedication. I can’t just immolate him right on screen.
DAY: We did the Blue Note (Jazz Festival) in New York. God was so great. We sold out two nights. It was fantastic. There were moments in the show where I thought it wasn’t my own voice. I was able to hit certain notes and go certain places. Lately this has given me more confidence. I just need to get back on the horse, keep doing it again and strengthen my muscles like anything else.
DAY: I want to act more. I want to make more music too. I want to put together more songs, more consistently. I’ll take another break at some point. It won’t be nine more years. I really want to do EPs with artists I love. Just release a bunch of EPs. All kinds of genres. All kinds of styles. I want to support other producers who worked on this album.
DAY: I like futuristic science fiction things. I like playing some kind of warrior hero. Biopics too. There are three roles that I am hyper-focused on. I would love to play the original version of Poison Ivy. I would definitely love to play Eartha Kitt and Angela Davis. These are my dream roles.
DAY: Here’s the fun part about playing a bad girl. She’s just mean to you. It’s just bad for the public. For me, as an actor, I’m not playing a bad girl. I will never play an evil character. That’s what I learned from Tasha Smith and Lee (Daniels). For you to really perform well or be convincing, everything in your head has to be justified. Every move I make. Every thing has a reason. Violent passion. In my mind and in my head, how do I not function like this in real life, because now I have justified all the terrible things I have done and said. I’m not looking at Poison Ivy like, “Yeah, I’m playing a villain.” I’m like, “Oh my God, she’s an incredible plant savior. She has to kill all these people because she looks at these environmental idiots “That’s the difference.
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