Andra Day talks new album, plays a villain and regains confidence after vocal injury

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Andra Day rose to acting acclaim after her starring role within the 2021 Billie Holiday biopic, however the soulful singer nearly lost the ability of her powerful voice in the method.

Day suffered a vocal injury after smoking cigarettes for her role in Lee Daniels’ “The United States vs. Billie Holiday.” It took her a while to get well from a hemorrhage in her vocal cords, but now it appears like the singer is back on form together with her latest album, “Cassandra (cherith),” which was released earlier this month.

“Cassandra” – which is Day’s legal name – is her first album in nine years, since her debut in 2015 with “Cheers to the Fall”, which received a Grammy nomination together with the superb single “Rise Up”. On his new album, he explores the complexities of his past relationships and his spiritual walk with God.

Day has been attempting to regain her confidence since starring within the movie “Holiday,” which helped her win a Grammy and a Golden Globe for her acting and music. She trained her vocals in studio sessions and on several large stages, including several performances during Grammy week and the pre-Super Bowl game, where she performed “Lift Every Voice and Sing” earlier this yr.

In a recent interview, Day talked to The Associated Press about her latest album and how her faith helped her overcome heartbreak and her desire to play a villain.

The comments have been evenly edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: How essential was it for you to deal with the problem of religion in “Cassandra”?
DAY: Faith is my entire foundation. It’s who I’m. If someone asked me to summarize my identity, I might answer: “I am a follower of Christ. I am a child of God.” What matters is the way you show up. No one’s perfect. When creating this album, I wanted people to experience the mistakes I made. You don’t desire to remain on this place. You need to grow out of it. No matter what mistakes I made or didn’t perform well, I used to be very loved.

AP: How has your faith helped you overcome heartbreak?
Day: This season I’m intensely reminded that I’m loved. That’s what I mean. I feel like I’m hard to like. I feel like when people get to know me they’ll think, “Oh God, she’s really not that great or interesting.” I’ve handled a lot of this type of imposter syndrome. This is the love I really want. There is a verse that claims that God’s plan shouldn’t be to harm you. But they’re there to provide you hope and a future. I stand by it. I imagine it. It’s very painful for me because I like really deeply – something I recently discovered. But at the identical time, it’s a reminder that God’s plan for me shouldn’t be nearly me on this romantic relationship. This could also be a part of it. It is wonderful. But that is a holistic issue that concerns every one’s life. His plans for me are good. God’s love and plans for me. This is what really helps me in the long run.

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AP: How badly were your vocal cords damaged?
DAY: Hemorrhage occurred. You could see inflammation of the blood vessels. I actually have one which is in pretty bad shape at once, nevertheless it hasn’t fully hemorrhaged, which is great. This was my rescue. It’s just drier, more hemorrhagic, more damage and breakdown.

AP: Do you regret smoking cigarettes to play Billie Holiday?
DAY: I began to wonder if it was the best decision. I used to be really desperate. It was my first role. But it definitely had… an impact. I left Billie feeling more confident due to who she was, how she walked across the room and dealt together with her own confidence issues. My voice as a singer. Over the last yr or two I actually have had serious self-confidence issues. It’s really hard when you already know your voice is one-way and then all of a sudden you are like, “Oh my God, I am unable to hit these (notes) or I’m having a hard time hitting these (notes). You need to determine sing again. This is totally new. It definitely affected my self-confidence. Recently, the situation appears to be improving.

AP: Was smoking required for this role?
DAY: I didn’t need to smoke for Billie. I’m just awesome. It appeared to me that this was one in all those roles that required sacrifice. I simply cannot get it to burn well on screen.

AP: Has your voice reached your level recently?
DAY: We played on the Blue Note (jazz festival) in New York. God was so great. We sold out two nights. It was amazing. There were moments in this system after I felt prefer it wasn’t my very own voice. I used to be in a position to hit certain notes and reach certain places. Recently it has given me more confidence. I just have to get back on the horse and keep doing it and strengthening my muscles like all the pieces else.

AP: What are your future profession plans?
DAY: I would like to play more. I also need to make more music. I need to make more music, more consistently. I’ll take one other break someday. It won’t be one other nine years. I actually need to make EPs with artists I like. Just drop a whole bunch of EPs. All sorts of species. All sorts of styles. I would like to support the opposite producers who worked on this album.

AP: Is there a specific role you wish to play?
DAY: I like futuristic sci-fi stuff. I prefer to play a sort of warrior hero. Biographies too. There are three roles that I’m extremely focused on. I might like to play the unique version of Poison Ivy. I might definitely like to play Eartha Kitt and Angela Davis. These are my dream roles.

AP: It can be interesting to see you play a villain like Poison Ivy. Why her?
DAY: This is the funniest a part of playing the bad girl. She’s only bad for you. She’s just bad for the audience. For me, as an actor, I do not play a bad girl. I never play a bad character. That’s what I learned from Tasha Smith and Lee (Daniels). To really play well and be convincing, all the pieces in your head needs to be justified. Every move I make. Every thing has its reason. Violent passion. How in my mind and head I do not function like that in real life because now I actually have justified every horrible thing I actually have done and said. I do not have a look at Poison Ivy like, “Yeah, I’m playing a villain.” I say, “My God, she is an amazing plant savior.” … It’s the difference.