Andra Day Talks Rise Up Success, Rihanna Comparisons & Grammy Nominations

Andra Day is still stunned by the success of her empowering anthem “Rise Up,” from her Grammy nominated album Cheers to the Fall. However, the singer tells ABC Radio that her life hasn’t changed as much as you might think.

“It’s changed as far as, like, familiarity with people and the types of opportunities that are coming in, but it’s very much the same with sort of my family and my music family,” she says. “We are just kind of working everyday, you know. We’re traveling or rehearsing or on the road, so that dynamic hasn’t really changed, it’s sort of one day after another.”

Still, the singer admits that she was stunned to be nominated for two Grammy awards, including Best R&B Performance for “Rise Up.”

“It was just gratitude,” she says of her response to the honor. “Particularly because of the timeline, you know, it had only been out since [the] end of August, so it’d been out for a short period of time. So to be recognize by my peers like that was just really amazing, and just gratitude, you know, [for] my family and support system that has believed for a very long time, you know just so grateful to everybody who stuck by me.”

The nominations seem to have quieted the constant comparisons that Andra receives with artists ranging from Rihanna to Amy Winehouse.

“I usually get, ‘You look like Rihanna, you sound like Amy Winehouse, Adele.’ So I mean obviously it’s a compliment, you know, she’s a beautiful girl, Amy was an incredible talent. So it doesn’t bother me at all,” Andra explains,”I think because hearing a comparison is never something that’s going to deter me from being me.”

The singer adds, “I am who I am and I’m confident in that and, you know, it’s always complimentary and I think its flattering and it doesn’t chip at my security as a person,” she says. 

Next month will see Andra making her first Grammy performance — she’ll team up with pop singer Ellie Goulding for a duet. The ceremony airs February 15 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

In related news, “Rise Up” peaked at number 20 on Billboard‘s Hot R&B Songs chart last week, selling 11,000 additional copies. It’s Day’s second entrance on Hot R&B Songs following the holiday duet with Stevie Wonder, “Someday at Christmas,”which debuted at number 24 last month.