Who Is Andra Day? 5 Things to Know About the Super Bowl LVIII Performer
Andra Day has been tapped to perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing” at Super Bowl LVIII on Sunday, February 11.
Sheryl Lee Ralph made history last February as the first person to sing the hymn, which is unofficially known as the Black National Anthem, live on the field before the Super Bowl. Mary Mary previously sang the tune outside Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium during Super Bowl LVI in 2022 and Alicia Keys did the honors in a pre-recorded video one year prior.
The NFL announced Day as this year’s “Lift Every Voice and Sing” vocalist in a January 18 announcement.
The statement — which also announced Reba McEntire and Post Malone as the national anthem and “America the Beautiful” vocalists, respectively — noted that Emmy award-winning musical director and producer Adam Blackstone will arrange and produce Day’s rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing.”
Rounding out the list of performers for the sporting event is Usher, who will headline the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show.
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Keep scrolling for everything to know about Day:
1. What Are Some of Andra Day’s Best-Known Songs?
Day is best known for the song “Rise Up,” which was the single from her 2015 debut album, Cheers to the Fall. The song earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B performance in 2016 while the LP was nominated for Best R&B album.
Day sang “Rise Up” live on The View in 2016 and earned a Daytime Emmy nomination for the performance.
The musician released her newest single, “Where Do We Go,” on January 19.
2. What Acting Has Andra Day Done?
Day made her acting debut with her portrayal of Billie Holiday in the 2021 biopic The United States vs. Billie Holiday. That same year, she won the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama for the role and also earned an Oscar nomination.
During a March 2021 appearance on PBS News Hour, Day admitted that filling Holiday’s shoes was “hard as hell.” She called the experience a “lesson in making art [and] a lesson in authenticity and bravery.”
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3. What Has Andra Day Said About Her Super Bowl Gig?
After her Super Bowl performance was announced, Day reacted via Instagram.
“Peace & Blessings!!! Performing the Anthem at the SuperBowl yall! Grateful! Thank You God
,” she wrote.
America Ferrera showed her support in the comments section. “Can’t wait!!!” the Barbie star wrote.
4. Is Andra Day Married?
Day has never been married, but she did spark dating rumors with Brad Pitt in 2021.
“We’ve never met,” Day told Entertainment Tonight of Pitt in June 2021. “We’re not dating. We don’t even know each other. It is hilarious. [The rumors came out of] thin air. Somebody was bored that day.”
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5. Did Stevie Wonder Discover Andra Day?
Wonder first heard Day’s voice in 2010 when his now ex-wife Kai Millard Morris showed him a video of her singing in front of a Malibu strip mall. He called Day and asked whether they could work together.
“I was so nervous,” Day recalled of the phone conversation during a 2016 interview with Detroit Free Press. “I kept saying to myself that he’s just a regular person. But in the same breath, I was saying, ‘He’s a legend.’ I felt like a meteor hit my house. It inspired me to keep pushing.”
Day told the outlet that her then-manager “sabotaged” her business relationship with Wonder, and it took more than a year for them to reconnect. At that point, Wonder introduced Day to longtime producer Adrian Gurvitz, who signed her to Buskin Records.
