Grace Martine Tandon (born October 24, 1998), better known by her

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

Daya (stylized DΛYΛ; pronounced ), is an American singer and songwriter from

Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania Mt. Lebanon is a township with home rule status in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 34,075 at the 2020 census. It is a suburb of Pittsburgh. Established in 1912 as Mount Lebanon, the township was a farming commu ...

. She is signed to Sandlot Records and

AWAL AWAL (an initialism of Artists Without a Label) is a British music distribution company owned by Sony Music Entertainment. The company serves as an alternative to the traditional music label deal, offering deal structures to artists and independ ...

, and released her self-titled debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

(EP), '' Daya'', on September 4, 2015, which includes the song " Hide Away", which has peaked at number 23 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. She released her debut studio album ''

Sit Still, Look Pretty "Sit Still, Look Pretty" is a song by American singer Daya. It was released on September 4, 2015, as the second single from her debut extended play (EP), '' Daya'' (2015) and her debut studio album of the same name (2016). It is the follow-up t ...

'' on October 7, 2016.

Early life

Daya was born in

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and grew up in the suburb of

. Her paternal grandfather is

Indian American Indian Americans or Indo-Americans are citizens of the United States with ancestry from India. The United States Census Bureau uses the term Asian Indian to avoid confusion with Native Americans, who have also historically been referred to ...

, a

Punjabi Punjabi, or Panjabi, most often refers to: * Something of, from, or related to Punjab, a region in India and Pakistan * Punjabi language * Punjabi people * Punjabi dialects and languages Punjabi may also refer to: * Punjabi (horse), a British Th ...

who migrated from

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. She has four siblings, Lou, Mariana, Celia, and Avery. Her stage name Daya () is the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

word for "compassion" or "kindness". In grade school she attended St. Bernard School and later she attended

Mt. Lebanon High School Mt. Lebanon High School is a four-year, comprehensive high school located in Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, with an enrollment of 1,801 students in grades 9–12 for the 2020–2021 school year. Its mascot is the Blue Devil. History The sc ...

, where she graduated. At the age of three, Daya began to learn the piano, and started jazz piano at the age of eleven. By this time, she had also learned to play the guitar, ukulele, saxophone, and flute. Daya also spent a summer studying songwriting at

Interlochen Arts Camp Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit corporation which operates arts education institutions and performance venues in northwest Michigan. It is situated on a campus in Interlochen, Michigan, roughly southwest of Traverse City. ...

. At eleven, Daya enrolled as a student at the Accelerando Music Conservatory, owned by Christina Chirumbolo, in Pittsburgh. There, she met songwriter and producer Gino Barletta, a colleague of Chirumbolo who visited the school as a lecturer. Chirumbolo and Barletta founded ''INSIDE ACCESS'', a music camp, the two worked with Daya eventually inviting her to Los Angeles in February 2015 to work on her original material.

Music career

Daya's professional career began when her parents accompanied her to Los Angeles to work with Christina Chirumbolo and Gino Barletta, founders of INSIDE ACCESS by Accelerando,

Brett McLaughlin Brett Leland McLaughlin, known professionally as Leland, is an American singer and songwriter. Based in Los Angeles, California, he has worked closely with a range of popular artists, including Selena Gomez, Troye Sivan, Daya, Andy Grammer, Kels ...

, Britten Newbill and Noisecastle III at Paramount Recording Studios. It was during one of these writing sessions that her debut single "Hide Away" was written and recorded, and Barletta consequently introduced Daya to Steve Zap of Z Entertainment. Daya, who was a junior in school at the time, said she didn't think anything would happen for a while, and went back to high school the next day. A radio promotions veteran, Zap liked the song and was interested in helping to promote the singer, leading to forming an independent label with Barletta called Artbeatz. Daya-singer

Daya released her song "Hide Away" on April 22, 2015. The song was well-received online, enjoyed support from a number of notable bloggers including

Tyler Oakley Mathew Tyler Oakley (born March 22, 1989) is an American YouTuber, actor, activist and author. Much of Oakley's activism has been dedicated to LGBT youth, LGBT rights, as well as social issues including health care, education, and the prevention ...

and

Perez Hilton Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger, columnist, and media personality. His blog is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities, and for posting tabloid p ...

, the latter commenting "There is something very special about Daya's voice". Jason Lipshutz of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' also featured the single on their official website, labelling it "a gorgeous debut". Daya made her television debut performing "Hide Away" on ''

Today with Kathie Lee and Hoda ''Today with Hoda & Jenna '' (also known as the fourth hour of ''Today'' or simply ''Hoda & Jenna'') is an American daytime television talk show on NBC, hosted by Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. The program airs as the fourth hour of NBC's ''Toda ...

'' on August 21, 2015, as

Elvis Duran Elvis Duran (born Barry Brian Cope; August 5, 1964) is an American radio personality. He is the host of the daily morning radio program ''Elvis Duran and the Morning Show'' in New York on Z100 and in syndication on Premiere Networks. Before h ...

's Artist of the Month. She returned to ''

Today Today (archaically to-day) may refer to: * Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now'' * Current era, present * The current calendar date Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 A ...

'' for their summer concert series on June 28, 2016. Following a successful debut, Daya released her self-titled EP, '' Daya'', which features six songs, including "Hide Away", on September 4, 2015. The EP was premiered in full a day early by ''Billboard'', and debuted at number 161 on the ''Billboard'' 200, propelling "Hide Away" to number 40 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Songs chart. On October 30, 2015, Daya released the physical version of her debut EP through

Target Target may refer to: Physical items * Shooting target, used in marksmanship training and various shooting sports ** Bullseye (target), the goal one for which one aims in many of these sports ** Aiming point, in field artillery, fi ...

. In 2016, Daya was the opening act for American

pop-rap Pop rap (also known as pop hip-hop, hip pop, melodic hip-hop or melodic rap) is a genre of music fusing the rhythm-based lyricism of hip hop music with pop music's preference for melodious vocals and catchy tunes. This genre gained mainstrea ...

duo

Jack & Jack Jack & Jack are an American pop-rap duo from Omaha, Nebraska, consisting of Jack Johnson and Jack Gilinsky, based in Los Angeles, California. After success via the social media app Vine, the duo turned to careers as musicians. Their 2014 single " ...

's US tour. In February 2016, she was featured on

The Chainsmokers The Chainsmokers are an American electronic DJ and production duo consisting of Alexander "Alex" Pall and Andrew "Drew" Taggart. They started out by releasing remixes of songs by indie artists. The EDM- pop duo achieved a breakthrough with the ...

' song " Don't Let Me Down", which eventually peaked at number 3 on the Hot 100, becoming her second top 40 entry and her first top 10. This was the only song by Daya that reached the Billboard Hot 100 Decade-End Chart. She also released the second single from her self-titled EP, "

", which debuted at number 100 and peaked at number 28, her third top 40. Daya Singing SF

Daya was invited to perform at the 2016

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

Easter Egg Roll, where she and her family met President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

and the First Lady

Michelle Obama Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama (born January 17, 1964) is an American attorney and author who served as first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She was the first African-American woman to serve in this position. She is married t ...

. On November 15, 2016, Daya released her song "

Words A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consen ...

" as her third single from her debut album ''

''. On December 6, 2016, it was announced that " Don't Let Me Down" had been nominated for the

59th Annual Grammy Awards The 59th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony was held on February 12, 2017. The CBS network broadcast the show live from the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognized the best recordings, compositions, and artists of the eligibility year, ...

. On February 12, 2017, it won the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for

Best Dance Recording The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording (formerly known as Best Dance Recording) is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists f ...

making it the singer's first Grammy Award. In March 2017, she worked for

Gryffin Dan Griffith (born September 29, 1987), known by his stage name Gryffin (often stylized in all caps), is an American musician, DJ, songwriter, and record producer. He gained recognition for remixing some well-known songs such as Tove Lo's "Talk ...

's song " Feel Good" along with

Illenium Nicholas Daniel Miller (born December 26, 1990), professionally known as Illenium, is an American DJ, record producer, and songwriter. He has released four studio albums, his most recent being '' Fallen Embers'', released in July 2021. It earne ...

. On October 11, 2017, she released a new single, "New", through

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mus ...

. In March 2018, Daya was featured on

RL Grime Henry Alfred Steinway (born February 8, 1991), better known by his stage name RL Grime, (previously known as Clockwork) is an American record producer and DJ. RL Grime specializes in trap and bass music and is a member of the Los Angeles electron ...

's song " I Wanna Know" which was released on March 16, 2018. On June 22, 2018, Daya released her single "Safe". On July 18, 2018, she released the video for the single. Daya released five singles in 2019. Two of the singles, "

Insomnia Insomnia, also known as sleeplessness, is a sleep disorder in which people have trouble sleeping. They may have difficulty falling asleep, or staying asleep as long as desired. Insomnia is typically followed by daytime sleepiness, low energy, ...

" and "Left Me Yet", were originally intended to be on her second studio album. "Forward Motion" was intended for the movie '' Late Night''. "Keeping It in the Dark" is on the soundtrack of the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series ''

13 Reasons Why ''13 Reasons Why'' is an American teen drama television series developed for Netflix by Brian Yorkey and based on the 2007 novel ''Thirteen Reasons Why'' by author Jay Asher. The series revolves around high school student Clay Jensen (Dylan Mi ...

''. " Wanted" is a collaboration with Swedish music production duo

NOTD NOTD (pronounced "noted") is a Swedish musical production duo composed of Tobias Danielsson and Samuel Brandt. They are best known for their songs " I Wanna Know" featuring Bea Miller and " So Close" with Felix Jaehn featuring Captain Cuts and G ...

. On October 9, 2020, she released "First Time", which was rumored to be related to a new album. It ended up being on her EP ''The Difference'', released on May 14, 2021, together with "Montana", which she released a little earlier, on April 30 and "Bad Girl", which already charted on the

Mainstream Top 40 Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/contemporary hit radio, CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by Billboard (magazine), ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played o ...

. She released her next EP ''In Between Dreams'' on September 16, 2022.

Discography

Studio albums

* ''

'' (2016)

EPs

* '' Daya'' (2015) * ''The Difference'' (2021) * ''In Between Dreams'' (2022)

Personal life

Daya came out publicly as

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

in October 2018 for

National Coming Out Day National Coming Out Day (NCOD) is an annual LGBT awareness day observed on October 11, to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people ( the LGBT community, sometimes also called the queer community) in "coming out of the closet". First ...

. On April 2, 2021, Daya went public on Instagram with her girlfriend of three years, Clyde Munroe, after releasing the single "Bad Girl" about her.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Daya (singer) 1998 births Living people American people of Indian descent American people of Punjabi descent American people of German descent American people of English descent American people of Irish descent American people of British descent American Hindus Singers from Pennsylvania Musicians from Pittsburgh American child singers American women pop singers American women singers of Indian descent American indie pop musicians American dance musicians American multi-instrumentalists American women songwriters 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers Child pop musicians Songwriters from Pennsylvania Grammy Award winners for dance and electronic music People from Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania Bisexual women Bisexual musicians LGBT people from Pennsylvania LGBT singers from the United States American women in electronic music 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people