Andra Day chatted with Billboard’s Carl Lamarre on the red carpet of the 2024 BET Awards.
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00:00Billboard, we are here with Miss Andra Day.
00:03Pleasure. Thank you for having me.
00:05How you feeling?
00:06I feel good. I feel blessed. You know, culture's biggest night.
00:08So, excited to celebrate these artists who I love and have supported throughout the years.
00:12And we're presenting tonight, so I'm excited about that.
00:15I also get to enjoy the show, which is not always the case.
00:18And we're promoting the album. Excited about that, the tour. I'm excited.
00:22Listen, not everybody can say, after nine years, they can put out their song,
00:28boy, 2015, you know.
00:31But how did it feel when you released the album, Cassandra,
00:34and able to get that off your shoulders after almost a decade?
00:37You know, it felt amazing. There was a lot of anxiety that went with it, of course.
00:41I mean, we filmed, like, three different movies on the in-between,
00:43and so those are three completely different head spaces.
00:47But it felt amazing.
00:49I think for a long time I was really unsure about where we were going, the direction,
00:52how people would receive it.
00:54I did not anticipate that it would be nine years.
00:57I was thinking I'd be one of those every two, every three years artists.
01:01It didn't work out like that.
01:03But I'm happy, and I was able to bring my band, you know,
01:06Nanda Riles, Shea Godwin, Dave Wood, Charles Jones, John DeCair, Kevin Randolph,
01:10Jean-Pierre, Jayla Darden.
01:11Like, I was able to bring people that I love off the road and into the studio with me
01:14to be producers as well and create this record.
01:16So it's very much a family affair.
01:18I'm excited. It's called Cassandra.
01:19It's out everywhere now. Go check it out.
01:21Listen, what are your favorite artists?
01:22Sade, she drops every God knows.
01:24Am I right?
01:25And guess what?
01:26You know what's funny?
01:27In the beginning of my career, they asked me that question,
01:28who do you want to model your career after?
01:30And I was joking at first, even though I love her, right?
01:32Yeah.
01:33But I was like, oh, Sade, just to scare them.
01:34They're like, she only drops a record every nine years.
01:36I was like, it won't be like that.
01:38It turns out it was like that.
01:39So thank you.
01:40Thanks a lot, Sade.
01:42Last question before I let you go.
01:43I thought this was a very interesting nugget I read in an interview with you
01:46that you sometimes get nervous to perform in front of people.
01:50Yeah, I'm terrified.
01:51Still to this day.
01:52I'm nervous to be talking on camera to you.
01:54I'm just coming outside.
01:56You know what I mean?
01:57No, I do.
01:58I get nervous all the time.
01:59I think I hear from the greats all the time.
02:01The way they encourage me is, A, I'm a praying person, right?
02:04I always try to remember God is bringing me everywhere I'm supposed to go,
02:07so I am aligned.
02:08I am where I'm supposed to be.
02:09Even if it's scary, I have somewhere to put it.
02:12And then also reminded, like, the nerves are good.
02:14It means you still care, so you just stay in it for sure.
02:17But I'm terrified, yes, every time.