Samara Joy McLendon, jazz singer from the Bronx, New York, was named Best New Artist at the 65th Grammy Awards. She was nominated in a category with Anitta, Omar Apollo, DOMi & JD Beck, Muni Long, Latto, Maneskin, Tobe Nwigwe, Molly Tuttle and Wet Leg. The award was presented to the artist by Olivia Rodrigo, the previous winner of the same title.
During her speech at the 2023 Grammy Awards, the artist expressed her surprise and deep gratitude that she deserves this award.
She stated:
“I’ve been following you on TV for a long time…. Thank you so much for this distinction, and to everyone who listened to me and supported me… I’m so grateful. for being here for who I am… for being here just for me, because I was born to be.”
In addition to best new artist, Samara also won Best Jazz Vocal Album for her recent song Linger Awhile.
All about Samara Joy McLendon
Samara Joy McLendon was born and raised in the Bronx, New York. She was born on November 11, 1999 and grew up in a musical family. Elder Goldwire and her grandparents, Ruth McLendon, are members of the Philadelphia-based gospel group The Savettes. She told NPR that her biological family is also musically oriented.
She stated:
“My dad was a bass player, so there’s a lot of funk, soul and R&B genres. But he’s also someone who mostly grew up in the church and played in the church.
McLendon chose music for further study after being inspired by her musical history, which led her to enroll in the jazz studies department at the State University of New York. There she was taught by Jon Faddis, an instructor and trumpeter. Samara rose to fame in high school while attending Fordham School of the Arts. She played with the school’s jazz band and won the “Essentially Ellington” competition at Fordham University in New York.
Following on from her success, the singer received the Samara McLendon International Jazz Singer Award in 2019. In 2021, she graduated with distinction and released Samara Joy, her debut studio album, in collaboration with Matt Pierson, who later became her manager. During this time, she also posted many performances on TikTok that went viral and received over a million views. She won a Grammy for her second album, Linger Awhile, which was released in 2022.
Check out this post on Instagram
Categories: Entertaintment
Source: HIS Education