The Biography Of Andra Day (Cassandra M. Batiewhose), A Songwriter & A Singer

Andra Day whose birth name was originally Cassandra M. Batie is a songwriter and singer within the genre of soul and jazz. Day was born and raised in one of California’s major cities known as San Diego. As a start to expressing her passion, she would perform at a church in her hometown and to further her dream she attended the “School of Creative and Performing Arts” to gain knowledge in what she loves doing the most. Upon graduating she thought she had a passion for pop and R&B but turns out her heart lead her back to “the classic jazz and soul vocalists”. Day did not only isolate her voice to one sound but she had the capability to shift between both alto and raspy. Day has been through a surplus of trials and tribulations including twenty different types of jobs before her stunning talent was finally recognized by Stevie Wonder’s formal wife Kai Millard Morris. Day did not have an opportunity to work with Wonder however, he did connect Day to a producer named Adrian Gurvitz who helped her career begin on a successful path. Later on, as a result of signing with the Warner Bros. Records Day excelled in her career in a variety of ways.

In the year of 2015, Day released her debut album named “Cheers to the Fall”. This album has a deep inspirational and purposeful message behind it, “a salute to failure and redemption”. Songs from the album “Cheers to the Fall” has came with a surplus of accomplishments. For example, Day won many awards such as “Hollywood Film Awards” and “Hollywood Music in Media Awards” in November of 2017 and “Satellite Awards” in February of 2018. One song in particular “Stand Up For Something” has been used for many purposes and played at multiple occasions. “Stand Up For Something” was released on August 24th in the year of 2017. This song was originally written by Diana Warren and Common yet sung by Andra Day. On the other hand, the original sounds of this song came from the “biographical film Marshall”.

The movie “Marshall” was based on a true story about Thurgood Marshall being “the first African American Supreme Court Justice” who was taking on a legal case at the time under unfair circumstances due to race discrimination going on during the fight for civil rights. This movie correlates to the overall theme of the song which is to “Stand Up For Something”! Before her successful career expanded, Day perceived herself as “selfish and promiscuous” and this song is one of the many aspects that have played a role in making her change for the better. The song Day sings “Stand Up For Something” is a powerful song that evokes an inspirational message. A verse from the song “you can't just talk the talk, you have to walk the walk” is an essence of the main theme of the song. You can not only say you stand for this or that but you have to back it all up with your actions and be willing to put up a fight for what you believe in. This song has truly touched the hearts of many individuals. For instance, the song has been used with “groups fighting injustice and became a protest anthem for several cases”. These causes include “gun violence prevention”, “immigration rights awareness”, and the “#MeTooMovement”.

A recent event that touches upon the topic of gun violence prevention is the tragic event that happened at “Marjory Stoneman Douglas” high school. Turns out at the Florida Town Hall the song “Stand Up For Something” was “a rallying cry song” for this movement. Moreover, this song was used at the “LA Women's March”, “NAACP Image Awards”, and “CNN Heroes Event”. This song not only inspires individuals to stand up for what they believe in but gives them hope, courage, and strength to know that their voice truly matters and plays a role in a better tomorrow. “Stand Up For Something” is a song in triple meter which means that the strong beat in this song is on one and the beats are overall grouped into threes.

The drums are the main instruments accompanying the strong beat within triple meter. The rhythm is a beat you can imagine yourself rocking to side to side. The dynamics of this song would be considered mezzo forte (medium loud) to me. The tempo is fast and steady giving you the energy to get up and get your groove on and make a change in the world. Within this song the texture is thick to me because of the various types of instruments playing simultaneously and the pitches at which they are playing. Furthermore, with the series of chords playing together, it would be labeled as consonance due to the fact that they sound pleasing and not tense while being played together. “Stand Up For Something” would be considered a homophony if Andra Day was the only voice in the song but she is not. Thus, this song is considered a polyphony because “several distinct melodic lines” are combined simultaneously. Common also has a part in the song and an echo is present towards the end of the song signing “stand up” “stand up”. Additionally, towards the end of the song, a cadenza was identified. Example being Day sung “And I'll stand up for youuuuuuuuuuu” “And I'll stand up for you”. Altogether, the tune of this song was very catchy, dreamy, and inspirational.

Instruments that played a role in this classic soul tune include the drums as the main, some type of guitar, the piano, the bass, the saxophone, and a few other instruments involved in percussion. The drums were used with a roll to introduced Common's part and towards the end of the song it simmers down to become pianissimo (very soft). In conclusion, I chose this song not only to learn more about Andra Day as an individual but also because this song delivers such a powerful message and sends good vibes throughout. Day is a unique human being who wants to stand out from everyone else. Her uniqueness starts from her signature 50s look to the way she evokes meaning and emotion in her music. Day is that push of motivation many out there in the world are in need of, including myself. Many important individuals have started the fight for us. For instance, Martin Luther King Jr. was the push for civil rights, Susan B. Anthony was the push for women’s rights and the list goes on. Listening to the components of this song and dissecting each component as an individual is a push that will motivate others and me to be that change in the near future; all because we are choosing to stand up for something.