It is not every day that a jazz singer wins a Grammy for the best new artist.
“People come up to me, ‘I saw you on Tik Tok, and then I found out you were coming to my city and I bought tickets immediately just because of how much your voice impacted me.”
-Samara Joy, “Best New Artist,” Grammy 2023
Joy had a good night at the 65th Annual Grammy award. The Best New Artist category was not the only one she picked up an award in. The Bronx-native also took home the award for best jazz vocal album for her project, “Linger Awhile.”
Joy comes from a long line of jazz singers. Her paternal grandparents, Elder Goldwire and Ruth McLendon, were a part of the Philadelphia group, The Savettes, a famed soul gospel.
Joy’s father, Antonio McLendon was a singer and bassist who toured with Andrae Crouch.
Joy is a TikTok star with frequent viral videos on the platform, thanks to her silky smooth stylings.
Joy told CBS news, “People come up to me, ‘I saw you on Tik Tok, and then I found out you were coming to my city and I bought tickets immediately just because of how much your voice impacted me.”
“I’ve been singing all of my life. Thank you so much for this honor, thank you to everyone who has listened to me or supported me,” she told the audience in her acceptance speech. “All of you are so inspiring to me, and so to be here because of who I am … all of you have inspired me because of who you are. You express yourself and exactly who you are, authentically. So to be her here by just being myself, by just being who I was born as. I am so thankful.”
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