Daya

A Grammy Award winner before the age of 20, Daya virtually grew up onstage. She was a synth-pop innovator from the start, earning a double-platinum hit with "Hide Away" — her self-empowered debut single, co-written when Daya was still in high school — and teaming up with the Chainsmokers for "Don't Let Me Down," a dance anthem that sold more than 10 million copies in America alone. Then, at the height of major-label success, she threw the rulebook out the window and reclaimed her independence. Daya is her own boss these days, and her unique pop music — dreamily ethereal one minute, rhythmically kinetic the next — has never sounded brighter or bolder.

"Creative control means everything to me," says the Pittsburgh native. "I've been writing since I was very young, and it feels so validating to now have the autonomy to truly represent who I am as an artist. I can record any song I want. I can work with whomever I want. It's been important to me to take the reins back."

The process of regaining control began with records like The Difference and In Between Dreams, two critically-acclaimed EPs that blended pop, R&B, and electronic influences together. Both records arrived in the wake of Daya's gold-certified debut album, Sit Still, Act Pretty, and they doubled down on her sparkling synth-pop sound while also representing something new: a willingness to explore, experiment, and embrace the full range of her interests. After all, Daya had evolved as a person since her teenage years. Shouldn't her music do the same?

"I left school and entered the real world when I was 16," she explains. "I was so excited at the time, but I do think I missed out on some fundamental developmental things. Instead of having the freedom to mess up, like most kids do, I was taking two flights a day, getting up at crazy hours to go to the next city for another show. It was a lot, all at once, and it was great for what it was. But now, I've started to revitalize my teenage self and get in touch with what that person would have wanted."

"Maybe it's a little backwards," she adds with a laugh, "but it's me."

A songwriter since the age of 12, Daya has spent more than a decade sharpening her ability to balance euphoric melodies with beat-driven bounce. That ability hasn't just earned her a number of gold- and platinum-certified singles; it's also resulted in collaborations with artists from across the musical spectrum, from hip-hop duos and EDM acts to internationally-celebrated DJs. "Love You More," a Top 40 hit in Canada, finds her teaming up with electro-house producer Felix Cartal, while "Sometimes…" pairs Daya's otherworldly vocals with Snakehips' disco stomp and a coolly kinetic verse from hip-hop duo Earthgang.

There are more collaborations on the horizon, as well as more solo releases from an artist who's learned to embrace the never-ending journey toward self discovery.

"I've been experimenting a lot," Daya promises. "No songwriting session has been wasted. I've written things in the folk space. I've written songs in the pop-punk and alternative spaces, too. I feel like a kid again, with a lot of different finger paints laid out in front of me, able to try out new colors and create my own picture. It's still taking shape, but I know it looks and sounds like me."