Who is Samara Joy? Grammy-nominated Singer Reintroduces Jazz To GenZ

More often than not, the Grammy Awards have always given more priority and highlight to the most popular music genres. For the past few decades, the main ceremony has only featured the Big 4 Awards - Album, Record, and Song of the Year, and the Best New Artist category.

Along with it, the Pop, Country, and R&B categories were also given out on the main show, while the other genres were given out only during the premiere ceremony.

Aside from this, nominated acts on the Big 4 were mainly composed of artists from popular genres like Pop, R&B, and the like; it is only often that Grammy nominees came from genres like Americana, Alternative, and even Jazz.

On the 65th Annual Grammy Awards nominations, the Jazz genre got its major representation as 23-year-old Samara Joy was included on the list.

Thanks to the clout that she has received on the social media platform TikTok, Joy has gained massive popularity in the said genre. According to Fast Company, she was even noticed by the likes of LaKeith Stanfield and even Academy award-winner Regina King.

"I discovered a young woman who just seems like Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald are both living in her body. When I watch her and listen to her, her name is Samara Joy and it brings me joy," King said in a statement.

When Olivia Rodrigo announced her name as one of the nominees for Best New Artist, Joy was feeling everything all at once - excitement, surprise, shock, and disbelief.

For her, the idea of the Grammys is something that she just watches on TV and browses on social media - but attending it because of a nomination, it's a million-dollar dream for her.

Joy has to thank her love for Jazz. It is quite unusual nowadays to see such young artists like Joy become enamored with the genre because of the age group and audience the music appeals to.

Speaking to the publication further, Joy detailed her hesitations on pursuing a rather unpopular genre at her age, but at the same time, poured her heart out on her love for Jazz.

"I was on tour with Dianne Reeves, and she was like, 'You're bringing this music to another generation that is just not exposed to it.' Even when I was thinking about a career in R&B or gospel, I don't know if I could do it. I don't know if that's where my voice lies or where I feel like I could grow as an artist," she revealed. "So I'm conscious of the fact that I'm bringing jazz [to people] my age."

Aside from being in the running for Best New Artist, Joy is also pressed to take home the Grammy for Best Jazz Vocal Album.

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