87. Daya: From High School to GRAMMY Winner, Making the Chainsmokers Hit, Owning Her Masters, New Music

Episode 87: Daya

At 16 years old, still in high school, Daya dropped “Hide Away” with no label, no team, no social following. Just a song she believed in. It exploded, racked up hundreds of millions of streams, and suddenly she was on the radio while still in class.

She followed it with “Sit Still, Look Pretty,” then connected with The Chainsmokers to record “Don’t Let Me Down,” one of the biggest hits of the 2010s. We talk about how that collaboration came to be, what it was like for her life to flip so fast, and what it felt like to win a GRAMMY at just 18.

We also get into how she built her team, what she learned from the major label system, and how she eventually got her masters back. She explains the move to go independent, what that freedom means to her, and how she’s evolved as both an artist and a person over the past decade.

Now she’s stepping into a brand new era with music like “Infrared”, “Demise”, "Bandit" and an upcoming new album "Til Every Petal Drops." exploring a darker and more electronic sound. We dive into the process behind these songs, the producers she’s been working with, and what’s next. I hope you love my conversation with the amazing, Daya!

Special thanks to Apogee Electronics. We used their Apogee HypeMic and Podcast Kit in this episode and they sounded great. Check it out!

Apogee HypeMic & Podcast Kit: https://hubs.li/Q03zczhb0

‘Go with Elmo Lovano’ is a weekly podcast where Elmo interviews creatives and entrepreneurs in music on HOW they push forward every day, got where they are in their careers, manage their personal lives, and share lessons learned and their most important insights.

(00:00) TRAILER

(03:20) INTERVIEW STARTS

(05:44) NEW MUSIC, “INFRARED”

(06:12) STARTING AT AN EARLY AGE

(07:07) SUCCESS AT 16 YEARS OLD

(09:17) MULTI-INSTRUMENTALIST

(10:09) LEBANON, PENNSYLVANIA

(10:42) “HIDE AWAY”

(12:27) WHAT SPARKED THE SUCCESS?

(15:33) HIGHSCHOOL

(18:18) “SIT STILL, LOOK PRETTY”

(19:18) FIRST TOUR

(20:12) NERVES, STADIUM TOURS

(22:17) CAREER GROWTH, CREATING A TEAM

(25:33) THE CHAINSMOKERS, “DON’T LET ME DOWN”

(30:11) WINNING A GRAMMY AT 18

(31:19) PERFORMING LIVE, COACHELLA

(32:41) BEING INDEPENDENT, GETTING ON A LABEL

(33:38) A VOICE HEARD BY MILLIONS

(34:22) A BUSY SCHEDULE

(35:51) HOW BEING ON A LABEL CHANGED DAYA

(38:13) WORKING WITH WRITERS

(41:57) WORKING WITH STARGATE

(42:56) LEAVING A MAJOR LABEL, RETAINING MASTERS

(43:54) SINGLES

(45:00) “INFRARED”

(48:02) “DEMISE,” SWEDEN

(49:54) WORKING IN SWEDEN, PRODUCERS SEBASTIAN FURRER, ROBINS STJERNBERG

(50:25) TOURING, TOURING HACKS

(51:57) LOOKING BACK ON THE LAST 10 YEARS

(52:49) LIFE ADVICE

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