Daya

Professions :

Believe in yourself, go after your dreams, and don't let anyone put you in a box.

your dreams you believe-in-yourself

Stay humble, be fearless, and work, work, work, work, work, work.

stay fearless humble work

Girls shouldn't be afraid to look messy. They shouldn't have to always fit in with the pretty girls. Our goal as women is not to impress guys.

look messy impress women

I'm a fan of H&M, Topshop, and Forever 21.

I will wear makeup because I want to look good for myself, but it's not to please other people. It's not so I fit in with the pretty girls or to impress guys.

good myself makeup people

I think in order to accomplish anything in life, you have to visualize yourself there - accepting the award, hearing your song on the radio, whatever it is - or you lose the willpower and the drive.

yourself you song life

I'm on the road constantly. I'm a nomad. I don't really have a home right now. I don't identify with one place in particular.

road place now home

I'm a quarter Indian; my grandfather's originally from New Delhi.

new delhi indian grandfather

As soon as 'Hide Away' came out, it was like everyone knew who I was, and I started getting all this attention. It was hard to get used to at first. I just remember that I suddenly couldn't walk down the hallways without hearing a classmate or teacher playing it - it was unreal!

walk down remember teacher

I did a show with Tori Kelly, and it was really cool that I got to meet her. She has always been a huge inspiration of mine, and I'm obsessed with her voice, so it was great to get to talk to her about the industry. The best advice she gave me was to just be myself.

best myself cool me

I think 'Interscope' always puts the artist first, and they're focusing on these artists' development. I felt like that was a part of my career that I kind of needed to focus on after having come from the radio and getting exposure that way. I wanted to grow my brand and grow my fanbase, and they have proven to be the best fit for that.

grow best think focus

The 'Chainsmokers' found me early on, before anyone knew about 'Hide Away,' and reached out. I heard the demo for 'Don't Let Me Down' and loved it.

hide loved down me

I would like to work with Ed Sheeran at some point. I really admire his songwriting, and I just think he has a great voice and great artistry. Who else? On the producer side of things, definitely Diplo: that'd be awesome.

great think voice work

A stadium tour would be amazing - that's definitely one of my goals. Just to keep putting out real, honest music that people can really relate to and connect with.

goals amazing music people

I have four sisters at home, and both my mom and dad worked, and both of them took care of us. It wasn't like my mom was fully domestic, or my dad was fully domestic: they were just equals in their relationship. So I grew up with the perspective that women should be pursuing their dreams and not have to depend on a guy.

dreams women home relationship

I try to write catchy hooks but, at the same time, things that mean something that will provoke thought.

will thought try time

I performed in Redlands, Calif., at Splash Kingdom. It reminded me of the water parks I went to as a kid. I was like, 'I want to ride the rides!'

ride me want water

Music has been a huge passion of mine ever since I started playing the piano at age 3. Going to concerts, performing on my own, and listening to my favorite artists growing up confirmed that love for music and made me want to pursue it as a career.

me music age love

I have been taking voice and singing lessons since age 10 and originally got into it because I was really interested in musical theater. After writing my first couple of songs and performing at age 14, I knew that I really wanted to be a singer.

singing voice age writing

Because of my interest in songwriting, I was invited to visit a friend in L.A. for songwriting sessions with him and his friends. We wrote six songs by the end of the weekend, and 'Hide Away' happened to be one of them!

hide friend end friends

Adam Jones

Izzy Stradlin

Bon Scott

Brad Delp

Brad Delson

Brian Eno