With her Grammy Award-Winning Verve Records debut, Linger Awhile, 24-year-old Bronx native Samara Joy has positioned herself to join the likes of Sarah, Ella, and Billie as the next mononymous jazz singing sensation recorded by the venerable label. Her voice, rich and velvety yet precociously refined, has already earned her fans like Regina King and Elton John, appearances on the TODAY Show, The Tonight Show w/Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show w/Stephen Colbert, CBS Mornings, MSNBC, Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson, Drew Barrymore, etc., in addition to millions of likes on TikTok — cementing her status as perhaps the first Gen Z jazz singing star. Linger Awhile introduced that massive audience to a slew of classic standards several times older than she is through her timeless, irresistible sound. In 2024, Samara won a third Grammy Award for her take on the Betty Carter classic “Tight” and is currently in preparation for her full-length follow-up. The New York Times praised the “silky-voiced rising star” for “helping jazz take a youthful turn” while NPR All Things Considered named her a “classic jazz singer from a new generation.”
