The 21-year-old’s second album ‘The Year I Turned 21’ is available for streaming Friday
Ayra Starr is growing up — and she’s taking her fans along for the ride.
The 21-year-old Nigerian native released her second studio album Friday, May 31 and it’s all about encapsulating the wild ride she’s been on since her big debut in 2021.
After all, she’s since snagged a Grammy nomination, played Coachella and has been tapped to hit the Essence Fest stage and perform at Glastonbury come summer.
“It is a coming-of-age album. It’s very much, I would like to say, the autobiography of a 21-year-old,” she says. “It’s my life and literally just how I’ve seen life, my experiences and everything [in between].”
“Collaborating with Giveon, let me just say, one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. He brought everything he needed to bring to this record,” she says. “I’ve had ‘Last Heartbreak Song’ since I was making my first album, but I just didn’t feel like it was the right time to put it out.”
She revisited the track as she was creating The Year I Turned 21, and finally felt it was ready to be heard. “I’m very good at making and recording, really sad songs. It is just something that comes very easily to me, and I love being able to make people feel. And when we sent it to Giveon and he sent his verse back, I remember crying in the car. I called my A&R and was just like, ‘I can’t believe this is real.’”
Seeing the 21-year-old having fun on stage or genially interacting with fans — whom she interacts with as though they were her friends in real life — it can be easy to overlook the fact that she is growing up in real-time and has a steady hand in her career.
Geoaring up for The Year I Turned 21, Starr gave fans “Rhythm and Blues” which came out last October. She then released “Commas” in February before rolling out “Bad Vibes” which featured Seyi Vibez earlier in May and then “Last Heartbreak Song,” which comes June 3.
“I just feed my fans what I feel like is the best thing to give them at that specific time,” she says of the paced rollout. “The album is packed and full of different vibes. I like to say it’s a rollercoaster of emotions, so it’s different vibes. I try to ease them into it … It just shows the variety [of the album].”
And perhaps no one is better equipped to talk about the importance of variety and diversifying your sound than Starr. Though she’s come to prominence as an Afrobeats artist, her sultry and smooth tone has caught the attention of artists in other genres.
She’s featured on songs such as “Santa” with Rvssian and Rauw Alejandro, she’s also lent her talents to Leigh-Anne Pinnock’s “My Love,” Tori Kelly’s “Unbelievable,” as well as David Guetta’s “Big FU” which also features Lil Durk.
When it comes to collaborations, the singer says she keeps the focus mostly on the music rather than the business of it all.
“I’m very bad, in the [sense] that I don’t usually think of the business side and all of that,” she jokes.
“I just really have to love the music. When I like the music, I’m going to do the song. I never think of, ‘Oh, is this person actually going to release this song one day?’ or ‘Is this going to be a song that people are going to hear?’ When I collaborate with people, it is people whose music and sounds I love, and want to be a part of.”
Following her heart has clearly paid off as she is not only one of the Afrobeats crossing over to the international mainstream, but she is doing so in a major way.
Earlier this year, her song “Rush” was nominated in the inaugural best African music performance category at the Grammys. Also in the category were heavy hitters such as Burna Boy, Davido, Asake and Tyla — who wound up taking the trophy home.
“I remember just before the nominations were said, I was like, ‘Oh God, just let me have this one…’ And I kind of knew I was going to be nominated, in the back of my head,” she says, recalling the day Grammy nominations were announced.
“I just left my phone. And I started getting messages from everybody. I hadn’t even seen it yet, but my friend called me, my mom called me. Everybody was like, ‘Congratulations!’
And while she didn’t walk away with the gramophone this year, she remains confident she’ll one day hold the trophy in her hand, saying, “There’s more I’m going to give. I’m going to win, so it’s fine.”
In the meantime, her focus remains on taking her music to the world and gearing up for what’s sure to be a busy summer. Not only is she also nominated for three BET Awards, in addition to Essence Fest and Glastonbury, Ayra Starr will be joining Chris Brown’s 26-city 11:11 tour, along with Muni Long.
She’s busy but is still managing to maintain a strong sense of self through it all.
“I’m very grounded, mentally, emotionally, physically. I’m working out,” she says. “I’m reading my Bible, I’m watching all my favorite TV shows over and over again. I’m just still enjoying my life. And that’s very important.”
Asked what she’d want fans to learn about her from The Year I Turned 21, the young superstar —whose songs are constantly trending across all social media platforms — admits this album is just as much about them as it is about her.
“[My fans] know me already,” she confidently states. “I just want them to listen to this album and find themselves in it. I want them to be able to relate to me in any way they can, because like I said, there’s different experiences [on there],” she explains.
“I want people of different age brackets to listen to this album and be able to relate to every single story there.”
