Samara Joy is still grateful for her Grammy wins, despite winning every Grammy she’s ever been nominated for.
Joy’s jazz career was an instant success, winning Best New Artist and Best Jazz Vocal Album at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards in 2023. In 2024, she won Best Jazz Performance, followed by Best Jazz Performance and Best Jazz Vocal Album in 2025.
Now she’s nominated for Best Jazz Performance and Best Jazz Vocal Album as she continues her string of nods. The singer talks about the wins and gives the nod ahead of the 68th annual ceremony in LA on February 1.
“If I think about it too much, I might implode or something, because it really blows my mind every time. People sometimes ask me, ‘Is it getting old?’ But how is that even possible? I am grateful every time,” she said People.
She named her latest album: Portrait, her ‘creative baby’.
“Portrait was my way of saying, ‘I’m going to be an artist and I’m going to choose to follow my instincts and follow the things that I’m organically drawn to.’ Orchestra and big band and large ensemble and incredible artists like Abbey Lincoln and Booker Little and Duke Ellington and Count Basie. I wanted all of this to be in this band. And so after the Grammys, we went on the road for two years,” she explains.
“And it’s a kind of chemistry that you can’t just create when you meet someone in the studio. It takes time to develop that and create a bond. With Portrait, I really wanted to show that. I wanted to say, ‘Look, I just focused on music for two years, after all this renewed attention.’ I didn’t let it affect my purpose and what I really want to do, what I really love, which is music,” Joy added.
