Keep An Eye On Inaya

Feature, By Christian Taylor, 27th May, 2008

Inaya Day is back in Australia for another round of gigs and it feels like only months since she was last on our shores. “I surely cannot stay away,” she laughs. “Australia rocks the bells! I think I should move in.” Perhaps she should?

Ms. Day was born in New York City and started singing in church in Brooklyn. She studied musical theatre at University in Connecticut before appearing on Broadway as an understudy in the role of Dorothy in The Wiz. She later made the role her own in Washington D.C. and St. Louis, Missouri. Since then Day has rubbed shoulders with some of the best in the business – Michael Jackson, Al Green, Sean “Puffy” Combs and Queen Latifah, and she’s also written songs for Randy Crawford and Missy Elliot.

So what’s she been up to lately?

“Since the last time you saw me I’ve been doing more of the same – recording, travelling, gigging with my band. I have some cool new projects coming up that I think you guys will like with Nick Jay, Mike Cruz, and Paul Brandoli,” she says.

Inaya’s best known for her work on tracks like Moving Up (Take My Problems To The Dance Floor), Nasty Girl, Horny, The Glamorous Life and Breakaway. If you’ve ever danced in a gay bar, chances are you’ve shimmied and shaken to Inaya at some point. Now she plans to add another track to her list of well known songs. Her new single is called All I’m Saying (Just Hold On) and she’ll be performing that track, as well as the old favourites, when she performs at Get Together in Sydney and The Market in Melbourne next month.

So what is it that keeps Inaya coming back for more? “I love the Aussie’s zeal for the music,” she says, “They make me feel like I’m doing something right.”

When asked to reflect back over her career, she says there are too many high points to choose just one. “Thank god, there are so many. One of them is opening up for Prodigy at Two Tribes in Melbourne four years ago. That was an awesome experience that I’ll never forget. Another is doing The Wiz in New York. I love doing musical theatre, but that side of my career has to take a back seat to being a solo artist.”

She’s also looking forward to coming back to Australia because of her love of animals. “I just love them and I always visit a different animal site each time I’m in Australia,” she says. “You can see a picture of me at a Darwin croc farm on my myspace,” she laughs.

I later log onto her site and she’s right – there she is actually holding a crocodile in her arms. As it turns out, she’s not just a busy woman, she’s a brave one too.

Inaya Day performs at Get Together, Oxford Art Factory, Oxford Street, Darlinghurst on Saturday June 7, and The Market Hotel, Prahran on Sunday June 8.

All About

Your Thoughts

Hey there, you need to be logged in to get involved with SameSame, click here to login if you're already a member, or here if you need to become a new member.