Ayra Starr on Chris Martin, Kelly Rowland – talks BET win, Coldplay Stadiums, More!

Ayra Starr on her Summer:

Ayra Starr:    It’s a lot of partying. There’s a lot of laughing. There’s a lot of just doing crazy stuff with my team and my friends.

Rebecca Judd:    Are you like, as soon as you roll into the venue you’re like, “I want bottles, I want sparklers. We’re getting turned up.”?

Ayra Starr:    Yes. I usually make sure everything is there before I arrive. So I send everybody to the club before me.

Rebecca Judd:    Look at this.

Ayra Starr:    Make sure the drinks are there. Everybody’s ready drinking. And I’m there to just like, let’s go.

Ayra Starr on working with Kelly Rowland:

Ayra Starr:    I didn’t even know how to act. Now that I think back to it, I was just crazy. I would be screaming in voice notes to Kelly Rowland.

Ayra Starr:    Like, I wish I can go back and unsend them, but like…

Rebecca Judd:    Wait, what were you saying?

Ayra Starr:    Just, “Thank you. Thank you.” I didn’t know how to act at all, but she was so amazing. She made me realize so much about just even music. I had to shoot with her for Bloody Samaritan. I was just complaining that I’m so tired. I’m so tired, and she was looking at me like, “Girl, really? You’re going to have to work. There’s going to be a lot more so enjoy it. Don’t be tired. Just enjoy it.” And I feel like that stuck with me. By the way, I’m like 19/20 [at that time], so now I just try my best to fake the tiredness.

Rebecca Judd:    Are you tired right now?

Ayra Starr:    I am exhausted.

Rebecca Judd:    Power through. You’ve got a coffee in front of you to, to be honest.

Ayra Starr:    Yes. My second cup of coffee.

Rebecca Judd:    I’ve had two today as well.

Ayra Starr:    Hey, twinning!

Rebecca Judd:    Stop. Oh my gosh. We’re exactly the same.

Ayra Starr on winning a BET Award:

Ayra Starr:    It was crazy. I’m very grateful. I want more. I have delayed reactions to stuff, so I don’t really know when it’s happening. Then later I’m like, oh, actually I ate.

Ayra Starr:    It’s crazy.

Ayra Starr on performing with Coldplay and her relationship with Chris Martin:

Rebecca Judd:    How has it been, like from doing your own sold out shows and stuff to then performing in huge stadiums with Coldplay? I suppose that’s the motivation you probably sometimes need to feel like yo?

Ayra Starr:    Definitely. It’s just one of those things where I’m just like, wow, I’m really doing it.

Rebecca Judd:    You go way back now. You and Chris Martin are locked in.

Ayra Starr:    Like, that’s my G. Like I don’t play about Chris. I don’t play about Chris.

Rebecca Judd:    What, Chris, first name? Just Chris.

Ayra Starr:    That’s my friend. That’s my G, you know?

Ayra Starr on getting co-signed by Chris Martin and others:

Rebecca Judd:    No, but you should be so proud of yourself. I love that you posted a video on your Instagram and Chris Martin said you are going to be one of the biggest pop stars in the world soon. How does it feel to get cosigns like that from somebody who’s been doing it for so long?

Ayra Starr:    Like I said, delayed reactions. These are people that I grew up listening to. And the fact that I love their music and they love my music in return, it means I’m doing… To me, it’s just like an additional, like, okay, I’m doing something.

Rebecca Judd:    Has there been another cosign in your career so far that’s meant a lot to you like the Chris Martin Coldplay one?

Ayra Starr:    A lot. A lot to be honest. Just a lot of people that have cosigned. I can’t even begin to name-drop because I’m not going to stop.

Ayra Starr on Hot Body:

Ayra Starr:    Where do I start from like… Everything in the song is what I said. There’s no deeper meaning. It’s just hot bodied. I just singing what I feel.

Rebecca Judd:    Is this a case where you’ve walked into the studio and that day you are actually feeling yourself?

Ayra Starr:    Boots and that. Boots and that. High-heeled boots and that. Shout out to my team, like Vaedar, one of my A&Rs, like we know the sound we want to do. Tega was saying the other day, “Before Hot Body, we made Hot Body.” Tega was saying it was like, we need to make music for women to use on their reels. And I said, “It’s true. I have a lot of songs like that, but I want something more like iconic, never forgettable.” Every time you look hot you have to use Hot Body.

Ayra Starr on dancing and singing at the same time:

Ayra Starr:    It’s hard. It’s not like some superhuman thing. It’s something you have to train your body to do. And it’s something that I’ve had to learn. If I take two months without performing, and working on breathing and singing at the same time, it’s going to go back to normal. I tried the treadmill thing. With heels. I was like, who am I kidding? I was like, there’s nobody here. Why am I lying to myself? I was like, it was never that deep. Like, everybody’s going to be fine. I’ll do it one day, but I was like, I’m not going to break my ankle!

Ayra Starr on dream collabs:

Ayra Starr:    I always say different people, but it depends on who I’m listening to at that time. So three people that I always say that I’m never going to change. So there’s Rihanna, of course. Kendrick Lamar, of course. These are my non-negotiables. And there’s Rema. My three non-negotiables. I don’t play.

Rebecca Judd:    Do you know Rema?

Ayra Starr:    I know Rema, of course.

Rebecca Judd:    So this one I feel like we could do this…

Ayra Starr:    Well it has to make sense. It has to be great. It has to be good. And I have to wait for the best time.

Rebecca Judd:    That’s a good thing to do though. You need to do it when it feels right for you.

Ayra Starr:    Yeah.

Rebecca Judd:    I suppose there’s been times where someone’s just been like, “This person’s in town. Get into the studio.”

Ayra Starr:    Yeah.

Rebecca Judd:    You’re like, “I’m not in that zone, bro.”

Ayra Starr:    I don’t know if I’m there. And even when I do, and the music is good, I’m like, “I’m not gonna be forced to release it.”

Ayra Starr on curveball collaborations:

Ayra Starr:    I really like Khamari. And I’m waiting for the album. It’s so good. He makes incredible music.

Ayra Starr on her new music status:

Ayra Starr:    To be honest, I am very… I don’t even know what I’m doing. I’m not going to lie. I’m just enjoying myself. I’m not thinking too much about it. I don’t know what I’m doing. I’m just like, ah. Well everything, it’s making sense though. Yeah, it’s making so much sense. I’m just making music. And everything is just, I’m allowing it to fall into place.

Ayra Starr on what other music has been inspiring her new era of music:

Ayra Starr:    It’s a very different sound, but this has been my song for the year. It’s just been my theme song. It makes me feel badass. Desperado by Rihanna.

Ayra Starr:    Something about just putting that song in the background.

Then also it’s different, but it inspires me to make music, is Frank Ocean, Nostalgia, Ultra, and Pilot Jones. Just listening to that on repeat, I want to create because of those type of music.