Fans and critics might recognize Adanna Duru from her top-10 stint on American Idol in 2015, and reaching the battle rounds in Adam Levine’s team as a 15-year old on The Voice in 2012, but the 20-year old Southern California singer, songwriter and producer has gone on to achieve so much more, with support from the likes of Billboard, Yahoo Music, Music Week, The Hollywood Reporter and Bustle, along the way.
Her 2016 debut mixtape Exhibit A boasted a breakout single for Adanna, with ‘Seal It With A Kiss’, which was produced by Liam Keegan (Justin Bieber, Sia, Kanye West, Carly Rae Jepsen), and landed in the Music Week commercial pop charts top 20, while she began 2017 by teasing audiences with new music from her forthcoming debut EP, including well-received singles titled ‘Quinn’ and ‘Atlantis’, and the recently released ‘Fingertips’.
Los Angeles native Adanna Duru is proud to release her debut EP titled Stardive, as premiered via C-Heads Magazine, which she has produced along with Grammy Award-winning production duo Wiidope (Esperanza Spalding, Nicole Scherzinger, Terri Lynn Carrington), and Dauman Records’ burgeoning producer Nick Jameson, with guest appearances from fast-rising Houston rapper John Ibe and fellow Los Angeles singer and songwriter Julius.
Stardive opens with the Wiidope-produced lead single ‘Atlantis’, which is a lush and captivating electronic R&B offering, over which Adanna sings rather poignantly about how her faith in God helped her overcome depression in 2016, and the liberating slow-burning jam that is ‘Tape’, about the end of an 8-year obsession with her childhood crush. The record then enters into its own with ‘Fingertips’, a sultry slow jam backed by an 80’s inspired synth-heavy bassline and lush drums.
Other highlights on the 7-track EP include the 80’s Funk-inspired ‘Tony’, which features a glorious instrumental interlude that perfectly closes out the track, the moody and atmospheric ballad ‘Are You Gonna Call’, and the acoustic yet complex, and touching EP title track ‘Stardive’, with which Adanna continues to open up about her battle with depression, but also offers some uplifting words about trusting in the ambiguity that is your future, and finding a new level of contentment.
Together, these songs make for a captivating, absorbing and memorable debut EP from Adanna Duru. Speaking about the inspiration for this Stardive EP, Adanna says, “this was the perfect debut EP for me. I always told myself that I wanted my debut record to be released when I had millions of fans and a major label backing me, but things don’t always go as planned. I worked so hard to get this EP recorded. I am very blessed to be able to put it out”.
“Everything I’ve had up until this point is a manifestation of something I told myself at a very young age. I am 20 years old and I have to scramble for everything I currently have in music. I owe a whooping majority of it to my mother. Without her support, I wouldn’t have the luxury of doing any of these things. This EP is just a tiny part of my autobiography. It’s raw, it’s honest, it’s dark, it’s fun, it’s me. I’m just really happy with this entire record, and I hope people like it”.
Stardive is available now on iTunes and all streaming platforms.
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