\n\tAyra Starr loves a check-in.<\/p>\n
\n\tSince the release of her eponymous debut EP in 2021, the Grammy-nominated Nigerian Afrobeats star has used each project to survey the state of her heart and psyche at a given age. 19 & Dangerous, which arrived in summer 2021, presented an ambitious, bright-eyed starlet who simply wanted to be heard by the world, and 2024\u2019s star-studded The Year I Turned 21 compiled the lessons, heartbreak, grief and maturation that colored the end of her adolescence and the beginning of her adulthood. Now a newly minted New Yorker, Starr, 24, is ready for her latest spill session.<\/p>\n
\n\tStarrgirl, which dropped Aug. 14 via Mavin and Republic Records, showcases Starr\u2019s gutsy, global approach to dance music<\/a> alongside some of the biggest sonic swings of her career. From a brooding Afrobeats-steeped opener (\u201cDangerous\u201d) to sultry R&B collaborations with new-school stars like Leon Thomas<\/a> (\u201cPressure\u201d) and kwn<\/a> (\u201cAmazing\u201d) and shimmering dance-pop anthems like \u201cMidnight in New York\u201d and \u201cWhere Do We Go,\u201d Starrgirl veers between myriad genres, with Starr\u2019s penchant for tempo and Bad Gal RiRi-reminiscent attitude tying the 16-track set together.<\/p>\n \n\tNonetheless, when she slows things down \u2014 like on \u201cMisunderstood\u201d and the ZAYN-assisted \u201cHeaven Baby\u201d \u2014 her husky lower register and raspy falsetto add ample emotional dimension to ballads that are far more concerned with peace than the devastation of her last album\u2019s downtempos. And, of course, previously released fan-favorites like \u201cHot Body,\u201d \u201cGimme Dat\u201d (with Wizkid) and \u201cWho\u2019s Dat Girl\u201d (Rema) remain as excellent as ever.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cIn making this album, I started to understand that I exist in multitudes, and the only way for me to show that was through an album,\u201d she tells Billboard. \u201cI can\u2019t show that in just one song. Trying to limit myself to just one thing or one sound made me lash out even more, [whether] that\u2019s cutting my hair or changing my whole aesthetic to black or just doing a sound that was different for me. This album is me allowing myself to be different forms and different things.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIn both its artwork \u2014 which finds her pairing a sexy bodycon dress with a purple gele and laser beams \u2014 \u00a0and title, Starrgirl hints at deeper themes of Afrofuturism, personal multiplicity and the tension between tradition and innovation. Those themes may not dominate her lyrical approach, but their presence provides a headier energy that grounds the album and elevates it a few steps above merely a consistent Afropop LP. Next month (Oct. 10), Starr will headline halftime at the upcoming London NFL game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Jacksonville Jaguars, marking the latest major stage for her to continue building out the world of Starrgirl beyond the recording booth.<\/p>\n \n\tBelow, the two-time Grammy nominee talks to Billboard about venturing into bouyon music, the lessons she took away from her Year I Turned 21 era and making her acting debut in Gina Prince-Bythewood\u2019s Children of Blood & Bone next year.<\/p>\n \n\tWhy did you want to move to New York specifically?<\/p>\n \n\tI like the craziness of it; it reminds me so much of Lagos in a way, just the hustle and bustle. Everybody\u2019s in their own world.<\/p>\n \n\tHow did NYC inspire the sound of Starrgirl?<\/p>\n \n\tWell, I was here when I was making the album. New York, me being [here], the people I worked with, people I met on the road, the Ubers I took to the studio \u2014 everything played a different part in the album. I was also so far away from home, and that put a lot of things into perspective for me. I could see my life from an outside point of view, and being in this place where I didn\u2019t know anybody just made me more hungry.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cAmazing\u201d (with kwn) is a great example of a sound that\u2019s different for you. How did that song come together?<\/p>\n \n\tThat was one of the songs that made me know that I was making a crazy a\u2014 album. Any song I made after had to be just as good or even better. \u201cAmazing\u201d set the bar for me. The first version was a whole different song called \u201cHouse Fire,\u201d but I just wasn\u2019t believing it.<\/p>\n \n\tI can\u2019t even remember the process of recording \u201cAmazing\u201d \u2014 I probably was drunk as f\u2014k in the studio or some s\u2014t [laughs] \u2014 but I remember listening to it the next day, and it made me scared. I like when things make me scared, because that means I\u2019m doing something right. That was the same feeling I got when I moved to New York. I was moving towards the unknown and my fears.<\/p>\n \n\tWhat was the most pivotal Starrgirl studio session for?<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cMisunderstood.\u201d I\u2019d gotten to the point where I didn\u2019t know what I wanted to write about anymore. I knew deep within me what I wanted to do, but I couldn\u2019t articulate it. I was too scared to say, \u201cI want to make the best album I\u2019ve ever made\u201d out loud, because it puts a lot of pressure [on us]. When I was writing with Darius [Coleman] and Adanna [Duru], I said I wanted to talk about being misunderstood and how I\u2019m used to it now.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tI\u2019ve accepted the fact that I will always be misunderstood because that\u2019s how I grew up. I feel like most girls, black women, African women will understand it. It\u2019s kind of a blessing; I don\u2019t mind being misunderstood. Making that song healed a part of me.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cMisunderstood\u201d continues that throughline of maturation across your albums. It\u2019s like you check in with us every few years.<\/p>\n \n\tI\u2019m very big on check-ins. I always visualize that moment in the girls\u2019 bathroom when you really see yourself in the mirror. I wasn\u2019t the most present person growing up, so that was always a present time for me. When I\u2019m partying, I always make the time to go check in with myself. And it\u2019s when I go to the bathroom and look myself in the eye that I feel human and alive. That\u2019s what I try to show in songs like \u201cAll the Love,\u201d which I\u2019m so sad couldn\u2019t be on Starrgirl.<\/p>\n \n\tThere\u2019s such a varied, decidedly global approach to dance music on this album. What brought you to the bouyon space with \u201cMs. Paper?\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tWe were in the studio with Theodora in Los Angeles, and I\u2019d gotten a Congolese chef. We don\u2019t really get a lot of artists to come to the studio, so I wanted my guest to feel at home. When she came, we already had a song for her, but something about it just felt too busy. And we were having too much fun, so I had us do another song.<\/p>\n \n\tI played The Elements some bouyon songs and told them I wanted to shake a\u2014. And, by the way, these are two white boys! They usually sit down to produce, but they were standing and sweating this time; it was the most in sync I\u2019ve ever seen them. Then I went to the piano and pressed something; it made sense, and they left it in the beat. I felt like a producer! Then Teodora started writing her chorus, and it became a big group project. It was so fun to make that song.<\/p>\n \n\tCan we expect a music video?<\/p>\n \n\tYes. It\u2019s ready. It\u2019s coming soon. Go in with a clean heart and clean eyes and turn up.<\/p>\n \n\tWhat was your biggest takeaway from The Year I Turned 21? How did that album cycle influence your approach for Starrgirl?<\/p>\n \n\tWith The Year I Turned 21, as much as a lot of things worked in my favor, I was very lost as a person. I based my worth on the work and not on me as a person. I also started so young with 19 & Dangerous and the Ayra Starr EP that I was a bit unsure of myself. I definitely had a lot of imposter syndrome, because of how big \u201cRush\u201d was.<\/p>\n \n\tWhen I found myself again, I was on tour every single day \u2014 and that was so intense. At the time, I thought I was just working hard, but I wasn\u2019t taking care of myself mentally or physically. I became a zombie, just going wherever the wind took me.<\/p>\n \n\tGoing into Starrgirl, I wanted to do what I wanted and remain present and aware of myself as an artist and human being. I will rest if I need to. It\u2019s not going to be this or that; it\u2019s going to be both. I can have it all, and I will have it all. And I will enjoy myself while I do this because The Year I Turned 21 wasn\u2019t that.<\/p>\n \n\tDo you look to anyone to help you stay committed to this evolved approach?<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s very hard, but if you look at other people for that support, you might not get it. Nobody knows what you need more than you, so you have to be responsible for yourself. I look to my inner self and my inner child. If you are looking at other people to give you permission to rest, it\u2019s not going to come.<\/p>\n \n\tWhat was it like stepping into the acting world with Children of Blood & Bone?<\/p>\n \n\tActing really helped me frame how I see myself as a musician because I was able to be another person for three months, and I got to see myself from another point of view. I also got to be around a bunch of actors who made me understand how seriously they take their art. When you come from the music world, it\u2019s very much about you and what you want. But with acting, everybody\u2019s important. And it\u2019s hard work waking up at 3:00 for the sunrise shots and all of that! I learned a lot.<\/p>\n \n\tIf you could turn Starrgirl into a movie, what genre would it be?<\/p>\n \n\tIt would definitely be sci-fi. Starrgirl has powers.<\/p>\n \n\tAre we thinking about a deluxe at all?<\/p>\n \n\tYes, expect it! I\u2019m not thinking about it now, because we just dropped\u2026 but I like the idea of a deluxe.<\/p>\n \n\tWhat was it like performing \u201cHeaven Baby\u201d for the first time?<\/p>\n \n\tIt was so emotional for me. Everybody knows I hate performing \u201cLast Heartbreak Song\u201d because it goes to a really dark place, and getting myself there on stage is very difficult. \u201cHeaven Baby\u201d is more positive; it can mean different things for different people. And performing it on that stage [at All Points East 2026] got me into a really good headspace. I was able to focus my energy on the people I love and listen to the crowd sing it back to me.<\/p>\n \n\tI know you and Rihanna be partying up at Crop Over. What\u2019s her favorite song on the album?<\/p>\n \n\tI don\u2019t know yet! I can\u2019t say too much.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ayra Starr loves a check-in. 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