Recently, alternative artist Samia dropped her sophomore album “Honey” in January, growing into an overnight sensation and allowing her to tour with artists such as Maggie Rogers and Wallows. Yet, the singer has an interesting musical history, especially being the daughter of actress Kathy Najimy.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Samia addressed her status as a nepotism baby, saying, “There’s no part of me that doesn’t want people to know where I came from because that’s such a huge part of the reason I am the way I am.” Even though the singer inherited fame, she also grew up around musical theater and indie-rock music, causing her to venture into songwriting and composing.
Samia’s rise to fame started in 2017, dropping three songs in the span of that year, including “Someone Tell the Boys,” “The Night Josh Tillman Listened to My Song” and “Welcome to Eden.” The release of her first single ended up on Spotify’s “Badass Women” playlist, being that its lyrical content saw the singer unleash her anger towards gender roles and behavior.
The following year, Samia continued to release more music, unveiling new singles such as “Django,” “21” and “Milk.” In particular, “21” revealed the singer’s thoughts on body image and the generational pressure to please others, including one’s friends, family, and most importantly, themselves. Meanwhile, “Milk” allowed Samia to truly open herself to listeners, detailing the loss of her grandmother.
Two years after her debut, Samia slowly crept up on the indie-alternative scene with songs “Lasting Friend,” “Paris,” “Ode to Artifice” and “Never Said.” She also participated in The Wild Honey Pie Buzzsession, where musicians are placed in a unique recording studio to perform some of their hits. During this, Samia performed a rendition of “Welcome to Eden,” but also sang a new song titled “Gotta Have You,” with both versions hitting Spotify later in 2019.
Yet, 2020 would be the year that Samia debuted her first album “The Baby” via Grand Jury, creating the majority of it while living in New York. With 11 songs, it was an impressive display of the singer’s vision and creativity, as well as work ethic during a worldwide pandemic, and helped solidify her spot in the indie-rock genre. With the album focusing heavily on the ideas of aging and nostalgia, Samia proved she could find inspiration from her memories, as well as her past emotional states.
Following the release of her first album, the singer moved to Nashville, TN, her home city, and began working on her next album, which would be 2023’s “Honey.” This time around, her goal was to focus on authenticity, not trying to sound like the pop influences around her. Inspired by artists such as FKA twigs and Lana Del Rey, Samia wanted to put herself into her next project.
Luckily, this paid off when it came time to share “Honey” with the world, and now her new project has gotten rave reviews from music publications such as The Guardian, Popmatters and NME. Songs such as “Kill Her Freak Out” and “Mad At Me (feat. papa mbye)” have so far been the album’s standouts, causing her fandom to grow.
Now, the singer is currently on tour promoting “Honey” until late April, playing at iconic venues such as Brooklyn, NY’s Brooklyn Steel and Atlanta, GA’s Variety Playhouse. With only 96.6 thousand followers on Instagram, it’s clear that Samia is only continuing to grow and thrive, especially as she gears up for a busy year of touring and promoting.
If you’re looking for an artist that is able to put her heart on her sleeve effortlessly, letting listeners into her life as a musician and woman in her mid-20s, Samia is the perfect match for you. With an emotional brevity and honesty that is rare to find nowadays in indie-pop music, the singer is mature beyond her years, ready for what this year has in store for her as she keeps getting bigger and bigger.
