Samara Joy: What’s A Church Girl To Sing?
The Sam Sanders Show
KCRW & Sam Sanders
4.9 • 709 Ratings
🗓️ 19 December 2025
⏱️ 37 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Grammy winner Samara Joy is a jazz prodigy, but her singing is rooted in gospel music.
She tells Sam about discovering jazz in high school, her family’s famous Godmobile, and how faith shaped the artist she is today. Plus, why her music will never be touched by AI.
Samara Joy’s latest album Portrait is out now.
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The Sam Sanders Show is a production of KCRW and Sam Sanders Productions.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey listeners, it is the season of giving. Get that warm, fuzzy feeling. Make a donation, |
| 0:06.2 | pick out some cozy KCRW merch, or send meals to local food banks. Donate now at kCRW.com |
| 0:13.6 | slash give. |
| 0:26.4 | I'm guessing you're always thinking of music and living your life and your mind through music. |
| 0:28.7 | Do you ever get tired of the song that's in your head? |
| 0:35.5 | Hey, Sam Sanders here from KCRW. Thank you for checking out my show. |
| 0:37.7 | My guest this week, you just heard her. |
| 0:39.4 | That's Samara Joy. |
| 0:46.0 | Samara is a jazz singer who in 2023 won the Grammy for Best New Artist. |
| 0:47.4 | That's a big deal. |
| 0:52.5 | But also, she's actually just like you and me, at least in one regard. |
| 0:57.6 | She, like most of us, could not escape one big song this year. |
| 1:00.6 | No matter how many vehicles I'm in, the same songs are in there. |
| 1:02.0 | Give me an example of what. I've never seen K-pop Demon Hunters in my life. |
| 1:05.2 | Why? |
| 1:06.9 | Why am I singing Golden? |
| 1:09.6 | Because of everyone. |
| 1:10.9 | After begging Samara to make a jazz cover of K-pop Demon Hunters, Why am I singing Golden? Because it's a good song. |
| 1:19.6 | After begging Samara to make a jazz cover of K-pop Demon Hunter's Golden, we spent a lot of time unpacking her original music. |
| 1:22.4 | No more blues. |
| 1:24.8 | I'm going back home. |
| 1:27.0 | No more dudes. |
... |
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