On the Verge: Daya

This week in On the Verge, Paste BN's spotlight on breakthrough artists, Patrick Ryan talks to pop singer Daya.

Up and Away. Not even six months ago, Daya was dancing at her high school prom. Since then, the rising pop star has had "pinch me" moments performing on the Today show this summer and hearing her hit Hide Away on the radio. "I had just gotten my license and I heard it driving down the road," Daya, 17, remembers. "I had to take a second and pull over. I was like, 'What is this? What is happening?' " The crackling synth tune continues to erupt on Paste BN's Top 40 airplay charts, where it's climbed to No. 24, and has sold an impressive 166,000 downloads to date, according to Nielsen Music.

Getting started. Daya (pronounced "day-uh") comes from a multi-ethnic family and gets her stage moniker from the Hindi translation of her real name, Grace. "I found that translation and really loved it, and was like, 'This is easy for people to remember and grasp onto,' " Daya says. She got her start singing and playing piano when she was just three years old, picking up other instruments such as guitar, saxophone and flute as she grew older. The first time she ever performed for a crowd was at a music camp when she was just 10 years old, covering songs by Alanis Morissette, Coldplay and Green Day. "I definitely recognized my love for it then," Daya says.

Her big break. As a teen, Daya studied at a music school in her hometown of Pittsburgh, where she was introduced to songwriter/producer Gino Barletta (JoJo, Miranda Cosgrove) through workshops. He eventually singled out her out for her talents and invited her to Los Angeles for sessions with other writers this past February, penning tracks off her self-titled EP, including Hide Away. Going into it, "I definitely felt behind," Daya says. "They were all so much more advanced in pop songwriting, but I learned so much and my writing skills improved."

Origin of a hit. They had initially planned to pitch Hide Away to another artist, although there was no one specifically in mind. "As we were writing it, we were like, 'There's no one else who could sing this song right now and have it be true to them,' " Daya says. The empowerment anthem, about a good girl waiting for the right guy, was inspired by relationship talks she had with the other writers in the studio. "It's basically about not having to depend on someone else for your happiness and waiting around for that right person who likes you for you, and not just for your body or something like that," Daya says.

'High school stuff.' Now a senior, Daya is finishing up high school online and will graduate with her class next June. Despite the hectic schedule playing shows around the country, the teen says she can still rely on her friends for support. "I know who's being real with me and who's being fake, knowing that I have this song on the radio and just wants to be my friend because of that," Daya says. "But I have a lot of really cool, authentic friends. They're always like, 'Where are you in the country? What are you doing right now?' It's crazy for them to imagine this, because they're all in the midst of AP classes and applying to college and homecoming. All that normal 17-year-old girl high school stuff."