Samia | |
|---|---|
 Samia performing in 2019 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Samia Najimy Finnerty |
| Born | December 12, 1996 [1] Los Angeles, California, U.S [2] |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 2017–present |
| Labels | Grand Jury |
| Member of | Peach Fuzz [3] |
| Website | samiaband |
Samia Najimy Finnerty (born December 12, 1996) is an American singer-songwriter and musician.
Finnerty was born in Los Angeles to actors Kathy Najimy and Dan Finnerty. She was named after her maternal grandmother, Samia Najimy (née Massery; 1928–2015), who is of Lebanese origin. [2] [4] [5] She moved to New York City when she was fifteen and attended York Preparatory School, [6] and studied at The New School, where she formed a short-lived band. [7] [8] [9]
Finnerty is a co-recipient of the 2017 Obie Award for Best Ensemble for her performance in Sarah DeLappe's play The Wolves . [10]
Finnerty's debut single "Someone Tell The Boys" was released in 2017 and quickly gained traction on Spotify after appearing on the Discover Weekly Playlist. [11]
Following her debut, she released singles "Milk", "Django", "Welcome to Eden", and "The Night Josh Tillman Listened to My Song" throughout 2017 and 2018 before releasing a two-track EP Lasting Friend & Paris. Finnerty listed her inspiration for the EP as "a revelation about the way that humor and levity and pain can coexist and be linked". [12]
She also released singles "Ode to Artifice" and a cover of Liz Phair's "Never Said" in 2019. [13] [14]
Finnerty released a new song in April 2020 titled "Is There Something in the Movies?" [15] In June 2020, Finnerty announced her debut studio album alongside a new song titled "Fit n Full". [16] [17] Two more songs from the album, "Big Wheel" and "Stellate," were released together in July 2020, [18] preceding the release of "Triptych" in August 2020. Finnerty released her debut studio album The Baby to positive reviews on August 28, 2020. [19] [5] [20] The first track on the album, "Pool", begins with the last voicemail Finnerty's grandmother left before passing away, where she is singing a Lebanese lullaby. [21] Finnerty described the concept of the album as "emotionally accepting that I need people" and that "I am the baby". [9]
Later in 2021 she would release The Baby Reimagined, a collection of covers and remixes of songs from her debut album by artists including Briston Maroney, Anjimile, Charlie Hickey, Field Medic, Christian Lee Hutson, Bartees Strange, and more. [22] [23]
Finnerty appeared briefly in the comedy drama film Let Them All Talk (2020). [24]
In 2021, Finnerty released the extended play Scout, containing three original songs: "As You Are", "Show Up" and "Elephant" as well as a cover of When In Rome's' "The Promise", which featured Jelani Aryeh. The EP released to generally positive reviews. [25]
Finnerty attended the European leg of Maggie Rogers' Feral Joy Tour as a "special guest" in 2022. [26]
Also in 2022, Samia formed the supergroup Peach Fuzz with artists Rafaella, Sara L'Abriola (who uses artist name Hank), and Victoria Zaro (who uses artist name Ryann). They released a 4-track debut EP on July 22, Can Mary Dood the Moon?, with lead single "Hey Dood". [27] [28] [29] [30]
In September 2022, Finnerty released the single "Kill Her Freak Out" and announced her upcoming second album, Honey . [31] [32] Subsequent singles from the album include "Mad At Me" with Papa Mbye in November [33] and a double release in December, "Pink Balloon/Sea Lions." [34] Honey released on January 27, 2023 to positive reviews. [35] [36] [37] When speaking about the album, Finnerty said "Optimism is the saddest thing in the world to me and I have a lot of it", referencing the dichotomy between sad and happy songs on the album. [38]
On April 12, 2023, Finnerty released two singles, covers of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps" and Porches' "Country". [39] [40]
On June 2, 2023, Finnerty was featured on a version of "The Weakness" by Ruston Kelly. [41]
Finnerty began her career in New York City working in the DIY scene, but moved to Nashville in 2021 for a "less chaotic" environment. [42] [38] As of 2023, she has been dating artist Briston Maroney for two years. [43]
Finnerty states that her parents raised her as a feminist and that it is a "deeply embedded part of her identity". However, she also states that feminist themes in her songwriting are not intentional and that she feels that feminist ideals are inherently part of the female experience. She criticizes the labeling of her music as "feminist", stating "A lot of the time, everything [women write] is categorized or reframed as empowerment, and I don’t often write from a place of empowerment. Usually, when I’m writing it’s from a place of desperation and pain" and that labeling of music as "feminist" "dilutes the significance of art with stereotypes". [9] [12]
Finnerty's musical style has typically been defined as indie-rock [38] [44] and indie-pop. [45] [46]
She has cited a range of musical influences including Lana Del Rey, FKA Twigs, [38] The National, [47] Nirvana, Elliott Smith, Liz Phair, [48] Father John Misty, Angel Olsen, Brittany Howard and Okay Kaya. [49]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| The Baby |
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| Honey |
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| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| The Baby Reimagined |
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| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Before the Baby |
|
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Scout |
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| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| US AAA [50] | |||
| "Welcome to Eden" | 2017 | — | Non-album singles |
| "Someone Tell the Boys" | — | ||
| "The Night Josh Tillman Listened to My Song" | — | ||
| "Django" | 2018 | — | |
| "21" | — | ||
| "Milk" | — | ||
| "Lasting Friend" | 2019 | — | |
| "Paris" | — | ||
| "Ode to Artifice" | — | ||
| "Never Said" | — | ||
| "Is There Something in the Movies?" | 2020 | — | The Baby |
| "Fit n Full" | — | ||
| "Big Wheel" | — | ||
| "Stellate" | — | ||
| "Triptych" | — | ||
| "Show Up" | 2021 | — | Scout |
| "As You Are" | — | ||
| "Desperado" | 2022 | — | Non-album singles |
| "Born on a Train" (with Rachel Jenkins) | — | ||
| "Kill Her Freak Out" | — | Honey | |
| "Mad at Me" (with Papa Mbye) | — | ||
| "Pink Balloon" | — | ||
| "Sea Lions" | — | ||
| "Breathing Song" | 2023 | — | |
| "Honey" | 27 | ||
| "Maps" | — | Non-album singles | |
| "Country" | — | ||
| "Making Breakfast" | 2024 | — |
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