Lucky Daye

"David Brown (singer)" redirects here. Not to be confused with Lucky Day (disambiguation). For others with the same or similar birth names, see David Brown (disambiguation).

David Debrandon Brown (born September 25, 1985), professionally known as Lucky Daye, is an American singer-songwriter from New Orleans. He is signed to Keep Cool Records and RCA Records. He released his first EP, I on November 9, 2018, and his second EP, II on February 6, 2019. The EPs were part of a series leading up to his debut studio album Painted which was released on May 24, 2019.^[3][4] His third EP, Table for Two, won the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album.^[5] His second album, Candydrip, was released on March 10, 2022, preceded by the commercially successful single "Over".^[6] His third and latest album, Algorithm, was released on June 28, 2024.^[7] The album is currently nominated for Best R&B Album at the 2025 Grammy Awards.^[8]

Lucky Daye
Birth name	David Debrandon Brown
Also known as	D. Brown
Born	(1985-09-25) September 25, 1985 (age 39) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	Neo soul[1] R&B
Occupations	Singer songwriter
Instruments	Vocals bass guitar
Years active	2005–present[2]
Labels	Keep Cool RCA
Website	luckydaye.com

Early life

Brown was born on September 25, 1985, in New Orleans. He was raised in a church that forbade listening to secular music, but he discovered an innate knack for singing and taught himself melodies by turning children books into songs of his own. Brown went back to immerse himself in classic R&B songs and developed a love for artists including Prince, Rick James, Lauryn Hill, and Stevie Wonder. He relocated to Atlanta to pursue music.^[9][10][11]

Musical career

In 2005, when he was 19, Daye competed on season 4 of American Idol.^[12] He auditioned with a cover of "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke and received four "yes" votes. Soon after reaching the Top 20 he was eliminated from the competition.

Daye established himself, with his pseudonym, as a songwriter and background vocalist and landed credits in 2008 on songs by Keith Sweat on his album Just Me and Ne-Yo on "She Got Her Own". In 2014, he wrote for Boyz II Men on the song "Believe Us". During 2016 and 2017, he co-wrote songs released by Keke Palmer ("Enemiez"), Ella Mai ("10,000 Hours", "Down"), Trey Songz ("Song Goes Off"), and two tracks from the album Strength of a Woman by Mary J. Blige.^[9] In 2017 he worked with Ariana Grande on the song "More" which was scrapped from the latter's fourth studio album Sweetener.

In October 2018, Daye signed to Keep Cool Records and RCA Records, releasing his first single, "Roll Some Mo".^[13] On November 9, 2018, he released his first EP, I, which was part of a series leading up to his debut studio album Painted.^[14][15]

On January 17, 2019, Daye released the first single from his second EP, called "Karma". On February 6, 2019, he released the second installment of the EP series, II.^[16] He went on tour with Ella Mai beginning in February 2019.^[17] In November 2019, Daye received four nominations at the 62nd Grammy Awards including one for Best R&B Album for Painted. On November 21, 2019, Daye opened for R&B singer Khalid on his Free Spirit tour in New Zealand.

On September 25, 2020, he co-wrote "Better", English singer Zayn's single.

On February 12, 2021, Daye released his third EP, Table for Two.^[18] It charted at number ninety-six on the US Billboard 200 and would go on to win the 2022 Grammy Award for Best Progressive R&B Album.^[5]

On May 21, 2021, Daye released a cover of Marvin Gaye’s "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Gaye's album What's Going On.

On March 10, 2022, Daye released his second studio album, Candydrip.^[6] The album received acclaim from critics and became his first album to chart on the US Billboard 200 album chart, debuting at number sixty-nine.^[19] Candydrip received a nomination for Best R&B Album while its lead single "Over" received a nod in the Best R&B Performance category for the 2023 edition of the Grammy Awards. In addition, he received two nominations for Album of the Year for both Beyoncé's Renaissance and Mary J. Blige's Good Morning Gorgeous albums as a co-writer, as well as a Best R&B Song nod for co-writing title track "Good Morning Gorgeous".

Discography

Main article: Lucky Daye discography

Studio albums

• Painted (2019)
• Candydrip (2022)
• Algorithm (2024)

Extended Plays

• Table for Two (2021)

Tours

Headlining

• The Painted Tour (2019)
• The Candydrip World Tour (2022)
• The Algorithm Tour (2024)

Opening act

• Ella Mai – The Debut Tour (2019)
• Khalid – Free Spirit World Tour (Leg 3- Oceania) (2019)

Awards and nominations

Lucky Daye has been nominated for numerous awards including Grammy Awards, American Music Awards and Soul Train Awards. He currently holds one Grammy.

On September 8, 2024, Lucky received the Inaugural "Torchbearer Award" from Billboard Charts No.1s Party for being the "new age blueprint" in R&B after receiving his first No.1 hit with his single "That’s You" on Adult R&B Songs chart.

Award	Year	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
American Music Award	2022	Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist	Himself	Nominated	[20]
BET Award	2022	Best Male R&B/Pop Artist	Himself	Nominated	[21]
Grammy Award	2020	Best R&B Song	"Roll Some Mo"	Nominated
		Best R&B Performance		Nominated
		Best R&B Album	Painted	Nominated
		Best Traditional R&B Performance	"Real Games"	Nominated
	2022		"How Much Can A Heart Take" (with Yebba)	Nominated
		Best Progressive R&B Album	Table for Two	Won
	2023	Album of the Year	Renaissance (as songwriter)	Nominated
			Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe) (as songwriter)	Nominated
		Best R&B Album	Candydrip	Nominated
		Best R&B Performance	"Over"	Nominated
		Best R&B Song	"Good Morning Gorgeous" (as songwriter)	Nominated
	2025	Best R&B Album	Algorithm	Pending
		Best Traditional R&B Performance	"That's You"	Pending
MTV Video Music Award	2023	Best R&B	"Stay" (with Alicia Keys)	Nominated	[22]
NAACP Image Award	2020	Outstanding New Artist	Himself	Nominated	[23]
	2024	Outstanding Duo, Group or Collaboration (Contemporary)	"Smoke" (with Victoria Monet)	Nominated	[24]
Soul Train Music Award	2019	Best New Artist	Himself	Nominated	[25]
	2021	Best R&B/Soul Male Artist		Nominated	[26]
	2022			Nominated	[27]

References

1. "Neo-Soul 2020: 23 Contemporary Artists Pushing the Sound Forward - Okayplayer".
2. "Lucky Daye Is Turning His Traumatic Religious Upbringing into Hope". Vice.com. 2019-06-10. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
3. "Lucky Daye Unveils I, Comprised Of First Five Tracks From Forthcoming Debut Album". Broadwayworld. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
4. Mahadeven, Tara. "Listen to Lucky Daye's New Project 'I'". Complex. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
5. Corcoran, Nina (3 April 2022). "Lucky Daye Wins Best Progressive R&B Album for Table for Two at 2022 Grammys". Pitchfork. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
6. "'People Fear the Greatness in Me': Lucky Daye's Exquisite Taste". Rolling Stone. 9 April 2022. Retrieved 2022-04-09.
7. "LUCKY DAYE RELEASES HIGHLY ANTICIPATED NEW ALBUM 'ALGORITHM' – Sony Music Canada". www.sonymusic.ca. Retrieved 2024-08-21.
8. https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/grammy-nominations-2025-full-list-1235823165/
9. Kellman, Andy. "Lucky Daye – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
10. Chesman, Donna-Claire (12 November 2018). "Meet Lucky Daye, the R&B Singer Who Ran out of Fucks". DJBooth. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
11. "Lucky Daye Ignites the Start of an Impressive R&B Career With "Roll Some Mo"". Ones To Watch. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
12. Slezak, Michael (July 4, 2005). "American Idol: Early favorites and long shots". Entertainment Weekly. Sure, he's working a hairstyle made popular by Brandy back in the early '90s, but David Brown comes across as a genuine soul with genuine talent.
13. "RCA / KEEP COOL's newest signee Lucky Daye shares his new song "Roll Some Mo"". Revolt. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
14. "New Music: Lucky Daye – Roll Some Mo". You Know I Got Soul. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
15. Leight, Elias. "Lucky Daye Doesn't Want to Fit In". Rolling Stone.
16. Ichiki, Chase. "Lucky Daye delivers his second installment "II" of his debut album". Revolt. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
17. "Lucky Daye Releases New Single KARMA". Broadwayworld. Retrieved 19 January 2019.
18. Rose, Jordan (12 February 2021). "Lucky Daye Unleashes New EP 'Table for Two' f/ Ari Lennox, Queen Naija, and More". Complex. Retrieved 2021-02-18.
19. "Lucky Daye". Billboard.
20. Atkinson, Katie (November 20, 2022). "Here Are All the 2022 AMAs Winners". Billboard. Archived from the original on November 21, 2022. Retrieved November 21, 2022.
21. Grein, Paul (June 1, 2022). "2022 BET Awards Nominations: Full List". Billboard. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
22. Corcoran, Nina (August 8, 2023). "MTV VMAs 2023 Nominees Announced: See the Full List Here". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 9, 2023.
23. Howard, Katherine (2020-02-22). "NAACP Image Awards: Lizzo Named Entertainer of the Year; 'Just Mercy,' 'Black-ish' Among Top Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2020-02-23. Retrieved 2022-01-22.
24. Abraham, Mya (2024-01-25). "Usher, Ayo Edebiri, Colman Domingo, Victoria Monét Dominate 2024 NAACP Image Award Nominations". Vibe. Retrieved January 27, 2024.
25. Evans, Greg (November 18, 2019). "Chris Brown Takes Three BET Soul Train Awards – 2019 Winners List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
26. "H.E.R. Is Top Nominee at 2021 Soul Train Awards; Maxwell & Ashanti to Receive Special Awards: Exclusive". Billboard. 2 November 2021. Retrieved November 2, 2021.
27. Seemayer, Zach (October 20, 2022). "BET Soul Train Awards 2022 Nominations: See the Full List | Entertainment Tonight". ET Online. Retrieved 2022-10-20.