Malaya Watson
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Malaya Tina Bandico Watson (born September 24, 1997) is an American singer from
Southfield, Michigan Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Southfield borders Detroit to the north, roughly northwest of downtown Downtown Detroit, Detroit. As of the 2020 Uni ...
, who finished in eighth place on the thirteenth season of ''
American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
.''


Early life

Watson is of half-
Filipino American Filipino Americans () are Americans of Filipino ancestry. Filipinos in North America were first documented in the 16th century and other small settlements beginning in the 18th century. Mass migration did not begin until after the end of the Sp ...
and half-
African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...
descent, the daughter of Ronald Watson, a professional guitar player, and Marian Bandico Watson, a nurse who hails from
Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...
,
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. In high school, she played the tuba in Southfield High School marching band. She is an alumna of the Mosaic Youth Theater of Detroit, where she sang in ''Singsation'' and ''Hasting Street.'' She is also an alumna of the Michigan Opera Theatre Children's Chorus., where she starred in ''Carmen,'' ''Tosca,'' ''Pied Piper of Hamlin,'' ''The Very Last Green Thing'' and ''The Nut Cracker''.


Musical influences

She cites her two grandfathers and her father as her personal musical influences. She described her style in singing from
Sly Stone Sylvester Stewart (March 15, 1943 – June 9, 2025), better known by his stage name Sly Stone, was an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He was the frontman of Sly and the Family Stone, playing a critical role in the development ...
and
Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...
.


Career


2014: ''American Idol''

At 15, Watson auditioned in Detroit with
Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...
's "
Ain't No Way "Ain't No Way" is a song written by singer-songwriter Carolyn Franklin and sung by her elder sister Aretha Franklin as the B-side to her 1968 hit, "(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone". This song should not be confused with a different song ...
." She is the third youngest contestant in American Idol's history to reach the live finals after
Lauren Alaina Lauren Alaina Kristine Suddeth (born November 8, 1994) is an American singer and songwriter from Rossville, Georgia. She was the runner-up on the tenth season of ''American Idol.'' Her debut studio album, ''Wildflower,'' was released on October ...
and
Daniel Seavey Daniel James Seavey (born April 2, 1999) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He first gained national attention as a contestant on the 14th season of ''American Idol'' in 2015, where he placed in the Top 9. He later rose to p ...
. After being deemed as a front-runner to win by judge Jennifer Lopez and fans, Watson was announced as the act with lowest number of votes for Top 8 reveal night. With the Judges save gone, Malaya was eliminated from the competition. She sang "
I Am Changing "I Am Changing" is a song from the second act of the long-running Broadway musical ''Dreamgirls''. Written by Henry Krieger and Tom Eyen, the song was performed by the character Effie White, originally portrayed on Broadway by Jennifer Holliday. ...
" as her farewell song. After her final performance Watson received a final standing ovation from all three judges.


Performances on American Idol


Post ''Idol''

Watson took part in the American Idols Live! Tour 2014 from June 24 through August 24, 2014. Throughout the duration of tour and to date, she worked on her debut EP, ''My Diary,'' and her unnamed album. Watson sang the U.S. national anthem at the
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...
versus
New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...
game at
Ford Field Ford Field is a domed American football stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It primarily serves as the home of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL), the Mid-Americ ...
in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
on October 19, 2014. In 2018, Watson released her debut single, "Time.", and released her second single "Worry About Myself" two years later in 2020. Later in the year, she appeared on
Terrace Martin Terrace Jamahl Martin (born December 28, 1978) is an American musician, rapper, singer, and record producer. He is perhaps best known for producing records for several prominent artists in the music industry, including Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dog ...
,
Robert Glasper Robert Andre Glasper (born April 5, 1978) is an American pianist, record producer, songwriter, and Arrangement, musical arranger. His music embodies numerous musical genres, primarily centered around jazz. Glasper has won five Grammy Awards from ...
,
9th Wonder Patrick Denard Douthit (born January 15, 1975),
better known as 9th Wonder, is an American record producer, record ...
and
Kamasi Washington Kamasi Tii Washington (born February 18, 1981) is an American arranger, composer and jazz saxophonist. Archived July 9, 2015. He is a founding member of the jazz collective West Coast Get Down. Career Washington was born in 1981 and raise ...
's collaborative EP Dinner Party: Dessert, contributing guest vocals to the song "Love You Bad" with Phoelix. On December 4, 2020, Watson released her debut EP, ''My Diary: The Prelude.''. This was followed by her second EP, ''Father's Law'', which was released the following year. Later that same year, Malaya would appear on the
Terrace Martin Terrace Jamahl Martin (born December 28, 1978) is an American musician, rapper, singer, and record producer. He is perhaps best known for producing records for several prominent artists in the music industry, including Kendrick Lamar, Snoop Dog ...
album ''Drones'', contributing vocals to "Evil Eye" with rapper YG. She also appeared on two tracks from
Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...
's compilation ''
Algorithm In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm () is a finite sequence of Rigour#Mathematics, mathematically rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific Computational problem, problems or to perform a computation. Algo ...
''. In 2022, Malaya was featured on the track "Joint 3" with Cisco Swank and Luke Titus, which was named by NPR as one of the year's best songs.


Discography


EPs

*''My Diary: The Prelude'' (2020) *''Father's Law'' (2021)


Digital singles (''American Idol'')


Singles


Guest appearances


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Malaya 1997 births 21st-century American singers American Idol participants Living people 21st-century African-American women singers American musicians of Filipino descent People from Southfield, Michigan Singers from Michigan 21st-century American women singers