Adanna Duru

Adanna Duru (born October 10, 1996) is an American singer, songwriter and producer from Diamond Bar, California. At 15, she was on Adam Levine's team on the third season of The Voice. At 18, she came in tenth place on the fourteenth season of American Idol. In 2016, she released a mixtape, Exhibit A. and in August 2017, she released an EP, Stardive.

Adanna Duru
Born	October 10, 1996
Origin	Diamond Bar, California, United States
Genres	Pop, R&B, soul
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, dancer
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	2012–present
Website	www.adannaduru.com

Early life

Adanna Duru was born on October 10, 1996, in Whittier, California and raised in Diamond Bar, California.[1] Her parents were both born in Nigeria and moved to the US for college. Duru has an older brother named Zim and a younger brother named Koby. Adanna and her brothers were raised by their single mother, IJ Duru.[2] Duru graduated from Walnut High School in 2014, where she was class president. She also played two varsity sports: volleyball and track and field, where she specialized in long jump, triple jump, and high jump, but also ran the 100m sprint and 100m hurdles.[3][4][5]

The Voice

In 2012, Duru was a contestant on season three of The Voice. She auditioned with "The Edge of Glory" where she defaulted to Adam Levine's team. She was eliminated in the Battle Rounds, where she was paired with Michelle Brooks-Thompson to sing "Crazy in Love". Her appearance on The Voice is notable for being one of the only contestants who twice had only snippets of their performance shown, rather than the full rendition.

Post-The Voice

After The Voice, Duru competed in the Miss California Teen USA pageant in 2013.[6] She released her first music video on YouTube that she directed and choreographed to a song that she wrote called "Throwback!" in 2013. Two singles, "Amplify" and "CEO" were released in the Fall of 2014, both on iTunes. On her 18th birthday, Adanna released the single, "CEO" along with a music video in which she co-directed that is now on YouTube.[7][8]

American Idol

Duru auditioned in San Francisco, singing "You and I" by Lady Gaga. She sang "It's A Man's Man's Man's World" in Showcase Week, where she got a standing ovation by Jennifer Lopez and was advanced into the Top 24. She originally was not voted into the Top 12 but was chosen as a wildcard to continue. She was eliminated on March 25, 2015, where she placed joint 10th/11th with Maddie Walker. She appeared on the season finale on May 13, 2015, to join Janelle Monáe and Jidenna to perform "Yoga".[9]

Episode	Theme	Song choice	Original artist	Order	Result
Audition	Auditioner's Choice	"You and I"	Lady Gaga	N/A	Advanced
Hollywood Round, Part 1	A Capella	Not aired	Not aired	N/A	Advanced
Hollywood Round, Part 2	Group Performance	I Want You Back	Michael Jackson	N/A	Advanced
Hollywood Round, Part 3	Solo	Not aired	Not aired	N/A	Advanced
Showcase Week	Personal Choice	"It's a Man's Man's Man's World"	James Brown	N/A	Advanced
Top 24	Personal Choice	"Rather Be"	Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne	4	Safe
Top 16	Motown	"Hello"	Lionel Richie	12	Wild Card
Top 12	Back to the Start	"You and I"	Lady Gaga	12	Safe
Top 11	Get the Party Started	"Runaway Baby"	Bruno Mars	7	Safe
Top 11^4	Songs from the Movies	"Love You I Do"	Jennifer Hudson	1	Eliminated

• ^Note 1 Due to the judges using their one save on Qaasim Middleton, the top 11 remained intact for another week.

Post Idol

Duru released a mixtape, Exhibit A, which included the single, "Seal It with a Kiss," produced by Liam Keegan and landed in the Music Week commercial pop charts top 20.

On August 18, 2017, Duru released her debut EP, Stardive,[10] which she has produced along with Wiidope and Nick Jameson, with guest appearances from rapper John Ibe and singer Julius.[11]

On February 22, 2019, Postmodern Jukebox published Duru covering a soul version of "Sex on Fire."[12]

Personal life

Duru gives vocal lessons to middle school and elementary school-age children.[2] Her parents and ancestors were all born in the African country Nigeria which makes Duru first generation born in the United States.[13] She currently attends college at University of California in Riverside.[14]

References

1. "'AMERICAN IDOL': Adanna Duru controls her musical future". March 19, 2015.
2. "Top 24: Adanna Duru". americanidol.com. Fox. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
3. "Walnut High Grad Takes on 'American Idol'". walnuths.net.
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on April 10, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. "Adanna Duru". Athletic.net.
6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 2, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2017.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
7. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/amplify-single/id910289827
8. https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/c.e.o.-single/id923402823
9. Money, D. "Janelle Monáe, Jidenna & Adanna Duru Do That 'Yoga' For 'American Idol'". soulbounce.com. Soul Bounce. Retrieved May 14, 2015.
10. "Premiere: Adanna Duru – Stardive EP – C-Heads Magazine". C-Heads Magazine. August 17, 2017. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
11. "LA Singer, Songwriter & Producer Adanna Duru Releases Debut EP 'Stardive' -". ventsmagazine.com. Retrieved September 16, 2017.
12. "Postmodern Jukebox presetns Sex On Fire – Kings Of Leon (Vintage Soul Cover) ft. Adanna Duru".
13. "Stylites". dosomething.org. Do Something. Archived from the original on April 7, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2015.
14. "UCR Freshman Adanna Duru Makes Top 11 on American Idol".