Ayra Starr is fresh off her first Grammy nomination, with plenty of new music in store for 2024, and she sat down with Billboard‘s Rania Aniftos to discuss her breakthrough career.

“It’s been a long time coming,” she says of the new Grammy category, best African music performance, which she was nominated for at the 2024 ceremony. “African music has been it and has been popping for such a long time. Afrobeats has been taking over the world. I feel like this is very validating for everyone who put effort into this.”

She added of the genre: “It’s high vibrational music. God blessed us.”

The star also recently released her emotional new single “Commas,” which she says she loved experimenting with during the songwriting process. “People used to feel very touched by my voice. When I would sing in secondary school, I would see people cry because I would sing the saddest songs,” she said. “My voice always had that thing where it would make people feel no matter what I’m singing. I was like, ‘You know what? I want people to feel this song.’ I had 15 versions of ‘Commas.’ […] I wanted people to transcend when they listen to it. I want people to feel good.”

She added that “Commas” will be featured on an upcoming album, which will show off a new, more evolved and feminine side of the singer. “The Ayra Starr I want to introduce is excellent, sonically amazing. This album is unique, because I’ve been evolving sonically,” she says.

Watch Billboard‘s full interview with Ayra Starr above.