Kandace Springs

Kandace Springs is a singer, songwriter, and pianist known for her refined mix of R&B, jazz, and classic pop. She established herself with three albums released on the legendary Blue Note label. While Soul Eyes (2016), Indigo (2018), and The Women Who Raised Me (2020) were connected by an aesthetic throughline, each one was a distinct synthesis of classic and contemporary inspirations. The first two projects both landed at number two on Billboard's contemporary jazz chart. My Name Is Sheba (2022), Run Your Race (2024), and the Billie Holiday tribute Lady in Satin (2025) have seen Springs further develop her considerable interpretive and compositional talents as an independent artist.The Nashville native's path to the revered Blue Note label began with her father, session vocalist Scat Springs, who introduced her to the piano and classic recordings by artists including Nina Simone and Luther Vandross. At the age of 15, the younger Springs recorded a demo with her father, who delivered the result to veteran producers Evan Rogers and Carl Sturken (Stephanie Mills, Christina Aguilera, Rihanna). Through the duo's support, Springs secured an audition for Blue Note president Don Was and landed a deal. The artist debuted in September 2014 -- two months after admirer Prince flew her to Minneapolis to perform at Paisley Park -- with a self-titled EP created with the likes of Rogers, Sturken, and Pop & Oak. After she made featured appearances on tracks by Ghostface Killah, Aqualung, and Black Violin, Springs completed her first full-length, Soul Eyes. Released in June 2016 with production from Larry Klein, the album mixed originals and covers and favored lean instrumentation. For her comparatively layered follow-up, Indigo, Springs worked extensively with Karriem Riggins and maintained her connection with Rogers and Sturken as two of her primary co-writers. Issued in September 2018, the album likewise featured interpretations of classic and contemporary songs, from Thom Bell and Linda Creed's "People Make the World Go Round" (popularized by the Stylistics) to Gabriel Garzón-Montano's "6 8." The Women Who Raised Me followed in March 2020. Springs reunited with Klein for the sessions and went in a traditional jazz direction while honoring artists such as Carmen McRae, Roberta Flack, Sade, and Lauryn Hill. Unable to tour behind her third album due to the COVID-19 lockdown, Springs reignited her passion for fixing up classic cars. A few weeks after her father's death in December 2021, she quietly released My Name Is Sheba, a low-key project she made with him that included the duet "Simple Things." Compelled to honor him in song, she wrote "Run Your Race," a stirring ballad that became the title track of her second independent album, released in 2024. In addition to other originals, Run Your Race featured a remake of Billie Eilish's "What Was I Made For?," a song that struck Springs as she watched the closing credits to the film Barbie. Springs then looked back to another Billie, releasing Lady in Satin, a creative tribute to Billie Holiday and her album of the same title, in 2025.
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