Lynae Davis brings an ethereal R&B sound to her storytelling. (Mahrael Boutos @mahrealist)

Lynae Davis is an R&B singer, songwriter, and storyteller with what she describes as an “ethereal R&B” sound.

“I feel like I keep going back to R&B because something about that just feels accurate,” she explains. With gospel roots and a growing interest in alternative sounds, Lynae blends genre exploration with soul and emotional honesty.

Grounded in tradition yet unafraid to push boundaries, Lynae built a musical foundation early—one that continues to evolve through performances in local venues and training at The Los Angeles Recording School. Her influences, Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, and Snoh Aalegra, further shape her genre-fluid sound.

She first learned violin and piano through an after-school program in Houston, Texas, and has since expanded her repertoire to include saxophone, guitar, and ukulele.

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Her time in school choir allowed her to sing in Latin, Japanese, and German, an experience that expanded her understanding of how music conveys meaning beyond words.

“It’s not just that we’re singing this song and …writing off whatever the words are,” she adds, describing the process. “We’re learning how to pronounce it the way it’s meant to be pronounced, but also what the word means, like what this entire phrase means, so that we can actually express the emotions that are put behind it.”

“I feel like I keep going back to R&B because something about that just feels accurate.” – Lynae Davis (Wet Lava Boii @wetlavaboii)

Before pursuing music with intention, Lynae Davis was studying psychology.

“Realistically, things were not falling into place. I kind of just kept feeling very stuck. I wasn’t really sure which direction to move in,” she recalls. She questioned whether music was the right path—until an unexpected turning point arrived during Beyoncé’s Renaissance era while in New York.

“I was finding tons of places to perform, and all of these people who wanted to connect with me,” she says.

She soon returned to California, with a reignited passion, and to a supportive community of friends who helped her gain momentum. Since then, she has performed at The Living Room in downtown Los Angeles and at open mic nights across the city, steadily building her presence on the local scene.

“I really feel like it’s something that I was meant to do,” she affirms, tracing her passion back to the earliest days of songwriting. “Music,” as she describes, “is this thing that I kept coming back to, that I felt like even when I wasn’t performing it, when I was just listening to it, it gave me a certain sense of calm or peace, or made me feel seen when I was frustrated or upset.”

Backstage at the Ivar Theatre during final rehearsal for Los Angeles Recording School LIVE. (Nathan J. Lee/L.A. Sentinel)

Since the age of four, Lynae has written songs and sung, even if only to herself.

“Even when I wasn’t particularly getting compliments, sometimes I was getting made fun of, I was being passed over for solos time and time again.” Still, she never stopped pursuing music.

“Would I be happier,” is the repetitive lyrical question Lynae confronts in her soon-to-be-released single “Happier”—a song that explores inner peace. The riff continues “if I could love myself the way I’ve been loving everybody else?”—a line that anchors the track with emotional depth.

This past fall, she brought “Happier” to life at the historic Ivar Theatre, captivating an audience of friends, peers, and fellow classmates with her smooth, rich vocals and emotive delivery.

With her first solo effort “Fame,” a nearly three-minute track exploring the emotional cost of chasing success, love, and the urge to hold on, Lynae continues to show range as a multidimensional artist—anchored in skill, shaped by experience, and driven by something unmistakably sincere.

“At the end of the day, I just want to write songs that feel real — songs that connect with people,” she concludes.

Follow Lynae’s journey on Instagram at lynae.nae.