Anderson .Paak's Background Singers Turn Artists, Stanley Randolph, Cathedral City Supreme, Tour, and Finding Your Own Voice
Alayna Rodgers and Alana Linsey have sung background vocals for some of the most acclaimed live performances in recent memory -- Anderson .Paak, Steve Lacy, Raphael Saadiq, Harry Styles, Madonna, John Legend, The Masked Singer. As GAWD, they stepped out from behind those artists to make their own music, releasing "Cathedral City Supreme" and going on tour with Anderson .Paak while simultaneously opening shows as themselves. The move from background vocalist to featured artist is one of the most significant transitions in music, and very few people make it successfully. GAWD did.
Joining them in this conversation with Elmo is Stanley Randolph, Anderson .Paak's drummer and a key figure in the community that produced GAWD's music. Together, the three speak candidly about what it actually takes to make that leap: the identity shift, the creative process behind "Cathedral City Supreme," the double life of opening a tour and then jumping to the back to sing backgrounds for the headliner the same night, and what it means to finally stand in the center of the stage as yourself after years of making someone else's vision come to life.
"We were always singing. We just finally started singing for ourselves."
The full story of GAWD's transition from background vocalists to artists in their own right: the decision to step forward, the specific moment they knew it was time, and what it actually felt like to begin identifying as artists rather than as the people who make other artists better -- a shift that sounds simple but carries real psychological and professional weight.
The making of GAWD's debut record: the creative process, what they were trying to say, the specific sonic choices that set the music apart from the artists they'd spent years supporting, and what it means to build something that is entirely your own after years of contributing to music that will always be credited to someone else.
The experience of being part of Anderson .Paak's world: what that community taught them about musicianship and stage presence, what .Paak's approach to live performance revealed about the relationship between the headliner and every person behind them, and what they carried forward from that experience into their own work as GAWD.
The specific experience of opening Anderson .Paak's tour as GAWD and then coming back on stage to sing backgrounds for the same audience: the mental and emotional navigation required, what the audiences responded to when they realized the openers were also the background singers, and what that unique dual role revealed about the relationship between serving and leading.
Stanley Randolph's perspective as both a drummer in Anderson .Paak's band and a creative collaborator on GAWD's music: his role in the "Cathedral City Supreme" sessions, what he brought as a producer, and the specific musical relationship between him and the duo that makes the music feel like it comes from a genuine community rather than a professional transaction.
What it is actually like to be a world-class background vocalist: the skills, the visibility, the economic reality, and what it means for your sense of identity as a musician to spend years making other people shine without your name on anything. Alayna and Alana speak honestly about all of it -- the fulfillment and the frustration, and why they ultimately needed to do something that was only theirs.
The story of the decision to become GAWD: the moment they knew it was time, the conversations they had with themselves and with each other, and the specific ways stepping forward as artists changed how they experienced the world of music they had already been living in for years.
On the double tour life: what it was like to open Anderson .Paak's show as GAWD and then come back on stage as background vocalists -- the same night, the same venue, some of the same songs -- and what that experience revealed about the distinct demands of leading versus supporting in a live music context.
Stanley Randolph on producing GAWD: the specific sounds he was chasing, what the duo brought to the sessions that surprised him, and how a community of musicians who already knew each other deeply made a record that sounds like it comes from a real place rather than a brief professional arrangement.
The honest account of being a background vocalist: the skills required, the invisibility, the economic realities, and what Alayna and Alana actually felt about building careers that put them in the rooms where history was made without putting their names on anything that came out of those rooms.
What Anderson .Paak's world taught them: the specific things they absorbed from being part of his band and his vision -- about stagecraft, about presence, about what a live show can be when everyone on that stage is fully invested -- and how those lessons shaped their approach to building GAWD.
Their advice for background vocalists who want more: what they wish someone had told them sooner, the specific steps that made the transition possible, and what they believe about the relationship between mastering the supportive role and finding the confidence to eventually claim a leading one.