When it comes to Brandy Norwood and her daughter, Sy’Rai Smith, the apple certainly does not fall from the tree.
The 23-year-old rising singer and actress couldn’t help but gush about her mom’s hands-on support with her forthcoming debut album while walking the red carpet in New York for an event promoting Lifetime’s upcoming slate of holiday films, including “Christmas Everyday,” in which she stars opposite her superstar mother.
“She’s really involved in my music, which I’m literally so blessed to have,” she told People magazine.
When discussing her project, Smith added that beyond helping shape its sound and rollout, the 46-year-old R&B icon also “got really, really brilliant people to work with me on this project.”
This isn’t the duo’s first collaboration, either. They’ve teamed up on several tracks over the years, including “Nothing Without You” from the 2022 “Cheaper by the Dozen” soundtrack, “My Family” from the family compilation album “A Family Business,” and “High Heels” and “Christmas Gift” from Brandy’s seventh and eighth studio albums.
Smith was born in 2002 to Brandy and producer Robert “Big Bert” Smith. As for Brandy, her decades-long career, which began in the early ’90s, has spanned chart-topping R&B and pop hits, starring roles on the big screen, and her hit sitcom, “Moesha.”
In “Christmas Everyday,” which marks the first time she and her daughter will share the screen — as well as Smith’s formal acting debut — the pair play sisters in a playful twist. The film follows Brandy as Francine “Fancy” Ballantine, a successful fashion designer struggling to balance her career, commitments, and family life. Meanwhile, Smith plays Fancy’s high-maintenance, wedding-obsessed sister, while Debbi Morgan co-stars as their strong-willed mother.
“Christmas Everyday” premieres Nov. 29 at 8/7c on Lifetime.
