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Like mother, like daughter!
Sy’Rai Smith, the daughter of Brandy Norwood and Robert “Big Bert” Smith, is opening up about the support she’s received for her music career. The singer and actress tells PEOPLE at the “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” holiday event in New York City that her mom is “really involved” with the release of her debut album.
Smith, 23, says Brandy is featured on and vocally producing the upcoming album. She continues to tease that her mom “got really, really brilliant people to work with me on this project.”
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The singer shares that it was her mom’s idea to come on board. “She’s really involved in my music, which I’m literally so blessed to have,” she says.
The mother-daughter duo previously collaborated on the songs “Nothing Without You” from the 2022 Cheaper by the Dozen soundtrack, “My Family” from the compilation album A Family Business, and “High Heels” and “Christmas Gift” from Brandy’s seventh and eight albums.
Brandy, 46, is well known for her work in the studio and on screen. She released her self-titled album in 1994 that contained the singles “I Wanna Be Down” and “Baby.” Years later, she won a Grammy for her 1998 duet “The Boy Is Mine” with Monica.
Brandy has released a total of eight LPs, including her latest, a Christmas album in 2023.
The star played the title character in the sitcom Moesha for six seasons from 1996 to 2001. In 1997, she lent her triple-threat skills to the television movie musical Cinderella, opposite Whitney Houston. Her other screen roles include 1998’s I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, 2016’s The Perfect Match and 2024’s Descendants: The Rise of Red.
Brandy made her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart in Chicago in 2017.
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Brandy and her daughter will star as sisters in the upcoming Lifetime movie Christmas Everyday, as part of Lifetime’s “It’s a Wonderful Lifetime” programming. The movie will mark Smith’s acting debut, and the first time the mother-daughter pair have ever shared the screen.
Christmas Everyday follows Brandy as fashion designer Francine “Fancy” Ballantine as she struggles to balance her career with family responsibilities. Smith, meanwhile, plays Fancy’s bridezilla sister. The movie also stars Debbi Morgan, who plays the siblings’ mother.
Smith is thrilled for her role in the holiday flick, but mentions that she wants to follow in her mom’s footsteps and one day perform on stage.
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“I definitely love acting,” she says. “I want to do Broadway. That was where I wanted to do my acting debut, but obviously I am blessed to do it on screen. Broadway would be so cool. I’m manifesting it.”
Christmas Everyday premieres Nov. 29, 2025 8/7c on Lifetime.
