People.com Celebrity 'Hide Away' Singer Daya Explains How She Managed Pop Stardom with High School Daya opens up about her dual life while bowling with PEOPLE Now By Dave Quinn Dave Quinn Instagram Twitter Dave Quinn is an Editor for PEOPLE, working across a number of verticals including the Entertainment, Lifestyle and News teams. He joined in 2006 as a Writer/Reporter where he became known for his Bravo and Broadway exclusives across print and digital. Dave is the author of the No. 1 New York Times best-selling book, Not All Diamonds and Rosé: The Inside Story of the Real Housewives from the People Who Lived It. He's appeared on many broadcasts including ABC's Good Morning America, Bravo's Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, E!'s Daily Pop, NBC's New York Live and PEOPLE's own Reality Check, as well as a number of podcasts like Bitch Sesh, Everything Iconic, Watch What Crappens, Hot Off the Mess, Mention It All, and PEOPLE Every Day. Prior to working at PEOPLE, Dave was the chief Theater Reporter for NBC New York and co-host of Entertainment Weekly's acclaimed TV Recaps series. People Editorial Guidelines Published on July 21, 2016 01:10 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Rising pop star Daya will kick off the PEOPLE Now Concert Series Presented by Toyota Music on Thursday, with a performance that will stream live on PEOPLE.com and other Time Inc. digital platforms at 4 p.m. ET. But before the 17-year-old brunette beauty takes the stage, she’s returning to the bowling alley-setting of her “Hide Away” video with PEOPLE Now – and opening up on how she managed her pop stardom with high school. “It was really insane,” she said. “I felt like I was living the best of both worlds, like a little Hannah Montana-action there. “I was doing shows this whole year and taking online classes the whole time,” the Pittsburgh native explained. “It was definitely weird because I was not paying attention to classes at all and then all of a sudden I was like, ‘All right, I’m going to pull four all-nighters here. Let’s go – let’s do this.’ ” Daya did do it, of course. In between gigs with Demi Lovato, Alessia Cara and Tori Kelly, she found the time to study and graduated this year alongside her longtime friends. https://www.instagram.com/p/BGdvFs-uiXV/ RELATED VIDEO: Daya Kicks Off the PEOPLE Now Concert Series Thursday! She also revealed to PEOPLE Now about why she changed her name from Grace for the stage. “I don’t think of it as two different personalities entirely,” she said. “But I do think that Daya is an exaggerated version of myself, so on stage, I’m more animated.” Daya’s PEOPLE Now Concert Series Presented by Toyota Music performance Thursday will be followed by Nathan Sykes on July 28, Beyoncé’s girl group Chloe x Halle on Aug. 11 and Austin and Ally star Laura Marano on Aug. 18.