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Ingrid Ellen Michaelson (born December 8, 1979) is an American singer and songwriter who deals primarily in hybrid pop genres.
As of June 2024, she has released eight studio albums, a compilation album, and thirteen singles, including platinum hits "The Way I Am," "Girls Chase Boys," and "You and I."
Early life
Ingrid Ellen Michaelson was born on December 8, 1979, in New York City.[2] Her father, Carl Michaelson, was a manager of copyrights for the publishing company Carl Fischer Music and a composer on the side.[2] Her mother, Elizabeth Egbert, was a sculptor, of Dutch ancestry.[4]
As a child, Michaelson performed in a musical theatre group called Staten Island Kids On Stage.[5] She took up piano at age four, and trained until age seven at Manhattan's Third Street Music School. She continued piano at the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island's Dorothy Delson Kuhn Music Institute. While there, she met vocal coach Elizabeth McCullough, who worked with her through high school.[6]
In 2006, Michaelson independently released her second album, Girls and Boys. The album, like her previous music, was streamed on Myspace. A music producer from the ABC drama Grey's Anatomy found her music online. After being contacted by the music producer, Michaelson began to be approached by several record companies. Wanting to retain all of the rights she had as an independent artist, Michaelson developed a deal with Original Signal Recordings, acting as the marketing and distribution arm for Michaelson's label. Through Original Signal, Michaelson re-released Girls and Boys into mainstream marketing on September 18, 2007. It peaked at #63 on the Billboard charts[7] and received positive reviews from critics.[8][9] "The Way I Am", a song from the album, was featured in an Old Navy commercial. In less than 3 weeks, more than 65 appearances in prime-time had been made, including 17 season premieres.[10] In 2007, Ingrid played her first Holiday Hop, an annual Christmas concert in New York City.
In 2006, Michaelson teamed up with William Fitzsimmons on his album Goodnight, which was released that same year.
2008–10: Be OK, Everybody, and Human Again
In October 2008, Michaelson released her third album, and first compilation album, Be OK, a charity record to support cancer research.[11]
In December 2008, Michaelson and Sara Bareilles released "Winter Song." The song was featured on The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs, a compilation of holiday tracks sung by a lineup of female singer-songwriters. Michaelson and Bareilles performed "Winter Song" for Barack Obama and his family at the National Christmas Tree Lighting in December 2010.
In 2009, Michaelson released her fourth album, Everybody. Everybody debuted on #18 on the Billboard charts.[citation needed] It features the single "Maybe".
In 2010, Michaelson co-wrote the song "Parachute" with Marshall Altman for British singer Cheryl Cole. It was featured on Cole's debut solo album 3 Words, peaking at #5 on the UK Singles Chart. Michaelson initially believed the track was "so poppy" that she could not release it herself. However, after the song was reworked by "Everybody" producer Dan Romer to make a more "interesting, funky production", Michaelson released the song as a personal single.[12]
On January 24, 2012, Michaelson released her fifth album, Human Again. Human Again debuted at #5 on the Billboard charts[which?] and received positive reviews, with critics praising the album's unique sound.[4] To promote the album, Michaelson embarked on The Human Again Tour, with three North American legs, and one international leg.
In 2012, with her husband and fellow musician Greg Laswell, Michaelson co-wrote and sang the duet "Landline", which appeared on his album of the same name.
2014–2017: Lights Out, It Doesn't Have To Make Sense, and Alter Egos
On February 4, 2014, Michaelson released the lead single, "Girls Chase Boys", from her album Lights Out. The song reached #52 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Afterlife" and "Time Machine" were released as the second and third singles.
On April 25, 2014, Lights Out was released. The deluxe edition, which was released in November later that year, contains an additional six bonus tracks.
On April 29, 2016, Michaelson released the song "Hell No".[14] It served as the lead single from her seventh studio album, It Doesn't Have to Make Sense, which was released on August 26, 2016.[15] In July, she released a second video of "Hell No," which incorporates members of the Deaf West theater company performing the lyrics in American Sign Language.[16] In support of the album, Michaelson embarked on the Hell No Tour beginning in Cincinnati on October 6, 2016.[17]
In 2016, Michaelson and AJR co-wrote their single "The Lotto". AJR would go on to support Michaelson on the Hell No Tour.[18]
On May 12, 2017, Michaelson released the five-track EP Alter Egos. It consists of re-worked songs from It Doesn't Have to Make Sense with guest vocalists on each track. The EP featured collaborations with Sara Bareilles, Tegan and Sara, AJR, Lucius, and The Civil Wars' John Paul White.[19]
In 2017, Michaelson contributed "Smallest Light" and "Stay Right Where You Are" to the soundtrack for the film The Space Between Us.[20]
On May 10, 2019, she released "Missing You", which served as the lead single off of her ninth studio album, Stranger Songs. Michaelson first announced the album in January 2018, writing that it would be inspired by the Netflix series Stranger Things.[27] The album was released on June 28, 2019.
In 2020, Ingrid featured on an acoustic version of Ben Rector's song "It Would Be You."[28] In 2021, Ingrid Michaelson collaborated with British-Pakistani singer Zayn Malik on the single "To Begin Again," which released on March 17.
In July 2020, Michaelson was nominated for her first Emmy Award in the Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics category for the song "Build it Up", written specifically for the finale of Hulu's hit miniseries Little Fires Everywhere.[29][30] Michaelson partnered with collaborators Juan Ariza and Gabriel Mann to compose an original song "Not Gone," a cover of "Closer to Fine" and the score for the Hulu miniseries Tiny Beautiful Things.[31] Michaelson served as executive music producer for Apple TV+’s Slumberkins, creating original songs for the series with her bandmates Allie Moss, Hannah Winkler, and Billy Libby.[32]
In 2022, Michaelson featured on Ariza's song "The Sky and Me." Later that year, Michaelson collaborated with A Great Big World on an original song called "It's Almost Christmas," released on November 11, 2022.[38]
In 2024, Michaelson made a guest appearance in Season 3 of Netflix's Girls5Eva, playing the role of Pixie, a folk singer-songwriter.[39]
Michaelson released a string of singles from her album For the Dreamers, including "Love Is" with Jason Mraz on February 2,[40] a cover of the song "What a Wonderful World" on May 23, and "It Never Ends" on May 30. The album was released August 23, 2024.
Band members
Past and present band members include Allie Moss (guitar and background vocals), Hannah Winkler (keys and background vocals), Chris Kuffner (bass), Bess Rogers (guitar), Saul Simon MacWilliams (keys), Billy Libby (guitar and background vocals), Sarab Singh (drums), and Elliot Jacobson (drums).
^Werde, Bill (January 12, 2008). "Ingrid Michaelson: The Way She is – the End of the Old Music Business? Or the Face of the New One?". Billboard. pp. 24–26.