Macy Gray

Macy Gray is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress, famed for her distinctive raspy voice, and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday and Betty Davis.

Gray released six studio albums, and received five Grammy Award nominations, winning one. She is best known for her international hit single "I Try", taken from her multi-platinum debut album On How Life Is.

Her debut album, On How Life, was released in the summer of 199 and became a worldwide smash. Singles from the album include "Do Something" and "I Try" which was one of the biggest singles of 1999. Along with "Still" and "Why Didn't You Call Me", the album went triple platinum in the U.S., quadruple platinum in the UK, and triple platinum in Canada.

In 2001, Gray won the Grammy Award for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" for "I Try", which was also nominated for "Song of the Year" and "Record of the Year". She collaborated with Fatboy Slim, The Black Eyed Peas, and Slick Rick for the song "The World Is Yours", from the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack.

Gray's The Id was released in 2001 and featured appearances by John Frusciante and Erykah Badu on the single "Sweet Baby". The album peaked at number eleven on the Billboard 200.

In 2002, she appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD in tribute to Nigerian afropop pioneer Fela Kuti, Red Hot and Riot. She appeared on "Water No Get Enemy" alongside prominent hip-hop and R&B artists.

She recorded a duet with Zucchero called "Like The Sun (From Out Of Nowhere)", which featured Jeff Beck on guitar released in 2004. Her song "Time of My Life" was included in the soundtrack to 8 Mile.

In 2003, Gray released her third studio album, The Trouble with Being Myself. The lead single, "When I See You", became a radio hit in the U.S. and a top forty hit in the UK.

The Very Best of Macy Gray was released in 2004 and Live in Las Vegas in 2005. She appeared on the soundtrack to the film Chicago with Queen Latifah and Lil' Kim on "Cell Block Tango/He Had it Comin'."

In March 2007, Gray released her fourth studio album, Big, with two singles, "Finally Made Me Happy" and "Shoo Be Doo". "What I Gotta Do" was featured on the Shrek the Third soundtrack.

Gray's fifth studio album was The Sellout which included the singles "Beauty in the World" and "Lately".

In 2011, Gray signed a deal with 429 Records and started recording a series of covers for her next studio album Covered which was released in March 2012. The album's first single is "Here Comes The Rain Again".