Her name may be Macy Gray, but there’s nothing lackluster about this American diva with a signature, smoky voice.
Born in 1968 in Canton, Ohio, Gray got her start singing in coffee shops and cafés in Los Angeles before earning a record deal in 1998 for what would become her smash debut, On How Life Is, which featured the hit single "I try," a track that established Gray as a new leading light in American music, with an air of playful romance and her inimitable voice. Gray went on to win a Grammy for the song in 2001, and collaborations with musicians as wide-ranging as Fatboy Slim and Slick Rick soon followed.
Despite, or perhaps because of, such early success, Gray was unable to follow up with equal efforts in the following years, and her next albums, The Id (2001) and The trouble with being Myself (2003) sold relatively poorly. although not huge hits, both albums include some timeless tracks, including "Sweet Baby," from The Id, featuring Erykah Badu and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante. It’s a song that evinces the best of Gray’s sound: at once soul-pop and funky, Gray has the ability to find deep grooves and touching romantic incantations in basic pop formulas.
The trouble with being Myself fared better with critics, but was still not as popular as Gray’s earlier work. The album showed Gray widening her approach to songwriting, bringing in flighty funk guitar on "When I See You," which showed a level of production that the singer had eschewed on earlier recordings.
With the release of Big in 2007, Gray began what many perceived as a comeback, and indeed the album, several tracks of which were featured in hit films like Shrek, helped her reach a wider audience, in part because of the production of will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas and Justin Timberlake, both of whom are also featured on the album. Big was the slickest Gray album to date, and tracks like "Finally made Me Happy" show the singer comfortable in full diva form, her voice slightly smoothed into the delivery of a hipper Aretha Franklin. Gray seemed to truly have hit her stride.
Released in 2010, The Sellout proves that Gray has truly come into her own as a pop diva, and furthermore shows she has been accepted into the mainstream, with several hit singles featured in various commercials and promotional campaigns for companies such as Microsoft. Gray herself has acknowledged the change, saying, "After my last album, I got it into my head that maybe I should do something really commercial, like I should do a straight pop album … but it wasn’t natural for me, and I didn’t enjoy it, and I ended up resigning into what I do best."
"[The album] is about all the mountains I’ve been climbing to be where I want to be in my personal and professional life," she said.
Gray certainly has gone through ups and downs in her career, but The Sellout is a promising return to form, and more than that, the album points to new directions in the singer’s career, exemplifying an eventful experience in life and music without sacrificing the tender naivety tinged with sexual allure that helped make her a hit in the first place. "Beauty in the World" is case in point, on which Gray sings, "there is beauty in the world, shake your booty, boys and girls," lines which sum up the optimism and groove of her best music.
Gray visits Prague with more than a decade of musical experience behind her. Reports from her worldwide tour have been positive thus far, with Gray and her backup band in fine form playing a set peppered with the best of her back catalogue as well as tracks from The Sellout. KC Vltavska offers a rare chance to see this bona fide diva in an intimate setting.
Stephan Delbos can be reached atsdelbos@praguepost.com
Macy Gray – Stage – Night & Day – The Prague Post
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