The Morning After

Ingrid Michaelson looks beyond her overnight success

By Sean Nelson
Special to MSN Music

If you've spent much time watching television in the last year, chances are good you've heard Ingrid Michaelson's music. Neither revolutionary nor formulaic, this 28-year-old pop songsmith's craft bears comparison to many of her female contemporaries and forebears: Fiona Apple, Lisa Loeb, Regina Spektor and Juliana Hatfield have all been mentioned. But something about Michaelson's music — the deft melodies, the spare, smart lyrics, the deceptive simplicity — stands out from the pack.

At least that's what the music supervisor of "Grey's Anatomy" thought. The romantic drama has proven to be a proving ground for indie artists, and Michaelson is the ultimate example. No fewer than four of her songs were featured on the third season of the popular prime-time drama, including one original, "Keep Breathing," that was commissioned specifically for the show. Of the four, the righteously love-struck gem "The Way I Am," has become the standout — so much so that Old Navy licensed it for use in a new national ad campaign. And now it's a bona fide hit. (And selling well enough in this age of sagging record sales to land her on the cover of Billboard.)

Time was that breakout independent artists had to rely on radio airplay (if they were lucky) and word of mouth (if they were good) to build a following. Now, Michaelson, who is both good and lucky, and who was teaching in a children's theater a year ago, has things working the other way around. Radio, along with VH1, who never heard of her self-produced, self-released album, "Girls and Boys" when it came out last fall, are running to add it to their rotations. And word of mouth is following her sold-out personal appearances. She's on tour through mid-April at least, and from the looks of things, a lot longer than that.

She talked to MSN Music on the phone from San Francisco, after a morning of radio interviews and performances, en route to another sold-out show.

MSN Music: Before all this stuff happened, what was your dream scenario for life as a musician. Was it like this?

Ingrid Michaelson: Well I was directing a children's theater group, so I kind of thought that making a record that I was proud of and write songs that I loved and put it out into the world and see what happened. And I pressed a thousand copies. I thought it would be awesome if something happened with it, but it wasn't like I thought my life would end if it didn't.

And when did you become more ambitious?

After I got my first placement on "Grey's Anatomy." People started buying my records and coming to my shows, and I thought, "Hmmm ... maybe this could take off."

A lot of bands are jockeying to get those placements, it's true, but they're still no guarantee of success. Have you given any thought to why your stuff has been striking such a chord?

I guess it just depends on how prominent the song is, and the words and how it connects with an audience. My songs really seem to connect with people. That's the only theory I can come up with. I know plenty of musicians who are really incredible who never meet with any success. I don't know why. Right songs, right words, right audience, right time, I guess.

Do you ever feel like you're watching it happen to someone else?

Oh, totally.

How does touring affect your relationship to your songs. I ask because your music is about personal things, and people are responding to it so personally — is it a challenge to maintain a connection to the material night after night?

It can be. I mean, it's easy for me to start thinking about eight other things when I'm onstage performing a song.

(Story Continues On Next Page...)

Page 1 of 2

Next