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Ingrid Michaelson rarely gets recognized when she enters a store in her Brooklyn neighborhood. But once she hands over her credit card, the clerk often lights up and excitedly shares a bit of trivia: "Did you know there's a singer named Ingrid Michaelson?" This reaction suits her well, as Michaelson has gained both critical acclaim and a devoted fan base thanks to her talent for creating unique, beautiful songs ("The Way I Am," "Maybe," "Keep Breathing") that linger in your mind. Her single "Parachute" perfectly exemplifies this, demonstrating a smooth evolution in melody and rhythm while maintaining the signature sound her fans adore. While image has never been her focus, her librarian-chic style has nonetheless earned praise in The New York Times.
Michaelson's grassroots approach has been remarkably successful: her music, often centered on love and relationships, has been steadily featured on television for about four years, appearing in an Old Navy commercial and numerous episodes of Grey's Anatomy, as well as other shows like One Tree Hill, Ugly Betty, and Scrubs, and on VH1's "You Outta Know" artist spotlight. The New York Times marveled at her journey "from obscurity to fame," Billboard hailed her as the face of the new music industry, and NPR declared, "Ingrid Michaelson is everywhere." Her release of the soaring, joyful "Parachute" — a standalone track available only as a download — marks a milestone in her career. After turning 30, she felt a strong desire to grow as a songwriter. "I feel like I've exhausted so many possibilities of writing as a female singer-songwriter," she says. For a year and a half, a big, catchy song played in her mind, leading her to collaborate with writer-producer Marshall Altman to bring "Parachute" to life. The song’s fantastical video, directed by Adria Petty (known for work with Beyoncé, Regina Spektor, and Duffy), features Michaelson as a modern Amelia Earhart flying through space to save dying planets, reflecting the increasingly hopeful tone of her lyrics.
Luck and timing have played a role throughout her dynamic career. Raised in Staten Island by classical composer Carl Michaelson, she began piano lessons at five and performed in plays during grade school. She studied musical theater at Binghamton University in upstate New York, where she sang in an a cappella group. After graduating, she nurtured her musical passion by performing at a coffeehouse where she worked as a barista. While teaching theater to children, she received a pivotal call in 2006 from music manager Lynn Grossman, who discovered her homemade music on MySpace.
Within months, Michaelson’s songs appeared on Grey’s Anatomy, including the flowing "Breakable" and the wistful "Keep Breathing." An Old Navy music supervisor happened to see the episode featuring the latter and chose the sweet, calypso-tinged "The Way I Am" for a commercial, which eventually went platinum. Radio play followed just as she released her 2007 full-length debut, "Girls and Boys," on her own label Cabin 24. This all unfolded within roughly a year. "We really had a lot of luck, and then we worked really hard to be in the position we're in nowadays," Michaelson says. Since then, she has released the 2008 EP "Be OK" and the follow-up album "Everybody," both on Cabin 24, each serving as rich sources for music licensing.
Her third full-length album, set for release in 2011 on Cabin 24 in partnership with Mom+Pop, will explore themes of life and death. One track is tentatively titled "The Battle of Brooklyn," inspired by a Revolutionary War skirmish. Musically, the upcoming album will blend influences "somewhere between Judy Garland's music and Beyoncé; and St. Vincent," Michaelson says excitedly, adding, "not that I'm gonna come out and have an alter ego!
