Ingrid Michaelson – Lights Out (2014)

Michaelson blazed her own trail by independently issuing her proper debut, the engaging Girls and Boys, in 2006; following the inclusion of her music in several episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, she then released a remastered version of the album on her own Cabin 24 Records in January 2007. Three months later, she won a national songwriting contest sponsored by Mountain Stage, a radio program produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting and distributed worldwide. «The Way I Am» was then picked up by Old Navy, who used it to soundtrack one of their clothing commercials, and Michaelson began making headlines as one of the country’s most promising independent artists. A benefit project comprised of live recordings, new songs, and rarities, Be OK was released in 2008. Michaelson joined the Hotel Cafe Tour that fall in support of the album, whose proceeds went toward cancer research, and later toured Europe alongside Jason Mraz.

For her «proper» follow-up to Girls and Boys, Ingrid Michaelson retreated to a Manhattan studio alongside producer Dan Romer. 40 newly composed songs were whittled down to a total of 12, with more emphasis being paid to the songwriter’s peppier material. Featuring a string section on several songs, 2009’s Everybody proved to be Michaelson’s most expansive, confident effort to date, and she followed its release with another cross-country fall tour. In 2012, Michaelson returned with her fifth studio album, Human Again with production from David Kahne (Paul McCartney, Regina Spektor, Stevie Nicks, The Bangles) and featuring the single, «Ghost.» ~ Katherine Fulton & Andrew Leahey, Rovi