Macy Gray

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Macy Gray
Background information
Birth name	Natalie Renee McIntyre
Born	September 6, 1967 (age 39)
Origin	Canton, Ohio, United States
Genre(s)	R&B, soul, neo soul
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, record producer, actress
Years active	1999–present
Label(s)	Epic (1999–2004) Geffen (2005–present)
Website	MacyGray.com

Macy Gray (born Natalie Renee McIntyre on September 6, 1967^[1]) is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B, soul, and neo soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress, famed for her raspy voice and a singing style heavily influenced by Miles Davis' ex-wife Betty Davis.

To date, Macy has released three studio albums, one compilation album and a live album — with a fourth studio album, Big, set to be released in March 2007. "Coming Back to You", her latest song, is featured on the soundtrack to the 2006 film Déjà Vu. She has appeared in a number of films including Training Day, Spider-Man, and Idlewild. Gray is best known for her international hit single "I Try", taken from her multi-Platinum debut album On How Life Is.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Discography 2.1 Albums 2.2 Singles 2.3 Single appearances 3 Filmography 3.1 Films 3.2 Television 4 Trivia 5 Awards and nominations 5.1 1999 5.2 2000 5.3 2001 6 See also 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Biography

After her birth in Canton, Ohio and attendance at Western Reserve Academy, Macy Gray began her career after she moved back to Los Angeles, California in 1998. "I've Committed Murder" and "Why Didn't You Call Me" were minor hits there.

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 then collaborated with Fatboy Slim, The Black Eyed Peas, and Slick Rick (on the song "The World Is Yours", from the Rush Hour 2 soundtrack), as well as acting for the first time in Training Day. Gray was booed in 2001 after forgetting the words to the American national anthem.

In the midst of the controversy, Gray's The Id became a commercial failure, largely stalling on the U.S. charts, in spite of appearances by John Frusciante and Erykah Badu, though the single "Sweet Baby" hit number eleven there. Perhaps in fairness to Gray, The Id was released a mere week after the September 11, 2001 attacks. In 2002, she appeared in Spider-Man as herself and worked on Santana's album Shaman, before releasing The Trouble with Being Myself in 2003. A cartoon based on Gray's childhood was being developed at one point, but it never came to fruition.

Gray was married to Tracy Hinds from 1996 to 1998; they had three children together. She opened up a music academy called "The Macy Gray Music Academy" in 2005 and it was the scene of MTV's Punk'd because of black mold in the building.

OutKast and Sleepy Brown are contributing to Gray's new album Big, which is scheduled for release on March 27, 2007.

She was kicked offstage at a concert in Barbados in January 2007 for profanity (which was part of the show), but she wasn't aware that it was against the law in that country. She gave a public apology that night to keep from getting locked up.

Gray also performed voiceovers for the character Seeiah in the Electronic Arts video game SSX Tricky, Gray hasn't been featured in any of the game's sequels.

Macy Gray has three children, 12, 11, and 9.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

Cover	Information
	On How Life Is Released: July 27, 1999 Chart positions: #4 U.S., #9 U.S. R&B, #3 UK, #2 CAN, #19 GER U.S. certification: 3x Platinum U.S. sales: 3 million UK certification: 4x Platinum UK sales: 1.2 million Canadian certification: 3x Platinum Canadian sales: 300,000
	The Id Released: September 18, 2001 Chart positions: #11 U.S., #9 U.S. R&B, #1 UK, #6 CAN, #10 GER U.S. certification: Gold U.S. sales: 500,000 UK certification: Gold UK sales: 100,000 Canadian certification: Platinum Canadian sales: 100,000
	The Trouble with Being Myself Released: July 15, 2003 Chart positions: #44 U.S., #29 U.S. R&B, #17 UK, #46 GER U.S. certification: — U.S. sales: 134,000
	The Very Best of Macy Gray Released: September 7, 2004 Chart positions: #36 UK U.S. certification: — U.S. sales: ?
	Live in Las Vegas Released: March 1, 2005 Chart positions: — U.S. certification: — U.S. sales: ?
	Big Released: March 27, 2007 Chart positions: TBR U.S. certification: TBR UK certification: TBR

[edit] Singles

Year	Single	Album	Chart positions
			U.S.	U.S. R&B	U.S. dance	UK
1999	"Do Something"	On How Life Is	—	63	—	51
	"I Try"		5	2	—	7
2000	"Still"		—	48	—	18
	"Why Didn't You Call Me"		—	100	—	38
2001	"Sweet Baby" (featuring Erykah Badu)	The Id	11	13	—	23
	"Sexual Revolution"		—	—	4	45
2003	"When I See You"	The Trouble with Being Myself	—	57	37	26
	"She Ain't Right for You"		—	52	—	—
2007	"Finally Made Me Happy" (featuring Natalie Cole)	Big	TBR	TBR	TBR	TBR
2007	"Shoo Be Doo (No Words)"	Big	-	71	-	-

[edit] Single appearances

Year	Single	Album	Chart positions
			U.S.	U.S. R&B	U.S. rap	UK
2001	"Demons" (Fatboy Slim featuring Macy Gray)	Halfway Between the Gutter and the Stars The Very Best of Macy Gray	—	—	—	16
	"Geto Heaven Remix T.S.O.I. (The Sound of Illadelph)" (Common featuring Macy Gray)	Like Water for Chocolate	—	61	—	48
	"Request + Line" (The Black Eyed Peas featuring Macy Gray)	Bridging the Gap	63	51	2	31

[edit] Filmography

[edit] Films

Year	Title	Role
2001	Training Day	Sandman's Wife
2002	Spider-Man	Herself
2003	Scary Movie 3	Herself
	Gang of Roses	Assassin
2004	Lackawanna Blues	Pauline
	Around the World in 80 Days	Sleepy Frenchwoman
	Lightning in a Bottle	Herself
2005	The Crow: Wicked Prayer	Carman
	Shadowboxer	Neisha
	Domino	Lashandra Davis
2006	Idlewild	Taffy

[edit] Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Ally McBeal	Herself	"Hope and Glory" (episode 20, season 3)
2002	MDs	Jess	"Wing and a Prayer" (episode 7)
2004	American Dreams	Carla Thomas	"Real-to-Reel" (episode 12, season 2)
	That's So Raven	Rhonda	"Taken to the Cleaners" (episode 4, season 3)
	Blue's Clues	Herself	"Bluestock"
2005	Duck Dodgers	Diva (voice)	"Diva Delivery/Castle High" (episode 10, season 2)
	American Dragon: Jake Long	Trixie's grandmother (voice)	"Act 4, Scene 15" (episode 5, season 1) "Professor Rotwood's Thesis" (episode 8, season 1)
		Miss Jenkinks	"Act 4, Scene 15" (episode 5, season 1)
	1-800-Missing	Cleo	"A Death in the Family" (episode 13, season 3)

[edit] Trivia

• Appeared on the eighth season of Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown, playing for Habitat for Humanity. She finished in third place, behind Robin Tunney and Christopher Meloni, and ahead of Joy Behar and Andy Dick.
• Was a Neopet for a short period of time on the popular virtual pets site of the same name. She was changed into the Kau during July 2000.
• Performed the theme song for the Nickelodeon cartoon As Told by Ginger.
• The song "I Try" was featured in the 1997 film Love Jones, two years before her album was released.
• She Appeared On That's So Raven

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] 1999

Nominations

• Grammy Awards: "Best New Artist" and "Best Female R&B Vocal Performance" ("Do Something")
• Soul Train Music Awards: "Best R&B/Soul Album - Female" (On How Life Is)

[edit] 2000

Wins

• Grammy Awards: "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" ("I Try")
• Brit Awards: "International Breakthrough Act" and "International Female"
• MTV Video Music Awards: "Best New Artist" ("I Try") and "Best Cinematography" ("Do Something")

Nominations

• MTV Video Music Awards: "Best Female Video" and "Best Art Direction" (both for "I Try)"
• Grammy Awards: "Record of the Year" and "Song of the Year" (both for "I Try")
• American Music Awards: "Favorite New Artist - Pop/Rock"

[edit] 2001

Nominations

• MTV Video Music Awards: "Breakthrough Video" ("Geto Heaven Remix T.S.O.I. (The Sound of Illadelph)" — shared with Common) and "Best Hip-Hop Video" ("Request + Line" — shared with The Black Eyed Peas)
• Billboard Music Video Awards: "Best Rap/Hip-Hop Clip of the Year" ("Request + Line" — shared with The Black Eyed Peas); the video also received a nomination for Joseph Kahn for "Director of the Year"^[2]

[edit] See also

• List of African Americans
• List of famous tall women

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Macy Gray on Geffen Records website
• Macy Gray at MySpace
• Macy Gray at All Music Guide
• Macy Gray at the Internet Movie Database
• Macy Gray goes naked for Elton John AIDS Foundation benefit