Singer/songwriter and New York native Ingrid Michaelson is yet another success story tied to the phenomenal rise of MySpace and proof of the new adage that television is the new radio.
A mere two years ago, Michaelson posted a handful of her ukulele-friendly tunes on her freshly minted MySpace page and quickly attracted fans who were captivated by her quirky Folk melodicism and thoughtfully offbeat lyrics. She self-released Girls and Boys, her debut album, and found fans among the creators of Grey’s Anatomy, who tapped Michaelson for three album tracks (and commissioned her to write an additional song) for the show’s season three finale.
Michaelson was an immediate hit; in the hours after the episode aired, her name and lyrics were the two most searched items on Google. Her TV exposure was further magnified when Old Navy used “The Way I Am” in a fall sweater campaign last year.
Since then, Michaelson has notched some impressive accomplishments: nearly a quarter million in sales of Girls and Boys, nearly three quarters of a million in digital download sales of “The Way I Am,” high profile opening gigs for Dave Matthews and Jason Mraz and her recent involvement in the Stand Up to Cancer fundraising initiative through their use of her song “Be Okay.” The song is the title track of Michaelson’s new fan appreciation CD, featuring unreleased tracks, covers that she’s performed in her live gigs and live versions of Girls and Boys tracks. A portion of the proceeds from "Be Okay" will be donated to Stand Up to Cancer, as will all of the money generated through online and merch table sales of a Michaelson-designed necklace.
You might be tired of that damn sweater song by now, but you can't deny Ingrid Michaelson’s enormous heart and infectious talent. She makes an appearance on the nationally-syndicated Bob and Tom Show Friday morning before her Madison Theater show.
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