It has been just over 25 years since American singer Macy Gray released her album ‘On How Life Is.’ Her 1999 debut introduced listeners to her raspy voice, and her RnB and soul rhythm.
Carried by the hit single ‘I Try’, the record sold more than three million copies in the United States and an estimated seven million copies worldwide.
The singer is now revisiting her iconic, best-selling album with a 25th anniversary tour across Europe and the United States beginning in June.
“I think it’s a great record. We’ve been listening to it because we’re going on tour to celebrate it. So, I listened to it for the first time like all the way down in a while, and it’s really great”, she said.
“Like I get it. I get what all the fuss was about, and it’s just interesting to hear my voice 25 years ago because, of course, the voice changes as you grow up.”
Macy Gray released 10 studio albums throughout her career, the latest, ‘Ruby’, in 2018. She also became known for her parts in various films, including in Training Day alongside Denzel Washington (2001), and in the 2012 thriller The Paperboy.
But Macy Gray remains most famous for her distinctive voice. She won the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for ‘I Try’ in 2001.
“I knew my voice was different and I knew I sang differently style-wise than most people”, she said. “When I was coming up, the big singers were like Mariah Carey and Whitney, of course, and it was like the season of the belt.”
“Everybody had these big beautiful voices and I just didn’t sing like that or when I belted it didn’t sound like them”, she recalled. “So I really worked on just making my voice work, giving my voice a style that would work, where I didn’t I have to belt and I could still tell stories.”
On tour, Macy Gray is expected to sing some of her newer material, but she will also perform ‘On How Life Is’ in its entirety.
Credit: African News
