Just a heads up: this artist has
songs that are explicit so listen with caution.
You may recognize the name Skylar
Grey from her many hip hop collaborations: ‘Words I Never Said’ by Lupe Fiasco,
‘I Need A Doctor’by Dr. Dre and Eminem, and ‘Coming Home’ by Diddy Dirty Money.
Her biggest success so far has been writing the lyrics to Rihanna’s ‘Love The
Way You Lie’, but she’s also a singer in her own right.
Music has always been a big part of Skylar
Grey’s life. When she was a kid she sang folk songs with her mom. As she got
older she learned to play the piano and write songs. She released one album,
“Like Blood Like Honey”, under the name Holly Brook (her given first name and
middle name) that was mainly soft, piano driven singer/songwriter music. She
was also featured on the song “Where’d You Go” by Fort Minor (the hip hop side
project of Link Park member Mike Shinoda).
Unfortunately, her record label was
hoping for higher album sales so she was dropped from her record deal. Broke
and disillusioned with the music industry, the singer went off to live in a
cabin in the woods. Out in the wilderness it is every man or woman for
themselves. The singer felt very empowered by being able to do everything for
herself; she felt like a new person, which is why she decided to change her
name to Skylar Grey.
Grey never stopped writing music
when she was in the woods – her cabin in the woods is actually where she wrote
the smash song ‘Love The Way You Lie’. After coming out of the seclusion, Grey
took her do it yourself attitude with her when she embarked on taking another
stab at a career as a solo artist. She says that nobody is going to work as
hard for you as you are and she likes to produce her own vocals so she can get
them just right.
At first, Grey’s new album was
going to be mainly a collaboration between herself and producer Alex Da Kid,
who produced ‘Love The Way You Lie’, and was to be titled “Invinsible”. The
story behind the album title is that Grey was talking with shock rocker Marilyn
Manson about not knowing what to name the album; they discussed the second single
‘Invisible’ and how the album was to be a story of how the singer grew to be
who she is now and learned to stop being invisible. Manson suggested that the
album title be invincible but spell with an “s” instead of a “c” as a way of
combining the words “invisible” and “invincible”. Unfortunately, Grey felt
rushed and pressured because of the buzz brought about by ‘Love The Way You
Lie’ and her hip hop collaborations; the singer decided to push back the
release of her album so that she could take her time crafting the songs. After
putting more work into the album and getting rapper Eminem involved in helping
produce the album, Grey decided to scrap “Invinsible” and announced that her
album would be called “Don’t Look Down”.
‘C’mon Let Me Ride ft Eminem’ is
the first single off “Don’t Look Down”; it’s a very cheeky song that shows
Skylar’s sarcastic side. The sexual single cover and lyrics put off many fans
because they feared that Grey had sold out; it isn’t until the bridge that the
singer reveals “I’m just f**king with you… I’m not like the other girls in this
town. They make me *retches* in my mouth.”
If ‘C’mon Let Me Ride’ isn’t really
your thing then don’t sweat it. Grey and her team know that she has many
different sides to her personality so they’ve chosen different singles to release
before the album so that you can get a feel for what you’re in for with the
full album. The second single is entitled ‘Final Warning’ and its lyrics are
inspired by the same tumultuous relationship that lead to her penning ‘Love The
Way You Lie”. In the song, Grey is sick of the troubled relationship; she sings
“Someone’s gonna get hurt. And it’s not gonna be me.”
The third single, ‘Wear Me Out’, is
piano driven and is similar to the music she made under the moniker ‘Holly
Brook’ but the addition of the hard hip hop drums distinguishes ‘Wear Me Out’
from the singer’s material as Brook. The lyrics are beautiful and clever but I
don’t want to spoil any of them so you’ll have to listen to the song to hear
them.
The fourth single “White Suburban”
was released on July 2nd. It will be the last song on the album because it is
piano driven and has no drums; Grey thought it would be best for last so that
the songs flowed together more naturally and also so the song can let you down
slowly. As for the lyrics in the song, they take you along for the ride as Grey
reminisces about the past; “I knew you before. Took a lifetime to forget. As my
eyes meet yours I take all I can get.”
Now that you have a pretty good
idea of what Skylar Grey is all about, you should pick up her album “Don’t Look
Down”, which will be released on July 9th. If you’re interested in a
deluxe version of the album, Target has 2 exclusive bonus tracks on their
version of the album. The bonus tracks are entitled ‘Weirdo’ and ‘Beautiful
Nightmare’.
Let me know what you think of
Skylar Grey – what is your favorite song that she’s released? Also feel free to
let me know which albums you’re looking forward to hearing in the coming
months. Thanks for reading and, as always, comment responsibly.
Take care,
Nico Black
Skylar Grey’s website: http://www.skylargreymusic.com/tour/
Skylar Grey’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SkylarGrey
Skylar Grey’s Youtube channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/SkylarGreyVEVO
