Marié Digby - You Give Me Something

This is me singing my version of You Give Me Something by james Morrison. His version just kills me.. it's so gorgeous.. he sings it even better live than on the actual recording!

Marie Digby Takes Music Career in Hand, Online!

After stall, enterprising artist gets notice with YouTube vids

On "Miss Invisible," the autobiographical song that got Marié (pronounced Ma-re-AY) Digby her major-label record deal when it won the Pantene Pro-Voice Music Competition in 2004, the 25-year-old singer-songwriter relates the feelings of that friendless girl in school who just seems to haunt the halls:

She just goes unnoticed

As the crowd passes by.

And she'll pretend to be busy

When inside she just wants to cry.

"I didn't have any friends whatsoever," says Digby of the song's roots in her own junior high school experience. "I hated lunch because that was when it really stood out that I didn't have anyone to talk to. I think that's when I realized how much music meant to me. That's what got me through those years."

Ironically, Digby is getting plenty of attention these days as one of the first music artists to break big on the online video-sharing site YouTube. But in 2007, when Digby first posted a handful of low-tech performance clips on the site, it was a desperation move for an artist who thought her career had stalled.

After winning the Pantene contest, Digby signed with Hollywood Records and finished her debut album, Unfold, in late 2006. The record, a winning, intimate pop rock effort, then languished on a shelf while Hollywood execs figured when and how to release it.

Digby was stuck in limbo, playing whatever gigs she could muster in her native Los Angeles before "the same 12 people every time, who I begged to come out in the first place." Taking matters into her own hands, she asked her label for an Apple laptop computer and a copy of the professional video editing software Final Cut Pro with the intention of making her own music videos with her film student sister. All she got was the laptop. So Digby just set the computer on her coffee table, turned on the built-in camera, and recorded herself playing against the backdrop of her cream-colored couch.

"I was trying to do a good mix of originals and cover tunes," Digby says. "The whole point of doing cover tunes was I wanted new traffic coming to my site. I wanted people who had never heard of me to give me a shot and listen to me sing and see if they liked me or not. So I was trying to pick songs that were on the pop charts and were just beginning to climb the charts so that people were already putting these songs titles into a search."

The strategy worked phenomenally. Digby posted two covers, a version of Britney Spears' "Gimme More" and Rihanna's "Umbrella." Both became viral video hits, with "Umbrella" drawing most of the traffic, almost 8 million views to date. Overall Digby is currently the eighth most subscribed-to artist on YouTube.

Latching onto Digby's online success, in April Hollywood Records finally released Unfold with a studio version of Digby's Rihanna cover added. The album debuted at No. 29 on the Billboard 200 chart.

"I don't want to take anything away from anybody else, but I feel like if I hadn't done the YouTube thing, I don't even know what would have happened to my record," says Digby, whose music has subsequently been featured on TV shows like "The Hills" and "Smallville."

Digby has never gotten any reaction from Rihanna herself, but she hopes the 20-year-old singer is pleased.

"I think the fact that my cover got any sort of attention is just testament to how good a song it was and what a good job she did as an artist performing it," Digby says. "When I first heard 'Umbrella' on the radio I thought this is just such a different sounding pop song. ... I thought it would sound good if it was stripped down to acoustic guitar, and it did."

Now, of course, Digby has to sink or swim on her own efforts. She is currently on tour with Gavin DeGraw, working in solo dates like her Saturday appearance in Memphis at Newby's, whenever she can. In August the singer, who is half Japanese, travels to that country for some shows and to spend time with family.

Being on the road and playing every night has inspired her to begin working on the follow-up to Unfold, but even after two years, her debut still retains its magic.

"When I finished Unfold I loved it and worried as time went on I wouldn't be as attached to it," she say. "But I can still say it's the album of my dreams."


source: commercialappeal - Mark Jordan

Internet Sensation: Marie Digby

Emerging singer Marie Digby is the sensation with the beautiful voice and unique look who’s viral video has become one of youtube’s most viewed videos. You might know her by the acoustic version of Rihanna's hit song, Umbrella.

ASIANCE: How did you get started?
Marie: I've been into music my whole life but I started writing when I was 15. I never wrote for the intention of performing. When I was a senior in high school, I decided to try out for the talent show and I couldn't find a singer so I did it myself.

ASIANCE: What was your first onstage performance like?
Marie: I remember they had me sitting on a stool in front of red curtains. My heart was pounding and I could hear the noise of the curtain and then I could see hundreds of faces and my family. I got a standing ovation and it was my first taste of what I got.

ASIANCE: We heard that you went to college for a year. How was that?
Marie: I went to college for one year and it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up. I had a great time and made great friends. I had to go to college to find out what I needed to do. This was about 5 years ago.

I went to UC Berkeley and I was going to major in philosophy. It was there that I had the best time. Everyone is a freshmen and everyone is open to meeting new people. I made the best friends in my life from college.

ASIANCE: Did you ever perform in the bars and clubs up north in San Francisco?
Marie: No, I didn’t but I was flying back home to LA to perform.

I started in open mics playing in Mexican restaurants, the Whiskey, the Roxy--pretty much everywhere. You need to start with open mic and then you need to wait around for your name to be called. You get to go up on stage and play one song and if they like you enough, they invite you to play one show.

ASIANCE:How has youtube changed your life?
Marie: Everything exploded after Youtube. I didn't realize the marketing power of it. Youtube is very global and I feel like I’m reaching so many people in different countries. New people are constantly finding your page.

Now, I'm on the radio, I've done tv shows so its pretty crazy. My goal was to pick top 20 songs whether or not I liked them. I knew if I did cover songs, I knew people would find me. It was just luck, good timing.

I started the youtube videos because even though I was signed with the label, I was afraid they were going to sit on my album. I knew it was up to me to find an audience. It's working better than I thought.

I've sang Maroon 5, James Morrison, the popular songs of the summer of 2007.

ASIANCE: What would you be if you weren’t a singer?
Marie: If I weren't a singer, I would be doing something in the arts. I couldn't imagine doing a desk job. I think I would fail miserably. I think I have a secret passion for gardening, maybe when I'm an old lady.

ASIANCE: Tell us about your heritage.
Marie: My mom is Japanese and she came here in her 20s. I think I got lucky because a lot of half kids don't speak both languages, but I do. My dad made a decision to teach us Japanese as a first language when we were little. I didn’t learn English till I was four.

My parents enrolled me in Asahi Gakuen, which is a Japanese Saturday School. It’s primarily for Japanese American kids. I went every Saturday even though I didn't want to go. I missed so many birthday parties but I learned a lot.

ASIANCE: Would you ever sing a song in Japanese?
Marie: Definitely, I think one of my goals is to be successful in Japan. I've noticed that my shows, 80 to 90 percent of my fans are Asian American. I feel like I'm really being embraced.

ASIANCE: What’s a typical day in your life like?
Marie: I wake up around 10 or 11. I go to sleep late. I check all my YouTube and MySpace emails in the morning, maybe do a video or 2. Then, I'll go to band practice for a while. Then, I'll meet my friends up for dinner. Then I'll write some music.

ASIANCE: Do you book all your shows yourself?
Marie: The last show I booked for myself. I ended up opening for a death metal band and it was awful. It’s nice because when I didn't have anything going on, I was happy booking my own shows. Now it's nice to have help because I can't keep track of everything by myself.

ASIANCE: Any favorite restaurants or food?
Marie: Any restaurants where old people eat. I don't like the trendy places. I like Dante in Pacific Palisades, Takao, Asia de Cuba.

ASIANCE: Who are your favorite designers?
Marie: Chloe, Marc Jacobs, Miu Miu and Rebecca Taylor.

ASIANCE: Who are some of your favorite musicians?
Marie: Smashing Pumpkins, Portishead, Radiohead, Push Stars, Chopin and Tool.

ASIANCE: What are some of your future projects?
Marie: I have an acoustic EP out on itunes. I have Umbrella up on itunes already. I think it was on the top 20 in itunes. I'm opened up for Matchbox 20 in October and I'm working on finishing up my album for an early 2008.

ASIANCE: How would you describe your music?
Marie: I would say it's pop with substance--early Jewel to John Mayer.


source: asiancemagazine

Marie Digby, YouTubing to Pop Stardom

Marie Digby has been called the girl next door with a guitar. Most of her fans also know that she has a computer.

Unsure of what was happening with her record-label relationship, Digby broke onto the national stage in 2007 using YouTube, where she posted homemade videos of herself covering major pop hits by Rihanna, Britney Spears and even Linkin Park. To date, her YouTube videos, largely made in her parents' living room, have generated more than 22 million views.

"Yeah, and sometimes they were in my bathroom," she says.

Her debut album, Unfold, hit shelves last month, and it's filled with original pop songs built around Digby's guitar riffs. She spoke with Scott Simon about the unfolding of Unfold — starting with her do-it-yourself acoustic covers.

"It just has to have a great melody," she says. "Doesn't matter what genre it is — it could be opera, it could be rap, it could be country. Whatever it is, as long as it has a beautiful melody, I can break it down on guitar and make it sound good."

source: npr

Marié Digby - Swoon (Original Song)

I've been writing a bit while out on the road... I am in Allentown PA today and thought I'd take a minute to record this new song ;) I found a nice little nook behind the hotel and in order for me to make the video happen .... I found an abandoned chair in the parking lot (missing an arm) and a shopping cart which I used to prop the computer with the camera. Hope you like it !

Swoon : 2. to enter a state of hysterical rapture or ecstasy: The teenagers swooned at the sight of the singing star. -- Marié Digby

Did YouTube singer Marie Digby do anything wrong?

News: By now, you’ve probably heard about the brouhaha about YouTube singer Marie Digby who posed as an unknown amateur singer on YouTube, even though she has been an unknown professional singer signed by Disney back in 2005 and had Disney handlers helping her all along the way on YouTube. The Wall Street Journal broke the story on its front page this week, and I’ve summarized the account here.

Analysis: Several readers have written in with thoughtful comments explaining why the “deception” involved with Marie Digby’s marketing on YouTube was wrong. I’ve also read other comments on YouTube and the Internet that are quite critical of Digby and Disney.

OK, I guess I agree with some of these sentiments. If YouTube sensation Esmee Denters actually had been a professional (signed) singer from the start on YouTube (even though she appeared to be an amateur posting from her bedroom), I would feel duped. I haven’t followed Marie Digby or her videos enough to know how strongly she gave the appearance of being just an unknown amateur singer. But if the WSJ article is accurate, then maybe Digby did cross the line. (I’ll reserve judgment on how far until I see more of the evidence.)

On the other hand, I don’t necessarily see it a bad thing for music labels like Hollywood Records to try to promote unknown singers on YouTube. Hollywood Records and Ms. Digby will have to face whatever backlash that comes from their PR stunt on YouTube, so maybe the WSJ did us all a service. (Personally, I’d buy Ms. Digby’s music if I really liked it when it comes out.) I do still question whether the whole story deserved front page coverage.

source: theutubeblog

Marié Digby - Spell (Original Song)

This is another installment of my Capitol Studios performance on the Pre-Order DVD.. and a song called 'Spell' which was featured on an episode of Smallville.
This may be one of my favorite songs on my album... and the recording on the CD has these incredible strings on it which I can't wait for you to all hear.
In the meantime, here's my performance of the song from the Capitol Sessions.. As you can tell, it was one looong day...lol.. I think we did about 14 or 15 songs all in that one day !! -- Marié Digby

Marié Digby - Stupid For You (Original Song)

This is my song 'Stupid For You' which I recorded live at Capitol Studios. Some of you may already know this song from the video that I did in my backyard! It's another track from my Capitol sessions.. which includes every song on my album and comes as a DVD with my pre-order :) You can get it here...
http://www.mariedigbyunfold.com

I hope you like it!!! -- Marié Digby

Marié Who?

Marie who? I am willing to wager a good portion of my savings that majority of readers have not heard of Marié Digby. She’s a singer living in Los Angeles, California. What makes her stand out from the whole wave of pop singers is that she plies her trade in the online world, in communities such as MySpace and YouTube.

Marie Digby is a country/pop/soft rock singer who shot to stardom after she posted homemade videos of her singing on the popular video-sharing website YouTube. Singing acoustic versions of mainstream pop songs like Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’ to the soulful ‘You Give Me Something’ by James Morrison to even rock tunes like ‘What I’ve Done’ by Linkin Park, she garnered near-overnight fame. Legions of fans and admirers left many favourable comments and encouragement and also brought about many hits on her MySpace page.

This highly-versatile singer could be seen playing instruments like the acoustic guitar as well as the piano, belting out beautiful cover versions of popular songs. By far, her most popular video was that of her strumming her guitar, singing a cover of ‘Umbrella’ (as attached). This YouTube video attracted 2.4 million views up till the end of 2007.

According to Marie, this was a desperate attempt on her own part to gain some much-needed publicity for her fledgling music career. The record label that she signed for in 2005, Hollywood Records, did not manage to provide her the visibility that she wanted. Fortunately her persistence paid off and shortly, Hollywood Records released a high-quality studio recording of ‘Umbrella’ onto iTunes and other online stores. She also was invited to perform live on ‘Last Call with Carson Daly’ in August 2007, and is now currently on tour, performing at various locations in the United States, much to the delight of her online fans.

A big break for her followed, when her ‘Umbrella’ was played on radio and subsequently featured in an episode of the MTV serial ‘The Hills’. Eventually, her songs were chosen to feature on popular serials like ‘Smallville’ and her self-composed single ‘Say It Again’ was released to American radio stations earlier this year.

The brand of soulful music that Marie Digby delivers can be easily identified with. The melodious crooning of her takes on modern pop songs are a refreshing sight and a joy to hear. It is a welcome and delightful change to the sleaze and glitzy glamour of MTV - it offers a very stripped down insight into a musician’s world. What really impressed me, aside from her excellent vocal ability, was that she was a perfect role model of a musician. She separated herself from the sensationalism and glam, using solely her songwriting and singing skills to impress. Her videos are in sharp contrast with typical MTV music videos. Visit Marie Digby’s MySpace page for snippets of all her songs, do leave a comment of appreciation for a commendable singer/songwriter who focuses on music more than the hype that it brings.

source: reviewcolumn

Marie Digby - Miss Invisible (Original Song)

This is another song from my session at Capitol Records. This song is called Miss Invisible and is very dear to me.. It's quite autobiographical and details my time in junior high school. To this day, it's hard to get through this song without feeling like I'm right back in my 13 year old self ... falling down stairs... dreading lunch time..
This is also the song with which I won the 2004 Pantene Pro-Voice contest which some of you may know about. I hope you enjoy it :) -- Marie Digby

Marie Digby - Sings "My Life"

"have always loved just about every genre of music from rock, hip-hop, trip hop, classical, r&b, pop...
Lil Wayne and his new album Tha Carter III is one of my favorite albums of this year and I thought it was about time that I took a risk and did my own spin on a rap song. This song isn't on that album, it's on The Game's LAX and it's a current obsession (thanks everyone .). Obviously, it's an abbreviated version of the song but ... here it is ! You may love it hate it who knows.. but this is just the beginning of me trying things a little bit outside of my comfort zone." -- Marie Digby

Marie Digby - Unfold - Review

Best cuts:
“Miss Invisible” - Finally, Digby makes me feel something. Digby makes you believe she lived as the girl in the song and suffered. The song has soul and that is why it gave me chills.
“Stupid For You” - When Digby is sitting alone at the piano she sounds great. This is a beautifully quirky song that proves Digby is more than a pop singer. I wonder if she is an Aimee Mann fan.
“Spell” - She’s put a spell over me. Again, she is on the piano and completely selling ever word.

The rest:
“Fool” - This is a pretty song but not a hit. It lacks a great hook and the power of an artist like Avril Lavigne.
“Better Off Alone” - Digby has a sweet voice but that isn’t enough to make for a great song.
“Say It Again” - It seems to me that every song has a similar formula and sound. There is a spurt here of songs where each sounds similarly average.

Marie Digby - Biography

Marié Christina Digby (born 1983) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist. She is most known for her acoustic cover version of Rihanna's No. 1 hit "Umbrella", which attracted attention on YouTube in 2007. The song was subsequently played on the radio station STAR 98.7, was featured on the third season opening episode of the MTV show The Hills, and peaked at #10 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. Digby performed the song on the late night talk show Last Call with Carson Daly on August 2, 2007.

Digby, whose mother is Japanese and father is Irish-American, began writing songs in high school in Los Angeles. After graduating, she spent one year at the University of California, Berkeley before leaving college to concentrate on music full-time. Digby came into the public light in 2004 after winning the Pantene Pro-Voice Music Competition with her autobiographical song "Miss Invisible".

After performing at numerous night clubs, Digby signed a publishing deal with Rondor Music, a subsidiary of Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group in early 2005. By the end of 2005, Digby had signed with Disney's Hollywood Records and her first album of original songs was completed by the end of 2006. Also in 2006, her song "Fool" was included on the Disney compilation album Girl Next. At the advice and direction of her managers, Digby began to post simple videos of herself singing cover songs of other artists on YouTube in order to gain visibility for herself. Hollywood Records then released a high-quality studio recording of her rendition of "Umbrella" to iTunes and radio stations. Her first album is set to be released in 2008.

source: wikipedia