Marié Digby
Marié Digby in her backyard
Marié Digby in her backyard
Background information
Birth nameMarié Christina Digby
Born (1983-04-16) April 16, 1983
New York City, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • musician
  • songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
Years active1997–present
Labels
YouTube information
Channel
Years active1997–present
GenreMusic
Subscribers346 thousand[1]
Total views136 million[1]
100,000 subscribers
Last updated: April 25, 2021

Marié Christina Digby (/ˌmɑːriˈeɪ/ MAR-ee-AY; born April 16, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter best known for her acoustic cover version of Rihanna's "Umbrella", which was posted on YouTube in 2007 (and has since been viewed over 22 million times). The song was subsequently played on the radio station STAR 98.7, was featured on the highly rated third season opening episode of the MTV show The Hills,[2] 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. Since then, Digby has released several studio albums, EPs and singles, including one Japanese cover album. Her fifth studio album Winter Fields was released in October 2013.[3] In August 2014, Marié released Chimera, a three-track EP.[4]

Life and career

1983–1997: Early life

Marié Digby performing in Singapore

Digby was born in Los Angeles, California and is of Irish and Japanese descent. She began writing songs during high school in Los Angeles, California. After her freshman year at the University of California, Berkeley, she won the 2004 Pantene Pro-Voice competition with her song "Miss Invisible".[5] The grand prize for the concert included working with a professional producer on an album, $5,000 and performing on stage with other top performers.[6]

1997–2008: Career beginnings and Unfold era

After performing at night clubs, Digby signed a publishing deal with Rondor Music, a subsidiary of Vivendi SA's Universal Music Group in early 1998. By the end of 1998, Digby had signed with Disney's Hollywood Records and her first album of original songs was completed by the end of 2005. Also in 2005, her song "Fool" was included on the Disney compilation album Girl Next. In early 2007, she began to post simple videos of herself singing cover songs of other artists on YouTube in order to gain visibility. Hollywood Records then released a studio recording of her rendition of "Umbrella" to iTunes and radio stations.[7] She often performs with a Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar.[8]

Marié Digby at The Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles

Digby's first official single, "Say It Again", was released to radio stations on January 18, 2008. Her debut album, Unfold, which was completed over a year before, was released on April 8, 2008. The design of the cover for the album was mostly based on the sketches she drew during her downtime while recording the album. She worked with some of Hollywood's best including Tom Rothrock (Producer), Charlie Paxson (drums) and Matt Chait (guitar). Many different editions of the album exist, including a Japanese edition with different cover artwork and an alternate track listing.

2009–2010: Second Home and Breathing Underwater

Digby released a collection of Japanese cover songs on March 4, 2009. The album, titled Second Home, was recorded completely in Japanese and received a limited release only in Japan.

Digby's second English album titled Breathing Underwater was originally slated for release in May 2009, but she asked the label to push the release date back until she found a new manager. The entire album was leaked in spring 2009. Digby expressed her disappointment with the leaks on her MySpace page. A deluxe edition of the album was released on physical and digital formats across Asia in July 2009. The album was later released in North America in September 2009. When Digby left Hollywood Records, they gave ownership of the master recordings back to her. The album is no longer on digital services.

On December 8, 2010, Digby was featured as one of the many artists to do an urban cover on Disney's Urban Pop Disney CD. Along with DJ Hasebe, Digby sang and put a twist on The Little Mermaid's Part of Your World.

2011: Debut in the Philippines

She had a one night only concert in the Philippines on August 1, 2009 at The Tent in Taguig.

In June 2011, she recorded an album for Star Music, ABS-CBN's own record label, in Manila. She promoted the album in the country from August to September 2011. The album includes a cover of Kuh Ledesma's "I Think I'm in Love". It also features Filipino artists Sam Milby and Jericho Rosales. Her first Philippine music video was shot in Nuvali, Laguna. The album Your Love was released on September 16, 2011 by Star Music and MCA Music.

2012: Your Love Asian tour

In 2012, Digby did an Asian tour for her Your Love album, including shows in Singapore and the Philippines.

Her Singapore live show was held on October 18, 2012 at the Esplanade Concert Hall.[9]

In August 2012, she was interviewed by Yahoo!; during the interview, she shared that childhood depression shaped her music career and that she is preparing for her first independent album for 2013.[10]

2013: Winter Fields

Digby introduced a brand new original titled Neon Rain in February 2013, and also released duet singles including "Falling for You", a duet with JayR, and "The Keeper", a duet with Kina Grannis. Her fifth studio album Winter Fields was released on October 29, 2013.[3] She also conducted regular live shows on the Stageit platform on a Pay What You Can ticketing basis.[11]

2015: "Jet Streams"

In December 2015, Digby made a new song titled "Jet Streams" available as a free download on Bandcamp. She also independently released a remake of the holiday classic "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas".

2018: Wildfire and Pop Covers

On February 9, 2018, Digby independently released a new EP titled Wildfire which debuted at #4 on the iTunes Singer-Songwriter Albums Chart.[12]

On June 22, 2018, Digby released an album called Pop Covers. It includes ten covers of popular songs and includes Diamonds (Rihanna song) (originally by Rihanna) and Empire (Shakira song) (originally by Shakira) [13]

Charitable involvement

Digby has ventures encouraging young people to get involved in songwriting and musical performance. In 2009, she sponsored a songwriting contest for Bronx teenagers through "The Generation Project", a non-profit organization that facilitates donor-designed charitable gifts to children in low-income areas. The winner of Digby's contest—a special education student from the Bronx—received a brand-new guitar with accessories.[14]

Digby held an autographed Fender Stratocaster and Les Paul Guitar Giveaway Contest on YouTube. Contestants were asked to create an original video that included her hit single "Say It Again" in some fashion. The winner of this contest was Peter Park from Hong Kong.

On April 1, 2011, Digby, together with 29 other musicians participated in Jam For Japan Manila, a benefit concert for victims of the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan.

In the summer of 2014, Digby visited the Academy of Music for the Blind (AMB), a non-profit organization in Los Angeles dedicated to providing comprehensive music education to talented blind students ages 4–19. She supported the students in their Summer Recital and guest performed with some of the students. She has been an AMB Friend ever since and has donated her talents for their fundraising events and help raise awareness for the blind community via social media. In December 2015, Digby visited and performed with students of the Academy of Music for the Blind (AMB) at their Holiday recital in Whittier, CA.

Discography

Songs in other media

YearTitleTypeSong
2005The Dive From Clausen's PierFilm"Where Do I Go?"
2007The HillsTV series episode: "You Know What You Did""Umbrella"
Holiday in HandcuffsFilm music bed"Bring Me Love"
SmallvilleTV series episode: "Wrath""Spell"[15]
2008ERTV series episode: "The Chicago Way""Say It Again"
GapTV ad: "Sound of Color" Campaign"Paint Me In Your Sunshine"[16]
GreekTV series episode: "Barely Legal""Better Off Alone"[15]
The HillsTV series episode: "When Spencer Finds Out...""Beauty in Walking Away"
SmallvilleTV series episode: "Fracture""Say It Again"
200990210TV series episode: "A Trip to the Moon""Love with a Stranger"[15]
GreekTV series episode: "Our Fathers""Breathing Underwater"
The CityTV series episode: "I'm Sorry, Whit""Breathing Underwater"
The HillsTV series episode: "I'm Done With You""Avalanche"
Lincoln HeightsTV series promo"Avalanche"
One Life to LiveTV series promo"Come to Life"
2010The HillsTV series episode: "All Good Things...""Symphony"[17]
2011Vanished With Beth HollowayTV series promo"Feel"

Awards and nominations

Year Award Nominated Work Category Result
2004 Pantene Pro-Voice Competition "Miss Invisible" Entrant Won
2009 Teen Music Internacional - Brazil[18] Herself Best New Artist Won
"Say It Again" Best Female Pop Vocal Performance Nominated

References

  1. 1 2 "About MarieDigby". YouTube.
  2. ↑ "The Hills (Season 3) - Episode 1: You Know What You Did". MTV. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
  3. 1 2 "Marie Digby - Winter Fields". Jaronwood Records. October 29, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Marié Digby - Chimera". Marié Digby. August 16, 2014. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Marié Digby From Los Angeles Has Been Chosen by America as the Winner of the National Pantene Pro-Voice Music Competition". Highbeam Research. July 26, 2004. Archived from the original on May 16, 2011. (Press release)
  6. ↑ Grant, Lindsey (July 15, 2004). "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". The Daily Californian. Archived from the original on September 18, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2007.
  7. ↑ Ethan Smith, Peter Lattman (September 6, 2007). "Download This: YouTube Phenom Has a Big Secret". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved September 10, 2007.
  8. ↑ "Marié Digby Live in Concert". Deeprockdrive.com. Archived from the original on July 24, 2008.
  9. ↑ ""Your Love" Asian Tour in Singapore October 18, 2012". Archived from the original on October 10, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Marie Digby: Childhood depression helped shape my career". Sg.entertainment.yahoo.com. August 15, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Marie Digby on Stageit". Retrieved November 17, 2013.
  12. ↑ "The Marie Digby WildFire and iTunes Charts | Product of Culture". pocbooks.com. Archived from the original on March 23, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Pop Covers". iTunes.apple.com. June 22, 2018. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  14. ↑ "Donor Spotlight: Marie' Digby Awards Guitar To Student Who Shares Her Passion". The Generation Project.org. September 15, 2009. Archived from the original on June 13, 2010.
  15. 1 2 3 "Marié Digby". IMDb.com.
  16. ↑ "Coronavirus Response". Gap Inc. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008.
  17. ↑ "The Hills | Ep. 612 | All Good Things... | Episode Summary, Video, Photos". MTV. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  18. ↑ Postado por W.G.N.M. (February 27, 2004). "Teen Music: Brazil - Awards and nominations". Teenmusican.blogspot.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
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