Marié Digby
| Marié Digby | |
|---|---|
 Marié Digby in her backyard | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Marié Christina Digby |
| Born |
April 16, 1983 New York City, New York, United States |
| Genres | Pop rock, alternative rock, acoustic rock, R&B |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist, actress |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano, drums |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels |
 Jaronwood Records Hollywood Records (2008 - 2013)  Avex Trax Star Records |
Marié Christina Digby (/mɑriˈeɪ ˈdɪɡbi/ mar-ee-AY DIG-bee; born April 16, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, pianist and actress. She is known for her acoustic cover version of Rihanna's "Umbrella", which attracted attention on YouTube in 2007. 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,[1] 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, including one Japanese cover album. Her fifth and latest studio album Winter Fields was released on 29 Oct 2013.[2] On 16 August 2014, Marié released Chimera, a 3 track EP.[3]
Digby has released a 17-episode web mini-series called Breathing Underwater, the same name as her 3rd album.
Life and career
1983–2004: Early life
Digby was born in New York City to Matthew Edward Digby (born November 10, 1951 in San Diego, California),[4][5] who is of Irish descent, and Emiko Nishina, who is Japanese .[6] Her two younger sisters are Naomi (born December 12, 1985) and Erina Megan (born August 8, 1987). 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".[7] 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.[8]
2004–2008: 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 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. 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.[9] She often performs with a Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar.[10]
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 tracklisting.
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 release was originally slated for release in May 2009, but she asked the label to push the release date back until she found a manager at Hollywood Records. According to Amazon.com, Breathing Underwater was now to be released on September 8, 2009. The album was leaked to the Internet on April 8, 2009, before the release date.
Digby once recorded a video of hers in the bathroom because "The bathroom has the best acoustics in her house".
On May 23, 2010, Digby announced from her Twitter that she "will be making a new Japanese and American album very soon". This would be her third album composed in English and second album composed in Japanese. Both these albums have yet to be titled and yet to have a release date.
Digby released a 17-episode series - Breathing Underwater, viewable at abcmusiclounge.com, in conjunction with the Lilith Women's campaign. This series is about how it inspired Digby to write and create her second English album under the same title. The series kick started July 1, 2010.
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 City.
In June 2011, she recorded an album for Star Records, 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 Records and MCA Music.
She is currently under Cornerstone Talent Management Center, the agency that manages Richard Poon, Sam Milby and Yeng Constantino.[11] Digby was set to release a U.S. album sometime in 2012, but no further details have been given on the project.
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 18 October 2012 at the Esplanade Concert Hall.[12]
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.[13]
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 and latest studio album Winter Fields was released on 29 Oct 2013.[2] She also conducted regular live shows on the Stageit platform on a Pay What You Can ticketing basis.[14]
YouTube fame
Digby gained popularity on YouTube through her simple covers of popular music from various artists, including Linkin Park, Game, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Maroon 5, Incubus, Lady Gaga, Usher, Beyoncé, and Nelly Furtado, as well as her original compositions. She has over 290,000 subscribers and the videos on her channel have amassed over 120 million views, the most popular being a cover of "Umbrella" by Rihanna, which has gained over 20 million views.[15]
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.[16]
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.
Discography
- Unfold (2008)
- Second Home (2009)
- Breathing Underwater (2009)
- Your Love (2011)
- Winter Fields (2013)
- Chimera (2014)
Songs in other media
| Year | Title | Type | Song |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | The Dive From Clausen's Pier | Film | "Where Do I Go?" |
| 2007 | The Hills | TV series episode: "You Know What You Did" | "Umbrella" |
| Holiday in Handcuffs | Film music bed | "Bring Me Love" | |
| Smallville | TV series episode: "Wrath" | "Spell"[17] | |
| 2008 | ER | TV series episode: "The Chicago Way" | "Say It Again" |
| Gap | TV ad: "Sound of Color" Campaign | "Paint Me In Your Sunshine"[18] | |
| Greek | TV series episode: "Barely Legal" | "Better Off Alone"[17] | |
| The Hills | TV series episode: "When Spencer Finds Out..." | "Beauty in Walking Away" | |
| Smallville | TV series episode: "Fracture" | "Say It Again" | |
| 2009 | 90210 | TV series episode: "A Trip to the Moon" | "Love with a Stranger"[17] |
| Greek | TV series episode: "Our Fathers" | "Breathing Underwater" | |
| The City | TV series episode: "I'm Sorry, Whit" | "Breathing Underwater" | |
| The Hills | TV series episode: "I'm Done With You" | "Avalanche" | |
| Lincoln Heights | TV series promo | "Avalanche" | |
| One Life to Live | TV series promo | "Come to Life" | |
| 2010 | The Hills | TV series episode: "All Good Things..." | "Symphony"[19] |
| 2011 | Vanished With Beth Holloway | TV series promo | "Feel" |
Filmography
Digby has released her first movie, or rather a 17-episode web mini-series called "Breathing Underwater". At first, Digby wanted the movie to be called "Feel" but Breathing underwater is confirmed. The movie is released on 1 July 2010 at ABCMusicLounge.com.
- 2008 - Greek; "Barely Legal" ... Herself
About the movie
The movie centers around how Digby came across writing the songs in Breathing Underwater, her second album, and the making of it. The movie stars herself, some of her friends (namely Kristin and JT) and professional actors. The movie was made possible by Hollywood Records and StoryMusicStory.
Episode schedule
|
|
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Nominated Work | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Pantene Pro-Voice Competition | "Miss Invisible" | Entrant | Won |
| 2009 | Teen Music Internacional - Brazil[20] | Herself | Best New Artist | Won |
| "Say It Again" | Best Female Pop Vocal Performance | Nominated |
References
- ↑ "The Hills (Season 3) - Episode 1: You Know What You Did". MTV. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Marie Digby - Winter Fields". Jaronwood Records. 2013-10-29. Retrieved 2013-11-17.
- ↑ "Marié Digby - Chimera". Marié Digby. 2014-08-16. Retrieved 2014-08-16.
- ↑ California, Birth Index, 1905-1995
- ↑ United States Public Records Number 145354226
- ↑ Lin, Linda (June 6, 2008). "Fame, By Way of YouTube". Pacific Citizen. Retrieved 2014-10-25.
- ↑ "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. (Press release)
- ↑ Grant, Lindsey (2004-07-15). "The Perks of Being a Wallflower". The Daily Californian. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ↑ Ethan Smith, Peter Lattman (2007-09-06). "Download This: YouTube Phenom Has a Big Secret". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2007-09-10.
- ↑ Marié Digby Live in Concert | DeepRockDrive
- ↑ Marié Digby on Cornerstone Talents' Official Website
- ↑ "Your Love" Asian Tour in Singapore 18 Oct 2012
- ↑ Yahoo: Childhood depression shaped my music career
- ↑ "Marie Digby on Stageit". Retrieved 2013-11-17.
- ↑ "YouTube - MarieDigby's Channel". September 2008.
- ↑ "Donor Spotlight: Marie' Digby Awards Guitar To Student Who Shares Her Passion". The Generation Project.org. September 15, 2009.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2744922/
- ↑
- ↑ "The Hills | Ep. 612 | All Good Things... | Episode Summary, Video, Photos". MTV. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
- ↑ Postado por W.G.N.M. (2004-02-27). "Teen Music: Brazil - Awards and nominations". Teenmusican.blogspot.com. Retrieved 2012-03-28.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Marié Digby. |
- Marié Digby's YouTube Channel
- Marié Digby's Official Japanese Website
- Marié Digby on Facebook
- Marié Digby on Twitter
- Marié Digby on Myspace
- Marié Digby at the Internet Movie Database
| ||||||||||||||||||