Holly Brook Hafermann (born February 23, 1986), known professionally as Skylar Grey, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. In 2004, Grey signed a publishing deal with

Universal Music Publishing Group Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a global music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. Universal Music Publishing has been ranked the #1 music publisher in market share by Billboard for multiple consecutive quart ...

and a

recording contract A recording contract (commonly called a record contract or record deal) is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording act (artist or group), where the act makes an audio recording (or series of recordings) for the label to sell and ...

with

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Agoura Hills, California, in 1996. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, bass ...

's Machine Shop Recordings under the name Holly Brook. Her debut studio album, '' Like Blood Like Honey'' (2006), served as her only release with the label. In 2010, Grey co-wrote

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...

's hit single "

Love the Way You Lie "Love the Way You Lie" is a song by American rapper Eminem featuring Barbadian singer Rihanna from Eminem's seventh studio album ''Recovery (Eminem album), Recovery'' (2010). Skylar Grey wrote and recorded a Demo (music), demo of the song alo ...

" with English producer

Alex da Kid Alexander Junior Grant (born 27 August 1983), professionally known as Alex da Kid or by.ALEXANDER, is a British music producer from Wood Green, London. He has gained recognition for producing several hit singles for artists of multiple music g ...

, who signed Grey to his record label Kidinakorner, an imprint of

Interscope Records Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

. Her second album, '' Don't Look Down'' (2013) peaked within the top ten of the ''Billboard'' 200, while her third, ''

Natural Causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinc ...

'' (2016) was met with critical acclaim despite failing to chart. Her 2021 single, " Last One Standing" (with Polo G, Mozzy and Eminem) marked her first entry—at number 78—on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 as a lead artist. The following year, her self-titled fourth album (2022) was released independently to continued acclaim. Grey is also known for providing guest vocals on several hit singles, such as Fort Minor's " Where'd You Go", Diddy's " Coming Home",

Dr. Dre Andre Romell Young (born February 18, 1965), known professionally as Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer, record executive, and actor. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and co-founder of ...

's " I Need a Doctor",

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

's " Bed of Lies", and

Macklemore Benjamin Hammond Haggerty (born June 19, 1983), better known by his stage name Macklemore ( ; formerly Professor Macklemore), is an American rapper. A native of Seattle, Washington, he started his career in 2000 as an independent artist rele ...

's " Glorious". Additionally, she has written songs for a number of prominent performers including

Kehlani Kehlani Ashley Parrish ( ; born April 24, 1995) is an American singer, songwriter and dancer. She is originally from Oakland, California, and achieved initial fame as a member of the teen pop group PopLyfe in 2011. Kehlani's debut mixtape, '' ...

G-Eazy Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. Based in Oakland, California, he began his career in 2006 and released two independent studio albums before signing with RCA Records to releas ...

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer and songwriter. A classically trained pianist, Keys began composing songs at the age of 12 and was signed by Columbia Records at 15. After d ...

Ciara Ciara Princess Wilson ( ; Harris; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, ''Goodies ...

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

Zedd Anton Zaslavski (; born 2 September 1989), known professionally as Zedd (), is a German record producer and DJ. His stage name, Zedd, was derived from ''zed'', the Z#Name and pronunciation, English pronunciation, barring American English, for ...

Nick Jonas Nicholas Jerry Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Jonas began acting on Broadway at the age of seven, and released his debut single in 2002; this caught the attention of Columbia Records, where Jonas ...

Céline Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the " Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had a significant impact on popular musi ...

, and

CeeLo Green Thomas DeCarlo Callaway-Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green or simply Cee-Lo), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and actor. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Green came to initial pr ...

Life and career

1994–2004: Early life and Generations

As a child, Grey performed professionally in a

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

duo with her mother, Candace Kreitlow, called Generations. The group released three studio albums together.

2005–2010: ''Like Blood Like Honey'' and EPs

Grey co-wrote "Done With Like" and "She Said" with Jon Ingoldsby and American actress

Brie Larson Brianne Sidonie Desaulniers (born October 1, 1989), known professionally as Brie Larson, is an American actress. She played supporting roles in comedies as a teenager, and has since expanded to leading roles in independent films and Blockbuste ...

for Larson's first and only album, '' Finally Out of P.E.'' (2005). In 2005, Grey was featured on the song " Where'd You Go" and "Be Somebody" by Fort Minor, a side project by American singer, rapper, and songwriter

Mike Shinoda Michael Kenji Shinoda ( ; born February 11, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and graphic designer. He co-founded the rock band Linkin Park in 1996 and is the band's co-lead vocalist, as well as rhythm guitarist, ...

. "Where'd You Go" was released as a single on April 14, 2006, with an accompanying

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

following soon after. The song gained commercial success and ended up becoming a top four hit on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and also became

certified platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). After working with music producer Jonathan Ingoldsby, Grey released her debut album, titled '' Like Blood Like Honey'', on June 6, 2006, under

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

. The album peaked at number 35 on

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Heatseekers Albums The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...

chart. During this time, Grey had landed opening spots for

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often, concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific ...

s with

Jamie Cullum Jamie Paul Joseph Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, pianist, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He h ...

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang (stylised in all lowercase), is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical pe ...

, Daniel Powter, Teddy Geiger and

Duncan Sheik Duncan Sheik (born November 18, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Sheik is known for his 1996 debut single "Barely Breathing", which earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. He has com ...

. Through Machine Shop Records, Grey worked with Linkin Park affiliates Styles of Beyond and

Apathy Apathy, also referred to as indifference, is a lack of feeling, emotion, interest, or concern about something. It is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation, or passion. An apathetic i ...

. She was featured on two tracks, "Victim" and "No Sad Tomorrow", from Apathy's second studio album, '' Wanna Snuggle?'' (2009). Grey toured as part of

's band and contributed substantially to his 2009 album, '' Whisper House''. In 2009, Grey sang backing vocals on Eurovision contestant Yohanna's debut album, '' Butterflies and Elvis''. In August 2009, still under the name Holly Brook, she lent both her song "It's Raining Again" and her image to a promotional campaign for Ciao Water. In early 2010, she performed in the theatrical version of "Whisper House," playing one of the two lead ghost vocalists, along with David Poe. On June 10, 2010, she self-released the seven-song

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

(EP), ''O’Dark:Thirty''. Production of the EP was handled by Duncan Sheik and Jon Ingoldsby.

2010–2011: Songwriting and name change

Brook later changed her stage name to Skylar Grey. While still living in

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

, Grey visited New York to meet her publisher Jennifer Blakeman, to seek help presenting her work. Blakeman had suggested that she work with English producer

. Alex da Kid then sent Grey a few tracks that he had been working on, the first song finished being "

". The song was given to American rapper

(who wrote the verses) and Barbadian singer

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, businesswoman, and actress. One of the List of music artists by net worth, wealthiest musicians in the world, List of awards and nominations received by Rihanna, her vario ...

. Their song became a worldwide hit, reaching number one on 26 charts and being nominated for four

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s. Grey received a Song of the Year Grammy nomination for "Love the Way You Lie". Grey wrote the

hook A hook is a tool consisting of a length of material, typically metal, that contains a portion that is curved/bent back or has a deeply grooved indentation, which serves to grab, latch or in any way attach itself onto another object. The hook's d ...

to all three versions of "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem and Rihanna, and even recorded a solo version that was later featured on her fourth EP, ''The Buried Sessions of Skylar Grey'' (2012). Alex da Kid went on to sign Skylar Grey to a production deal on his KIDinaKORNER record label imprint. In 2010, Grey also co-wrote and was featured on

Diddy – Dirty Money Diddy – Dirty Money was an American musical trio, composed of R&B singers Dawn Richard and Kalenna Harper, and rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs. The group, formed and introduced by the latter in July 2009, refers to their billing with Combs, whi ...

's single " Coming Home", which gained massive commercial success. Also in 2010, Grey co-wrote " Castle Walls" by American rapper

T.I. Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and singer raised in Atlanta, Georgia. Harris is credited as a pioneer of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgi ...

and American pop singer

. On February 1, 2011, American renowned hip hop producer

released a song titled " I Need a Doctor", featuring Eminem and Grey. "I Need a Doctor" managed to peak at number four on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and was certified double platinum by the RIAA. The song garnered Grey several Grammy nominations. Grey made her national television debut under her new alias during the

53rd Annual Grammy Awards The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights p ...

, where she performed "I Need a Doctor", with Eminem and Dr. Dre. During this time, Grey announced that she had begun working on her album then-titled '' Invinsible''. In March 2011, it was revealed Grey signed to

, through Alex da Kid's KIDinaKORNER and announced she would be releasing a single in the spring. Later in 2011, Grey was featured on a song titled " Words I Never Said", the second single from

Lupe Fiasco Wasalu Muhammad Jaco (born February 16, 1982), better known by his stage name Lupe Fiasco ( ), is an American rapper, record producer and Music education, music educator. Born and raised in Chicago, he gained mainstream recognition for his gue ...

's ''

Lasers A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word ''laser'' originated as an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radi ...

'' (2011). Grey released her debut single, "Dance Without You", on June 6, 2011. The song later received a music video, which was released on July 5. Grey's second single and formerly her second album's title-track, "

Invisible Invisibility is the state of an object that cannot be seen. An object in this state is said to be ''invisible'' (literally, "not visible"). The phenomenon is studied by physics and perceptual psychology. Since objects can be seen by light fr ...

", was released to radio on June 16. Grey performed alongside aspiring rapper Eli Porter on the September 20, 2011 episode of '' Tosh.0''. In October, Grey was featured on American DJ

Kaskade Ryan Gary Raddon (born February 25, 1971), better known by his stage name Kaskade, is an American DJ, music producer and remixer. ''DJ Times'' voted Kaskade as "America's Best DJ" in 2011 and 2013. ''DJ Magazine, DJ Mag'' named Kaskade fifty-fi ...

's seventh album '' Fire & Ice'', writing and singing on two versions of the song " Room for Happiness", which became the album's third single and earned a Grammy nomination.

2012–2014: ''Don't Look Down'' and collaborations

In August 2012, appeared twice as a guest vocalist on American hip hop supergroup

Slaughterhouse In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a mea ...

's second album, '' Welcome to: Our House'' (2012). In September 2012, Grey's song "Building a Monster", was featured on the soundtrack to Tim Burton's '' Frankenweenie''. In 2012, Grey co-wrote Russian-German producer

's 2012 single "

Clarity Clarity may refer to: Music Albums * ''Clarity'' (Jimmy Eat World album) or the title song, 1999 * ''Clarity'' (Sifow album) or the title song, 2006 * ''Clarity'' (Zedd album) or the title song (see below), 2012 * ''Clarity'' (mixtape), by K ...

" featuring

Foxes Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

, which won the

for Best Dance Recording in 2014. In February 2013, American recording artist

released a single titled " Only You", which he co-wrote with Grey. On March 8, 2013, Grey performed a six-song set for "Guitar Center Sessions" on

DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...

. Grey also contributed an exclusive song, titled "Slowly Freaking Out", to the soundtrack album for the film 2013 film '' The Host'', based on the novel by

Stephenie Meyer Stephenie Meyer (; Morgan; born December 24, 1973) is an American novelist and film producer. She is best known for writing the vampire literature, vampire romance series ''Twilight (novel series), Twilight'', which has sold over 160 million ...

, In April 2013, Grey contributed to

will.i.am William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...

's fourth solo album '' #willpower'', on the song "Love Bullets". On October 31, 2012, Grey announced Eminem would be executive producer for her album whose title she had changed from ''Invinsible'' to '' Don't Look Down''. The album was preceded by the singles " C'mon Let Me Ride", "Final Warning", and "Wear Me Out". Grey's second album, '' Don't Look Down'', was released July 5, 2013.The album debuted at number eight on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 24,000 copies in the United States. In September 2013, Grey released a music video for her

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

Daft Punk Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...

's hit single " Get Lucky". On September 5, 2013, Grey was featured on the song "Don't Turn On Me" by

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and television producer. Born in Queens, a borough of New York City, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 1996. In 1999–2000, ...

and produced by

for 50 Cent's album, '' Street King Immortal''. The track gained millions of views on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

before the first week of December 2013, however the song would go unreleased due to 50 Cent delaying and eventually canceling the album in July 2021.In October 2013, Grey appeared on the track "The Last Day" on

Moby Richard Melville Hall (September 11, 1965), known professionally as Moby, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer, disc jockey, and animal rights activist. He has sold 20 million records worldwide. AllMusic considers him to be "amo ...

's eleventh album, '' Innocents''. On October 17, 2013, Grey previewed a new cover of Robert Palmer's " Addicted to Love" in a trailer for the 2014 remake of '' Endless Love''. In November 2013, she appeared on Eminem's eighth studio album, '' The Marshall Mathers LP 2'', on a track titled "Asshole". On January 20, 2014, Grey released a song titled " Shot Me Down", with

David Guetta Pierre David Guetta (; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify. Guetta was voted the number one DJ in the DJ Mag ...

. The song was successful charting in the top ten in several countries. In March 2014, a new collaboration with American recording artist

Kid Cudi Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi (born January 30, 1984), also known by his stage name Kid Cudi ( ; formerly stylized as KiD CuDi), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor, and fashion designer. Born and raised in Clevelan ...

, titled "Hero", was recorded for the '' Need for Speed'' film and released on the film's official soundtrack. In August 2014, Grey appeared on American rapper

's song " New National Anthem", from his ninth album, '' Paperwork''. In November 2014, Grey featured on '' Shady XV'', a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

performed by various artists of

Shady Records Shady Records is an American record label founded by rapper Eminem and his manager Paul Rosenberg in 1999, following the commercially successful release of '' The Slim Shady LP'' that same year. The label's name comes from the last name of Eminem ...

, on "Twisted" alongside

and Yelawolf. In 2014, Grey teamed up with American rapper

to co-write the song " Bed of Lies", from Minaj's third album, '' The Pinkprint''. Grey sang on the recording and performed it with Minaj at the

2014 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2014 MTV EMAs (also known as the MTV Europe Music Awards) were held at The SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland on 9 November 2014. This was the first time since 2003 when the awards were held in Scotland and the fifth time the United Kingdom has ...

and the December 6, 2014 episode of ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

''.

2015–2017: ''Natural Causes'' and soundtracks

Grey confirmed on her official

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account that her third studio album would be released in 2015. In February 2015, Grey released a song from the ''

Fifty Shades of Grey ''Fifty Shades of Grey'' is a 2011 erotic romance novel by British author E. L. James. It became the first instalment in the ''Fifty Shades'' novel series that follows the deepening relationship between a college graduate, Anastasia Steele, ...

'' soundtrack called " I Know You". Also in February, Grey confirmed she has a song on the ''

Furious 7 ''Furious 7'' (also known as ''Fast & Furious 7'') is a 2015 action film directed by James Wan and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to ''Fast & Furious 6'' (2013) and '' The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift'' (2006) and the seventh i ...

'' soundtrack, called "I Will Return." In March 2015, she released her version of " Addicted to Love" on iTunes, and also re-released the song "Words," which was deleted from the iTunes Store in 2013. On March 29, 2015, Grey appeared at her third WrestleMania event, performing a medley of " Rise" and "Money and the Power" at the thirty-first annual event, with

Travis Barker Travis Landon Barker (born November 14, 1975) is an American musician, songwriter, and music producer who is the drummer for the rock band Blink-182. He has collaborated with hip hop artists, is a member of the rap rock group Transplants ...

and

Kid Ink Brian Todd Collins (born April 1, 1986), known professionally as Kid Ink, is an American rapper and singer from Los Angeles, California. His debut studio album, ''Up & Away (Kid Ink album), Up & Away'' (2012), was released independently and peake ...

. On May 18, 2015, house producer

deadmau5 Joel Thomas Zimmerman (born January 5, 1981), known professionally as deadmau5 (pronounced "dead-mouse"), is a Canadian electronic music producer and disc jockey, DJ. His musical style mostly includes progressive house and electro house music, ...

released a short demo on

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

in collaboration with

, featuring vocals by Grey, titled " Beneath with Me". On October 6, 2016, a music video for the song was released. ''

'', Grey's third studio album, was released on September 23, 2016. The album received positive reviews and was a moderate commercial success. It was preceded by the singles "Moving Mountains", the Eminem-produced "Come Up For Air", and "Lemonade". In the fall of 2016, Grey went on her Natural Causes Tour with morgxn. In 2017, Grey provided vocals for the song "Wreak Havoc" and wrote Kehlani's " Gangsta" for the ''

Suicide Squad The Suicide Squad is an antihero/supervillain team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The first version of the Suicide Squad debuted in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #25 (September 1959) and the second and modern version, cre ...

'' soundtrack. Grey later co-wrote Kehlani and

's song "Good Life" for '' The Fate of the Furious: The Album'' soundtrack. Grey collaborated with

again, writing "Pick Me Up" for his album '' The Beautiful & Damned''. On March 31, 2017, American rock band

Papa Roach Papa Roach is an American Rock music, rock band from Vacaville, California, formed in 1993. The original lineup consisted of lead vocalist Jacoby Shaddix, drummer Dave Buckner, guitarist Jerry Horton, bassist Will James, and trombonist Ben Luth ...

released their song, "Periscope", featuring guest vocals by Grey. Grey was also featured on American rapper

's single " Glorious", released on June 25, 2017. The platinum selling single topped the charts in numerous countries. Grey collaborated with Eminem on his album ''Revival'', co-writing the collaborations "Walk On Water" with

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

, "Like Home" with

, "Need Me" with

Pink Pink is a pale tint of red, the color of the Dianthus plumarius, pink flower. It was first used as a color name in the late 17th century. According to surveys in Europe and the United States, pink is the color most often associated with charm, p ...

, and "Tragic Endings" with Grey herself. Previous collaborator

released his debut

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

album ''Kaskade Christmas'' on November 24 and featured Grey singing a cover of "

O Come, O Come, Emmanuel "O come, O come, Emmanuel" (Latin: "''Veni, veni, Emmanuel''") is a Christianity, Christian hymn for Advent, which is also often published in books of Christmas carols.Henry Sloane Coffin and Ambrose White Vernon, eds., ''Hymns of the Kingdom of ...

" retitled "O Come Emmanuel".

2018–2020: ''Angel with Tattoos'' and ''Make It Through The Day''

On January 25, 2018, Grey released a cover of Ben E. King's " Stand by Me", which was featured in a

Budweiser Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, a brand of Belgian company AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States. Budweiser is a filte ...

Super Bowl LII Super Bowl LII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2017 season. As a rematch of Super Bowl XXXIX from 13 years earlier, the game was between the National Football Conferen ...

commercial. A portion of the proceeds from the song went to the

American Red Cross The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...

to benefit those affected by natural disasters. A music video was released on February 2, 2018. In an interview with ''

Uproxx Uproxx Studios (stylized as ''UPROXX'') is an American music, entertainment and popular culture website and content studio. It was founded in 2008 by Jarret Myer and Brian Brater. The website was acquired in 2014 by Woven Digital (which later ...

'' published on January 26, 2018, Grey revealed that she was working on her fourth album and is planning on including her own version of " Walk on Water", which she had written for

and

, on the album. Later that year, Grey co-wrote and performed the single "Everything I Need", for

James Wan James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian filmmaker. He has primarily worked in the horror fiction, horror genre as the co-creator of the ''Saw (franchise), Saw'' and Insidious (film series), ''Insidious'' franchises and the creator of ...

's superhero blockbuster film ''

Aquaman Aquaman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in ''More Fun Comics'' #73 (November 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles ...

''. In May 2019 Grey, along with fellow artists Jamie N Commons and Gallant, released a new version of Soul Asylum's 1993 "

Runaway Train A runaway train is a type of railroad incident in which unattended rolling stock is accidentally allowed to roll onto the main line, a moving train loses enough braking power to be unable to stop in safety, or a train operates at unsafe speeds d ...

". The video for the song was made in collaboration with the

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1984 by the United States Congress. In September 2013, the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, and the Pre ...

and utilizes

geotargeting In geomarketing and internet marketing, geotargeting is the method of delivering different content to visitors based on their geolocation. This includes country, region/state, city, metro code/ zip code, organization, IP address, ISP, or other c ...

to show viewers missing children in their local area. The video was later nominated for a VMA. On July 19, 2019, Grey announced on social media that she had left

/ KIDinaKORNER and that she would release her fourth studio album ''Angel with Tattoos.'' The first single released was titled "Shame On You". ''Angel with Tattoos'' was released as an EP on October 18, 2019, and she released the music video for the title-song of the album on the same day. Grey announced that the album is open ended, and songs will be added over time, stating; "Who knows? It could end up with a hundred songs, it could stop at five.”. On August 7, 2019, Grey released a new song titled "New Kind Of Love" that was featured on '' Hulu's'' re-make of "Four Weddings And A Funeral". In the Aug. 24 issue of ''

'', Grey revealed that she had left

due to "creative differences;" that her departure had been "amicable;" and that she had signed with Crush Music in 2017. In 2019, Grey and her fiancé Elliott Taylor wrote "Falling In Love Again" for

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

's ''

Courage Courage (also called bravery, valour ( British and Commonwealth English), or valor (American English)) is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. Valor is courage or bravery, especially in ...

''.

Train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...

also released a song featuring Grey titled "Mai Tais". The song was featured on the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

show ''Magnum P.I''. On January 17, 2020, Eminem released his eleventh studio album, '' Music to Be Murdered By'', featuring a song featuring Grey titled "Leaving Heaven". Furthermore, Grey co-wrote and produced the song, making her the first sole female to produce an Eminem song. On July 14, 2020, Grey revealed her then-upcoming album title, ''Dark Thoughts''. The project was preceded by the singles "Dark Thoughts", a cover of " Goosebumps", and "Sunscreen". The project was eventually scrapped as Grey announced she started working on a new album via various social platforms on January 16, 2021. Some singles released in 2020 were compiled as part of ''Make It Through the Day - EP'', released on November 6, 2020.

2021–present: ''Skylar Grey'' and ''Lofi Chill Vibes'' albums

On September 30, 2021, Grey's song " Last One Standing" was featured on the soundtrack for the film '' Venom: Let There Be Carnage'' with

, Polo G, and Mozzy featured on the song. After the release of several singles, Grey's eponymous fourth studio offering, ''

Skylar Grey Holly Brook Hafermann (born February 23, 1986), known professionally as Skylar Grey, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. In 2004, Grey signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group and a recording contract w ...

'' was released on April 28, 2022. On July 15, 2022, Grey's song "My Heart Has Teeth", produced by

, was featured on the soundtrack for the series ''

Resident Evil ''Resident Evil'', known as in Japan, is a Japanese horror game series and media franchise created by Capcom. It consists of survival horror, third-person shooter and first-person shooter games, with players typically surviving in environments ...

''. On October 27, 2022, Grey's song "Walking On Fire", produced by Th3rdstream, was featured on the soundtrack for the series ''

Vampire Academy ''Vampire Academy'' is a series of six young adult fiction, young adult paranormal romance novels by American author Richelle Mead. It tells the story of Rosemarie "Rose" Hathaway, a dhampir girl, who is training to be a guardian of her moroi be ...

''. In 2023, Grey announced that she would be re-recording her back catalog after selling her masters to settle her 2021 divorce. The plan was to release a greatest hits collection in 2023, including Grey's original version/demo of "

", later recorded and released by

and

and Grey's version of " Coming Home" (released by Diddy- Dirty Money). Grey released her next album ''Lofi Chill Vibes with Skylar Grey'' on August 11, 2023, featuring

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate stylistic ch ...

versions of Grey's back catalog. Grey co-wrote and featured on Eminem's song " Temporary" from his 2024 album '' The Death of Slim Shady (Coup De Grâce)''.

Artistry

Musical style and influences

Grey has listed

Bon Iver Bon Iver ( ) is an American indie folk band founded in 2006 by singer-songwriter Justin Vernon in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Vernon had originally formed Bon Iver as a solo project, but it eventually became a band consisting of Vernon (vocals, guit ...

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

, Shirley Manson of

Garbage Garbage, trash (American English), rubbish (British English), or refuse is waste material that is discarded by humans, usually due to a perceived lack of utility. The term generally does not encompass bodily waste products, purely liquid or ...

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

Marilyn Manson Brian Hugh Warner (born January 5, 1969), known professionally as Marilyn Manson, is an American rock musician. He is the lead singer and the only original member remaining of the Marilyn Manson (band), same-titled band he founded in 1989. Th ...

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She released five albums from 1996 to 2020, all of which reached the top 20 on the U.S. Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 chart. As of 2021, she has sold over ...

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan (born January 28, 1968) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. As of 2015, she had sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is ''Surfacing (album), Surfacing'' (1997), for which she won two G ...

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie (commonly abbreviated to DCFC or Death Cab) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. Death Cab for Cutie's music has been classified as indie rock, indie pop, and alternative rock. The ...

and Alana Davis as her influences.

Stage name

Grey explained that she thought her stage name "represents the unknowns in life. People seem to be afraid of the unknowns, but I'm the complete opposite. I dive into the unknown because I feel like that's where all your possibilities come from." She explained to Beatweek that she chose "grey" with an ''e'' rather than an ''a'' because "I like to do things the original way" and because "it's more masculine. I'm not a very feminine person."

Personal life

Grey was previously married to Todd Jeremy Mandel. In 2017, she was granted a temporary restraining order against him after he allegedly stalked and followed her and her boyfriend, Elliott Taylor. Grey is currently engaged to Taylor.

Discography

* '' Like Blood Like Honey'' (2006) * '' Don't Look Down'' (2013) * ''

'' (2016) * ''

'' (2022)

Filmography

Film

Television

Web

Tours

* Don't Look Down Summer US Tour *The Natural Causes Tour

Awards and nominations

Grammy Awards

Grey has been nominated for five Grammys.

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

Teen Choice Awards The Teen Choice Awards were an annual awards show that aired on the Fox television network between 1999 and 2019. The awards, based on a popularity vote that could be overridden by the producerswho reserved the right to choose the winnerscovered ...

Variety's Breakthrough of the Year Awards

Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...
certified Awards

World Music Awards The World Music Awards was an international award show founded in 1989 under the patronage of Albert II, Prince of Monaco and co-founder/executive producer John Martinotti. The event was based in Monte Carlo. Awards were presented to the worl ...

References

External links

* * * O
Interscope.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey, Skylar 1986 births Living people American women singer-songwriters American women pianists People from Mazomanie, Wisconsin American women hip-hop singers American women rock singers American rock songwriters 21st-century American multi-instrumentalists 21st-century American women guitarists Guitarists from Wisconsin MTV Video Music Award winners 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American pianists Record producers from Wisconsin Singer-songwriters from Wisconsin American jazz singers American electronic musicians American folk singers American pop rock singers Women hip-hop record producers