Fame, By Way of YouTube
'I feel like I'm a part of a new generation of musicians ... we're letting people choose what they want to hear.'
You can call Marié Digby many things - talented songstress, marketing genius or YouTube darling. Just don't call her lazy.
The 25-year-old singer/songwriter just got back from promoting her new debut album, "Unfold" in Singapore and Malaysia where she spent a whirlwind few days signing autographs, posing for photos and performing in packed venues.
Now she's back in the U.S., calling from her Minneapolis hotel room fresh out of the shower and juggling a phone in a haze of lotion.
"I've been so busy that my body hasn't even had a chance to be jet lagged," said Marié (pronounced Mar-ee-ay) about her first time traveling abroad for work. She got to see all the sights that are associated with a work trip.
"I saw the inside of my hotel room. I saw the inside of my truck."
Literally, her life was planned out in 10-minute increments. That's okay, she doesn't mind working now. Vacations can wait until after she completes the U.S. leg of her 33-city tour. Right now, her career is white-hot after her album debuted at an impressive 29th spot on the Billboard 200 chart.
Not bad for a girl who just a year ago, recorded herself crooning Rihanna's hit single "Umbrella" while sitting on her living room floor with a guitar. Like many other emerging artists, Marié uploaded her videos to YouTube and became a leader of an online revolution.
But aside from her crazy schedule, Marié insists her life has not changed much.
"I travel more and sometimes people come up to me on the streets and say, 'I know you!'"
Going Viral
If Marié looks familiar, chances are you've seen one or all of her over 30 self-made YouTube videos where she is usually singing acoustic versions of the latest Linkin Park or Britney Spears songs in that pristine voice.
In the online world, Marié is the queen of viral. And it only takes watching a few videos to see why. She is mesmerizing even when all she is doing is wishing her fans a happy Halloween dressed in a Snow White costume and coyly complaining about the loneliness of life on the road.
But the singer/songwriter, who is of Japanese and Irish descent, insists she is not comfortable in front of the camera.
"With YouTube and a Web cam, you can pretend that no one is watching," she said. "In a way, it was perfect training ground to get used to being watched."
And boy, do people watch. Marié is one of the most subscribed musicians of all time - alongside other heavyweights like Justin Timberlake and Michael Jackson - with over 25 million total views on the popular video sharing Web site. Still, it's too early in her career to look back, said Marié. But she is most proud of her global fan base.
Her YouTube videos have received glowing comments - and the occasional marriage proposal - from fans from Hungary to the Philippines.
Cultural Lessons
Marié is really excited about performing in her native Los Angeles where she grew up in the Pacific Palisades area as one of three musically talented sisters.
Marié's mom Emiko met her future husband Matt while he was traveling in Japan as a college student. In a crowd, the couple locked eyes and they met again by chance later at a club, where he asked her to dance.
"It took four or five tries," said Marié.
Emiko, who came to the U.S. from Kumamoto, always stressed the importance of culture. Growing up, Marié and her siblings were forced to go to Japanese school.
"It was torturous!" laughed Marié, who identifies as Asian Pacific American. "Every weekend, it was what leg I can break? What sickness can I come down with to keep from going?"
Since then, the singer has learned to appreciate the effort spent on learning her mother's native tongue. Marié even recorded the Japanese ballad "Korewa" exclusively for the Aug. 6 release of her album in Japan.
Growing up, all the Digby girls were expected to take up music and a sport, so Marié started piano lessons as a toddler. She also chose tennis, which won her scholarships to many colleges except the University of California, Berkeley, where she attended to avoid the pressure of being a tennis star.
But she dropped out after her freshman year as a philosophy major to make music her life.
'Unfold'
In 2004, Marié won a national songwriting contest sponsored by Pantene and began knocking on the doors of major record labels with her guitar. Then Hollywood Records signed her. But dreams are often punctuated with reality. Almost a year after Marié had finished recording her album, her career languished. As far as she knew, there was no tour slated, no music video.
So in 2007, she asked her label for a loan to buy the laptop that became her springboard. Marié recorded herself singing in the living room, in the stairway and even in the bathroom.
"I waited until I was alone in the house of course."
After awhile, if Marié walked into a room with her guitar and laptop, her family knew she was working. Her self-made videos snagged the attention of her label and the world.
"Unfold" is Marié's I-told-you-so. It's where soul melts into pop and rock.
"Better Off Alone," is the second oldest song on the album. She wrote it when she was 19 about a mythical relationship with someone too busy and famous.
A little ironic, isn't it?
"My excuse for dating these days is that I'm too busy. I'd be a terrible girlfriend."
"Voice on the Radio" was inspired by a short-lived crush during college when her roommate took her to see a punk band. Marié took one look at the lead singer and fell madly in love.
"I needed to meet him," she said. So after the show, she decided to wait outside. She rounded the corner and fell into a throng of prepubescent screaming girls with their bras out.
"I felt stupid."
Her fleeting romance has never been revealed.
"It's too embarrassing because he's so uncool!" she laughed, but reveals that somewhere in her room, a giant poster of her punk flame still hangs on the wall.
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