(Credit: Dan MacMedan/WireImage)
So you're watching the Grammy Awards a couple of weeks back and you're enjoying Eminem and Rihanna performing a gritty version of "Love The Way You Lie" when the announcer tells you the second half of Eminem's onstage turn will feature an appearance by someone named Skylar Grey and you say, "Skylar who?" Well, I'm here to answer that question!
1. Skylar Grey is one of pop music's hottest hook-writers: Skylar Grey is particularly handy when it comes to adding a pop hook to a hip-hop/R&B flavored track. She's added her special talents to songs like "Coming Home," which wound up being a Diddy-Dirty Money ditty and "Castle Walls" for T.I.. But her crowning achievement to date has to be the aforementioned "Love The Way You Lie." You can hear Grey's original demo of the song, here.
2. Not knowing who Skylar Grey is is sort of the point: Not knowing who Skylar Grey is seems like part of Skylar Grey's master plan. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Grey stated, "My whole rollout as Skylar Grey has been this mysterious being." That explains why her website is simply a series of Flash images and why she was shrouded in darkness during her Grammy performance.
3. She's Not A New Artist: While Skylar Grey might be making her first forays into recording, singing the hook for the soon to be released Dr. Dre single "I Need A Doctor" and putting the finishing touches on an album under the guidance of super producer Alex Da Kid, this isn't her first rodeo. Grey released a few records under the name Holly Brook, including the 2006 album Like Blood Honey.
4. Her Roots Are In The Park: Linkin Park, that is. When she moved to Los Angeles in 2003, Grey caught on with Linkin Park, signing to their Machine Shop Recordings label and singing on a few Fort Minor (the side project of Linkin MC Mike Shinoda) tracks.
5. Music's in her blood: Before she was writing melancholy hooks for Dre and Slim Shady, Skylar was making music with her mom in a folk duo named Generations.
