File Under: Pictures, Touring

Posted by Claire on Aug 11 2009

File Under: News, Videos

Posted by Ella on Aug 11 2009

File Under: Other

Posted by Ella on Aug 10 2009

File Under: News, Pictures

Posted by Claire on Aug 08 2009

‘Cover’ girl Marié Digby
By Niño Mark Sablan
Philippine Daily Inquirer

MANILA, Philippines – Marié Digby does look like a magazine cover girl. She has flawless, porcelain-white skin, long, jet-black hair, plus she looks amazing from any angle.

Digby is even more stunning in person. She is slim and statuesque, has undeniable presence, and her Japanese, Irish, and American heritage gives her a unique look. Look a little longer and you see some Zhang Ziyi and Bjork in her.

During this shoot for Super, however, she cleared something. “I’m not a model,” she said with a giggle. “I’m a singer.”

Running out of poses, she then did some silly ones.

This musical Jill-of-all-trades (she sings, writes songs, and plays both the guitar and the piano) started her career in 2004, when she won in a voice competition sponsored by the shampoo brand Pantene Pro. She got to work with a professional album producer and perform with top musicians as part of her prize. Eventually, Digby inked a deal with Disney’s Hollywood Records.

She released her debut album “Unfold” in 2008. It contained the hits “Say It Again” and “Stupid For You.” In 2009 came a Japanese studio album. Her songs have also been used in several TV shows such as “Smallville” and “The Hills.”

However, most people know Digby as the YouTube “cover” girl with interesting versions of various songs, from Britney Spears’ “Gimme More” to Maroon 5’s “Makes Me Wonder.” Her video channel currently has over 180,000 subscribers. It’s most famous, most viewed and most discussed video (over 13 million views) is her acoustic rendition of Rihanna’s “Umbrella.”

This song—together with tracks from her new album “Breathing Underwater” under MCA Music Inc.—was what she performed during her one-night-only concert last Aug. 1 at the NBC Tent.

Super had a chat with the YouTube sensation before she flew out of the country.

SUPER MAGAZINE: What cover are you most proud of?

MARIE DIGBY: My personal favorite is probably the Incubus song, “Love Hurts.” I love it. For me, a successful cover is when I am able to make it my own and not sound like the original, so I really like that one.

SM: How different is your version of “Love Hurts” from the original one?

MD: The original one is a full-band production so it’s got drums, bass and guitar and all that. Mine I made into a more of a piano ballad.

SM: Among all the covers you’ve done, what’s been the most challenging?

MD: “My Life.” That one was hard to learn because of the rap. There were so many lyrics and I usually cheat and I put the lyrics up on the screen when I am doing the video. But this one, it’s so quick that I had to memorize it. It took me about 50 takes to get it right. There was only one that I got it right, and that’s the one I uploaded.

SM: What cover received a lot of criticism from people?

MD: I got the most flak for probably “Umbrella” and “The Game.” I knew I would get a lot of flak for doing “The Game” because a lot of people would say, “What business does a little acoustic singer-songwriter girl have singing a rap song?” But I just wanted to show people that I love all genres of music.

SM: What songs do you still want to cover?

MD: I’m really into this new song by Lupe Fiasco right now called “Shining Down,” and I also like Amerie’s “Why R U,” which is a new single.

SM: Some singer-songwriters think they’re better than singers because they’re versatile. How do you feel about this?

MD: I don’t see it that way at all. People ask me all the time, why don’t you try out for “American Idol” or for any of those talent shows. I say, because I’d never make it. That’s a different type of singing to me. I don’t even have a vibrato; I’m not a belter. I’m a simple singer, and I don’t think that avenue would have worked for me. But I don’t think myself superior just because I write songs. There are people with fantastic voices who don’t need to write songs; and by the way, there are writers who can’t sing—so they need jobs, too.

SM: Who have you been compared to the most—vocally, musically and physically?

MD: I’ve heard everything from Bjork to—I love Bjork—someone said Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Branch and Vanessa Carlton. I don’t even know if Vanessa Carlton has any Asian in her, but she looks like she can be half-Asian. I think Michelle Branch does have some Asian blood in her, so maybe that’s why people see these similarities.

SM: If someone would do a cover of one of your songs, who would you like that to be?

MD: I really like Imogen Heap; I think she does an incredible job of taking a song that’s already out there and giving it a total different spin.

SM: Which song of yours?

MD: “Unfold,” maybe.

File Under: Other, Touring

Posted by Claire on Aug 04 2009

Always been left of center
Acoustic sensation Marie Digby
By Paul John CaÑa, Contributor

Born to Japanese and Irish parents, Marie (pronounced Ma-ree-ey) Digby first captured hearts with acoustic covers of hits from The Game, Linkin Park and, yes, even Rihanna. Her debut album spawned the hits “Stupid For You.” Now out with a sophomore release, “Breathing Underwater” (under MCA Music) she flew to Manila for the first time to perform on August 1 at the NBC tent at The Fort. The Manila Times had this exclusive phone chat with her prior to the show. Excerpts:

The Manila Times: Where are you now and what’s outside your window?

Marie Digby: I’m in my house. Just got back from band rehearsals and I haven’t gotten the chance to walk my dog so she’s looking at me with doe eyes. Her name is Misty and she’s an Australian shepherd.

TMT: You have this incredible presence on the Internet. Are you satisfied that you took this route rather than going the traditional way?

MD: I am so grateful for YouTube. I feel like the traditional way has never worked for me ever in life. And I’m used to taking a left of center approach to everything. When the YouTube videos started taking off, I was so grateful because I think, what I believe is the traditional method was to go out on the road and tour for years on a van but I didn’t feel like I had the time to do that before my album—which was already finished—would get old.

TMT: Some people can be extremely vocal and critical about their opinions on the Internet. How do you deal with that?

MD: I think in the beginning for anyone, they would take it a bit personally, but really quickly you have to learn to brush it off and know that that’s just one of the very, very few downsides that come with posting [on the web]. You have to bear in mind that pretty much anyone in the world has access to a computer these days. And anyone can say whatever they want. You have to treat it like it’s the harshest open microphone you’ll ever go to. And you have to take the good with the bad and you have to accept both.

TMT: What’s the best thing you ever read about yourself on the Internet?

MD: Anytime someone writes me and says that I was able to change their life in a positive way. For example, I’ve gotten so many emails from kids who are also in school and in a job they don’t like and they’re so scared to take a step and do whatever it is that they’re passionate about, and they listen to my music and they say that gives them the courage to do that. That to me is the most meaningful, and it makes me feel like I’m doing my job.

TMT: But are you concerned about revealing too much of yourself on the Internet?

MD: To be honest, I probably won’t be too concerned about it until I make a mistake and I figure out the consequences. Because I figured out that part of why people relate to me is that they feel like they know me, and for me to be too protective of what I really go through in my life will be closing a lot of people off to me as an artist as well. Because we’re really not so far apart. I may be concerned about it in the future, but right now, it feels right to share my life with my fans.

TMT: Tell me about your songwriting process.

MD: There are a lot of musicians who are very prolific and can write songs all the time, but it comes in spurts for me. I noticed that when I feel like writing a song, it’s when I’ve gone through a very, very emotional experience; something I feel like is really making a mark on my character and my growth as a human. Of course, love, relationships with other people, those are probably my biggest inspiration. I’ve always loved to imagine what other people are feeling, and I feel like I’m a little more sensitive to that than someone would normally be.

TMT: How different is the new album from the first one?

MD: When I started the second album I had just finished touring for the first, and I remember thinking I really wanted to do something different. I wanted a stretch. I wanted to really push myself right now because it’s too easy to fall into a comfort zone and do the same thing. It would be the first album, part 2. And that’s the last thing I wanted. So I decided I wanted my lyrics to remain truthful and to be rich in stories, and be about my own personal experience. But I wanted the sonic landscape to change. I wanted more production and more beat.

TMT: Is there any particular song that you hope would connect more with fans in this new album?

MD: I hope people will love a song that fans would find surprising on my new album, Love With A Stranger and another song called “Feel.” The former is quite different. I would never have written that song for my first album because on Unfold. I really talked about how I’ve spent all my life being so closed off with other people. But with “Stranger,” I’m saying that sometimes, I am human and I do just want to make a connection with someone, even with someone I don’t know just to be reminded that I do feel. It’s taking my guard down a little bit.

TMT: Did you ever think about how your life would’ve turned out of you weren’t doing music like you are now?

MD: I think I would be completely depressed and a madwoman found in the streets, because music really is it for me and I’ve never been happier in my life, and that’s because I’m doing what I love. And I can’t imagine doing anything else.

File Under: Videos, Touring

Posted by Claire on Aug 03 2009

File Under: Pictures, Videos, Touring

Posted by Claire on Aug 03 2009

File Under: Videos, Touring

Posted by Claire on Jul 31 2009

She’s the girl you used to watch on YouTube singing covers, but she’s come a long way from her home videos after signing with Hollywood Records. Tomorrow night, Marie (pronounced Mah-ree-ay) Digby will be performing old hits like “Say It Again” and new ones like “Avalanche” from her second album Breathing Underwater at the NBC Tent. SPOT.ph unearthed 10 little-known things about this half-Japanese, half-Irish singer:

1. She wants you to tweet her any Pinoy song you want her to cover. She doesn’t know any Pinoy song yet but she says, “I would love to [do covers] if people have suggestions.”

2. She wrestles and boxes with her sisters before every performance, actually just “pretend” wrestling and boxing. “It seems to get rid of the nerves,” she says. “I like to watch other people’s concerts before I go onstage. And of course, [the crew] huddle up and hope for a good show.”

3. Heartbreak is good for her. For her songwriting, we mean. “The last thing you want to do when you’re happy is sit down and grab a guitar. You want to go out and celebrate but when you’re heartbroken, it kinda makes sense to turn off the lights and go to the piano. Definitely, heartbreak tends to be the more inspiring emotional state,” she says...
Read More