Skylar Grey Steps Into the Spotlight

The late Nate Dogg might have been the King of Hooks, but a new Queen seems to be only just beginning her reign.

Whether you're familiar with her name or not, there's a very good chance that, whenever you turn on the radio, you are hearing her crystal clear pipes coming through your speakers. Skylar Grey is the name (remember it!), and she has been a key player in hit after hit, and, believe it or not, it’s been going on for years!

Growing up in a folk duo with her mother in Wisconsin, music has been a part of Grey’s life for a long time. When she first hit the L.A. music scene, she went by the name Holly Brook. She was signed to Linkin Park’s label, Machine Shop Recordings, and once opportunity began to rise, so did her recognition. You might  remember her from one of the most unforgettable songs of 2006: Fort Minors’s “Where’d You Go”. She's also toured as an opening act for Jamie Cullum, k.d. lang, Daniel Powter, Teddy Geiger, and Duncan Shiek.

After releasing her album Like Blood Like Honey in 2006, Brook took on the new alias by which we know her today: Skylar Grey. Producer Alex da Kid gave Grey a production deal which led to her participation as a contributing writer for Eminem’s chart-topping hit featuring Rihanna, “Love the Way You Lie”, and even received a Grammy Nomination for it. She co-wrote Diddy-Dirty Money’s “Coming Home” hook and “Castle Wall” by T.I. and Christina Aguilera. Grey's distinctive voice (reminiscent of The Cranberries's Dolores O'Riordan) also appears on Lupe Fiasco’s second single “Words I Never Said” from his latest album Lasers. Quite an impressive resume! We all got our first real look at Skylar when she performed live alongside Em and Dre at this year's Grammy Awards, singing the chorus to the smash hit "I Need a Doctor."

Since her arrival on the West Coast, Skylar Grey's contribution to the music we love has been invaluable. I'm psyched to see her finally breaking out on her own, premiering her own music at Lollapalooza this summer and giving mainstream audiences a proper introduction to this soon-to-be superstar!

Check out our interview with Skylar at the Studio, below:

The Dr. is Back!

For ten years, we have been patiently waiting for “the one and only D-R-E” to make his solo return back to the forefront of the music scene. Though, he has being doing good by his fans and looking out for us by pairing up with Jimmy Iovine and, more recently, Lady Gaga, not to mention giving us music lovers a better way to listen to music through his high performance headphones and sound transmission company, Beats by Dr. Dre  (because “people aren’t hearing all the music”). But we still missed the creative lyricist that is Dr. Dre. Now the long wait is over.



The first single from his highly anticipated album, Detox, is a pulsating jam called "Kush", which gives us a taste of what to expect once the full album is released in early 2011. This track is destined to be a hit, not the least of which because it features long time friend and collaborator, Snoop Dogg, and singing sensation, Akon. Doing it up right with his legendary producing skills, this album will be anything but a detox and more like an addiction, and "Kush" is the gateway drug!



If you haven’t already, listen to “Kush” and see for yourself on Dre's Website.