Ingrid Michaelson

Ingrid Ellen Michaelson (born December 8, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter, composer, and actress.

Known for a delicate, comforting voice and sentimental songwriting, the emotional honesty of her music is widely relatable. She founded Cabin 24 Records, an independent label through which she has released her entire studio output&mdash;including, as of June 2024, eight studio albums, a compilation album, and thirteen singles, including platinum hits "The Way I Am," "Girls Chase Boys," and "You and I."

Michaelson has scored songs for television, including Little Fires Everywhere (Emmy nominated) and Tiny Beautiful Things (both for Hulu), and was executive music producer for Apple TV+’s Slumberkins, creating original songs for the series. Michaelson was recently seen as a guest star in Season 3 of Netflix’s Girls5Eva, and starred in the indie film Humor Me alongside co-stars Jemaine Clement and Elliott Gould.

Michaelson made her Broadway on-stage debut in 2017, starring in Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812. In 2024, she made her Broadway debut as a composer, writing the music and lyrics for the Tony-nominated musical The Notebook. Michaelson is set to release her ninth studio album, For the Dreamers, on August 23.

Early life
Ingrid Ellen Michaelson was born on December 8, 1979, in New York City. Her father, Carl Michaelson, was a manager of copyrights for the publishing company Carl Fischer Music and a composer on the side. Her mother, Elizabeth Egbert, was a sculptor, of Dutch ancestry.

As a child, Michaelson performed in a musical theatre group called Staten Island Kids On Stage. She took up piano at age four, and trained until age seven at Manhattan's Third Street Music School. She continued piano at the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island's Dorothy Delson Kuhn Music Institute. While there, she met vocal coach Elizabeth McCullough, who worked with her through high school.

Michaelson is a graduate of Staten Island Technical High School and Binghamton University, where she received a degree in theater. While at Binghamton University, she was a member of the Binghamtonics, a co-ed a cappella group; the Pappy Parker Players, an improv comedy group; and the theatre repertory company under Sue Peters.

2004–08: Slow the Rain and Girls and Boys
While living on Staten Island and mainly busking in Lower Manhattan, Michaelson self-released her debut album Slow the Rain on January 10, 2005.

In 2006, Michaelson independently released her second album, Girls and Boys. The album, like her previous music, was streamed on Myspace. A music producer from the ABC drama Grey's Anatomy found her music online. After being contacted by the music producer, Michaelson began to be approached by several record companies. Wanting to retain all of the rights she had as an independent artist, Michaelson developed a deal with Original Signal Recordings, acting as the marketing and distribution arm for Michaelson's label. Through Original Signal, Michaelson re-released Girls and Boys into mainstream marketing on September 18, 2007. It peaked at #63 on the Billboard charts and received positive reviews from critics. "The Way I Am", a song from the album, was featured in an Old Navy commercial. In less than 3 weeks, more than 65 appearances in prime-time had been made, including 17 season premieres. In 2007, Ingrid played her first Holiday Hop, an annual Christmas concert in New York City.

In 2006, Michaelson teamed up with William Fitzsimmons on his album Goodnight, which was released that same year.

2008–10: Be OK, Everybody, and Human Again
In October 2008, Michaelson released her third album, and first compilation album, Be OK, a charity record to support cancer research. In December 2008, Michaelson and Sara Bareilles released "Winter Song." The song was featured on The Hotel Café Presents Winter Songs, a compilation of holiday tracks sung by a lineup of female singer-songwriters. Michaelson and Bareilles performed "Winter Song" for Barack Obama and his family at the National Christmas Tree Lighting in December 2010.

In 2009, Michaelson released her fourth album, Everybody. Everybody debuted on #18 on the Billboard charts. It features the single "Maybe".

In 2010, Michaelson co-wrote the song "Parachute" with Marshall Altman for British singer Cheryl Cole. It was featured on Cole's debut solo album 3 Words, peaking at #5 on the UK Singles Chart. Michaelson initially believed the track was "so poppy" that she could not release it herself. However, after the song was reworked by "Everybody" producer Dan Romer to make a more "interesting, funky production", Michaelson released the song as a personal single.

On January 24, 2012, Michaelson released her fifth album, Human Again. Human Again debuted at #5 on the Billboard charts and received positive reviews, with critics praising the album's unique sound. To promote the album, Michaelson embarked on The Human Again Tour, with three North American legs, and one international leg.

In 2012, with her husband and fellow musician Greg Laswell, Michaelson co-wrote and sang the duet "Landline", which appeared on his album of the same name.

In September 2012, she was featured in a campaign called "30 Songs / 30 Days" to support Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, a multi-platform media project inspired by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's book.

2014–2017: Lights Out, It Doesn't Have To Make Sense, and Alter Egos
On February 4, 2014, Michaelson released the lead single, "Girls Chase Boys", from her album Lights Out. The song reached #52 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Afterlife" and "Time Machine" were released as the second and third singles.

On April 25, 2014, Lights Out was released. The deluxe edition, which was released in November later that year, contains an additional six bonus tracks. On April 29, 2016, Michaelson released the song "Hell No". It served as the lead single from her seventh studio album, It Doesn't Have to Make Sense, which was released on August 26, 2016. In July, she released a second video of "Hell No," which incorporates members of the Deaf West theater company performing the lyrics in American Sign Language. In support of the album, Michaelson embarked on the Hell No Tour beginning in Cincinnati on October 6, 2016.

In 2016, Michaelson and AJR co-wrote their single "The Lotto". AJR would go on to support Michaelson on the Hell No Tour.

On May 12, 2017, Michaelson released the five-track EP Alter Egos. It consists of re-worked songs from It Doesn't Have to Make Sense with guest vocalists on each track. The EP featured collaborations with Sara Bareilles, Tegan and Sara, AJR, Lucius, and The Civil Wars' John Paul White.

In 2017, Michaelson contributed "Smallest Light" and "Stay Right Where You Are" to the soundtrack for the film The Space Between Us.

Michaelson made her Broadway debut playing the role of Sonya Rostova in the musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 from July 3 to August 13, 2017.

2018–2021: Songs for the Season and Stranger Songs
Michaelson made her film debut in the comedy film Humor Me alongside co-stars Jemaine Clement and Elliott Gould, which was released January 12, 2018. On October 26, 2018, Michaelson released a Christmas album called Ingrid Michaelson's Songs for the Season. On the album, Michaelson collaborated with Christina Perri, Grace VanderWaal, Leslie Odom Jr., and Will Chase. The deluxe version of the album was released in 2021 and features collaborations with Jason Mraz and Zooey Deschanel. Ingrid and Jason Mraz originally released "Christmas Valentine" as an Amazon Original single on Nov 14, 2019 before the song was added to the deluxe version of Songs for the Season in 2021.

On May 10, 2019, she released "Missing You", which served as the lead single off of her ninth studio album, Stranger Songs. Michaelson first announced the album in January 2018, writing that it would be inspired by the Netflix series Stranger Things. The album was released on June 28, 2019.

In 2020, Ingrid featured on an acoustic version of Ben Rector's song "It Would Be You." In 2021, Ingrid Michaelson collaborated with British-Pakistani singer Zayn Malik on the single "To Begin Again," which released on March 17.

In July 2020, Michaelson was nominated for her first Emmy Award in the Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics category for the song "Build it Up", written specifically for the finale of Hulu's hit miniseries Little Fires Everywhere. Michaelson partnered with collaborators Juan Ariza and Gabriel Mann to compose an original song "Not Gone," a cover of "Closer to Fine" and the score for the Hulu miniseries Tiny Beautiful Things. Michaelson served as executive music producer for Apple TV+’s Slumberkins, creating original songs for the series with her bandmates Allie Moss, Hannah Winkler, and Billy Libby.

2022–present: The Notebook and For the Dreamers
In January 2019, Michaelson announced she was writing the music and lyrics for the musical adaptation of The Notebook. After its world premiere at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in 2022, the musical found its way to Broadway, officially opening at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on March 14, 2024. "Carry Me Home" won a Broadway.com Audience Choice Award for Favorite New Song. The musical received three nominations at the 77th Tony Awards. The Original Broadway Cast Recording, released via Atlantic, reached #1 on Billboard’s Cast Albums Chart.

In 2022, Michaelson featured on Ariza's song "The Sky and Me." Later that year, Michaelson collaborated with A Great Big World on an original song called "It's Almost Christmas," released on November 11, 2022. In 2024, Michaelson made a guest appearance in Season 3 of Netflix's Girls5Eva, playing the role of Pixie, a folk singer-songwriter.

Michaelson has released a string of singles from her forthcoming album For the Dreamers, due to release August 23, 2024. She released "Love Is" with Jason Mraz on February 2, a cover of the song "What a Wonderful World" on May 23, and "It Never Ends" on May 30.

Band members
Past and present band members include Allie Moss (guitar and background vocals), Hannah Winkler (keys and background vocals), Chris Kuffner (bass), Bess Rogers (guitar), Saul Simon MacWilliams (keys), Billy Libby (guitar and background vocals), Sarab Singh (drums), and Elliot Jacobson (drums).

Personal life
Michaelson married fellow musician Greg Laswell in 2011. They divorced in 2015. In late 2015, Michaelson announced her relationship with film and stage actor Will Chase.

Michaelson identifies as a feminist.

Discography

 * Slow the Rain (2005)
 * Girls and Boys (2006)
 * Be OK (2008)
 * Everybody (2009)
 * Human Again (2012)
 * Lights Out (2014)
 * It Doesn't Have to Make Sense (2016)
 * Songs for the Season (2018)
 * Stranger Songs (2019)
 * For the Dreamers (2024)