1. 22 | style weekend | manila bulletin OCTOBER 21, 2011 OCTOBER 21, 2011 manila bulletin | style weekend | 23
PhotographedbyMichaelVarcas
by Maris A. Mortel
profile
Singer/songwriter and YouTube sensation Marié Digby packs
of the globe–and record an album
her suitcase to live on the other side
especially for her Filipino fans
Heart Songs
“Almost always, I
write songs about
someone, an incident,
or a memory that is
very specific in my
life,” says Marié of
her inspirations
M
arié Digby may not have Filipino blood but judging from the
warm and friendly vibe this Los Angeles- and Tokyo-based
singer/songwriter exudes, it’s no wonder her Filipino fans
have adopted her as their own. Walking down from her bedroom loft
wearing a flow-y cream top, jeans, and boots, Marié (pronounced ma-
ree-ey) opens her arms in a casual hug, with a smile as bright as the
sunlight streaming in generously through the wide windows of her
Greenhills unit. Having gained international fame for her heartfelt
and intimate acoustic performances on YouTube—her cover of
Rihanna’s runaway hit “Umbrella” posted in 2007 has reached over
20 million views to date—many of which were recorded in her home,
speaking with Marié across her merienda-laden dining table seem apt.
Despite being initially known for her renditions of songs by
other artists, Marié is proving herself a talented songwriter; her
debut album Unfold reached the top 30 at the US Billboard
Charts with her hit single “Say It Again,” and tracks “Breathing
Underwater” and “Avalanche” off her second album Breathing
Underwater, getting featured in popular TV shows like ER,
Greek, The Hills, One Tree Hill, and Smallville. She has also
released an all-Japanese album entitled Second Home, and
recently, an album recorded in the Philippines entitled Your
Love.
Much like her pretty, doll-like features (credited to her
Japanese mom and Irish-American dad), and her sweet,
endearing voice, Marié’s songwriting skills
are also God-given—if her creative
process is any proof. “They pop
out of nowhere. (Laughs) They
choose when they want to come
out…during car rides, while
walking the dog, when I’m taking a shower, even
when I’m in mid conversation.”
In August 2009, Marié had a one-night only
concert in the Philippines, and has maintained a
pretty busy schedule since. Last year, Marié was
part of the all-female lineup of Lilith Fair, which
included headliners Sarah McLachlan, Sheryl
Crow, and Mary J. Blige. “It was a very humbling
experience; they are legends,” she gushes.
“They’re people I really look up to as a musician,
a songwriter, and a performer. They’re also wives
and mothers, and advocates for charities and
movements, so I really respect all of that about
them.”
She was also chosen to host the
international beauty pageant Miss
Earth 2010—a role, she admits, took
a bit of adjusting to. “I had to think
very quickly on my feet, and I’m not
actually great with words—I much
prefer singing them, than speaking
them. But it was a good challenge,”
she shares. “There was a thrill in it
for me too. I like being a little bit
scared, it makes me feel like I’m
growing.”
After her first European concert
in Cannes and Paris early this year,
Marié once again took a leap and
decided to pursue opportunities in
the Philippines. She has since made
Manila her third home these past six
months, shuttling to and from Los
Angeles and Tokyo, while recording
her album Your Love especially for her
Filipino fans, which was released last
month. “Coming to the Philippines
in 2009 was the first step because
since the beginning of my career
when my videos started taking off on
YouTube, I was fully aware that the
majority of the people watching my
videos were my Filipino fans,” she
shares. “So part two was making an
album specifically for them.”
Marié is constantly in touch with
her fans via her Twitter @mariedigby
and her fan sites such as digbyholics.
com, and reading their messages
and comments helped her in the making of the
album. “I have a direct relationship with my fans.
I listen to their feedback and their opinions. And
it’s pretty clear that an acoustic-sounding album
is what they wanted. They tended to like my
happier, uplifting, sweet songs so I tried to make
an album consisting of that,” says Marié. The
album highlights include her YouTube favorite
“Swoon,” her title track “Your Love” which has a
duet version with matinee idol Sam Milby (whom
she dated briefly last year), another original song
“I Do” which has a duet version with actor/singer
Jericho Rosales, and a cover of Kuh Ledesma’s “I
Think I’m In Love.”
Before all this began, Marié didn’t think she
had a voice that people would want to listen to. “I
knew I loved to sing, but I was always turned down
when I tried out for school musicals,” she says. “I
sang for the first time in front of an audience when
I was already 18. I’m not really a Mariah Carey or
a Whitney Houston type of a singer with lots of
range and dynamics. I’m a very simple singer, and I
think I shine the most when I’m singing songs that
I personally wrote. But at the same time I also have
a passion for interpreting songs and making them
my own.” She had been writing songs secretly since
the age of 15, but neither her family nor friends had
seen her perform until her senior year. “I wanted to
present one of my songs as a surprise for my high
school classmates. But I couldn’t find someone
to sing it for me, so I decided I’d do it myself.”
After her performance the stunned crowd gave
the unsuspecting, budding musician a standing
ovation.
It took more than a year, while taking up
Philosophy in University of California, Berkeley,
before Marié decided to take a break to pursue
her passion. “I was going to go to Law school
like my father. But while in college I realized, this
isn’t what I want to do. Music’s what I love. So
I felt, now’s the time to go for it, if I’m going to
try it at all. And I have to give it 100%.” Having
virtually zero experience performing, Marié
diligently devised her own training. “I started
going to open mics all over Los Angeles—that was
my boot camp,” she recalls. “After over a year, I
graduated to doing shows. I was also interning at
a record label so I was learning about the business
side too. And then when I was 21, I won a song-
writing contest sponsored by Pantene Pro-V for
my song ‘Miss Invisible.’ It led to a publishing
deal. I signed to Universal and made a demo,
which helped me get my first record deal [with
Hollywood Records] when I was 22.”
Marié then went straight to work, spending a
year on her first album, Unfold. “It was finished,
everything was ready to go, and…silence at the
label…deafening silence. I realized, they’re either
never going to release my album or they’ll drop
me and keep my album, and I’ll never get to see
my songs again. I knew they weren’t going to give
me a music video or a tour or anything like that,
but I begged for a laptop so I could at least make
my own videos. I thought, even if one new person
finds me on the internet, I’d have done my job.”
After a few posts on YouTube, Marié’s acoustic
cover of Rihanna’s “Umbrella” became viral, and
the number of subscribers to her YouTube channel
rose dramatically–to almost 300,000
today. After a few months, her album was
released. With a growing loyal audience
for her distinct style of acoustic pop rock,
Marié’s YouTube channel has gained over
100 million views.
Marié’s determination and passion
has taken her across the globe and back,
and she is bent on reaching as far as she
can. “I want to break boundaries. One
of the things I never anticipated when
I started music in America was that I
would ever be given boundaries because
of my ethnicity, but I was. I want to
prove that your ethnicity doesn’t bind
you to making it just at one place. Music
can transcend that. Good music is good
music. And I just want to positively
impact as many lives as possible.”
Over the years, Marié has discovered
that making music takes “really
deliberate planning and work, and
spilling of your heart and soul.” She’s
become well-versed in paying her dues—
and doesn’t think twice about putting
in every ounce of hard work, and doing
whatever it takes to reach success, with
unwavering focus. “From the moment I
wake up to the moment I fall asleep, all
I think about is music, really. I’m trying
to make a conscious effort to make more
time for a personal life—because I am
28 and I do want to get married and
have children, and I’ve put that aside
for so many years. But pretty much all
I think about is music. There’s nothing else for
me. People ask me, If you weren’t doing music
what would you do? I have no answer. I really
don’t know.” It’s often been said that success is
a journey, then looking at all that Marié’s gone
through to be able to share her gift—her music—
she already has it in spades.
YOUR LOVE
Catch Marié live during her mall tour to
promote her new album.
Dates and venue: October 28, Robinsons
Place Manila; November 5, Robinsons
Nova Market; November 12, Robinsons
Place Sta. Rosa; November 13, Robinsobs
Galleria; November 19, Robinsons Star Mills
Pampanga; November 20, Robinsons Imus
Time: 5pm