Staten Island native Ingrid Michaelson was born into a house of all things artistic.

Following in the eclectic footsteps of her mother, a sculptor, and her father, a classical composer, Ingrid began piano lessons at only four years old. Her songwriting career began after college while touring the country in a national theater troupe and spending all her free time composing the songs that would eventually make it onto her current CD, Girls and Boys.

An entrepreneur as well as a talented musician, Ingrid released Girls and Boys on her own Cabin 24 Records. A mere three months after the CD r... (+) expand

Staten Island native Ingrid Michaelson was born into a house of all things artistic.

Following in the eclectic footsteps of her mother, a sculptor, and her father, a classical composer, Ingrid began piano lessons at only four years old. Her songwriting career began after college while touring the country in a national theater troupe and spending all her free time composing the songs that would eventually make it onto her current CD, Girls and Boys.

An entrepreneur as well as a talented musician, Ingrid released Girls and Boys on her own Cabin 24 Records. A mere three months after the CD release, Ingrid won a national songwriting award, sponsored by West Virginia’s Mountainstage.

In November, 2006 an unexpected phone call catapulted her career forward. The music supervisor from Grey’s Anatomy wanted to use the song “Breakable” from Ingrid’s CD in an upcoming episode.

Following the exposure on Grey’s Anatomy, Ingrid’s career as an independent artist immediately hit the fast track and she began to achieve milestones previously unheard of for an artist not signed to a major label. Both national radio and the blogosphere began paying attention.

After a second song, “The Way I Am,” appeared on Grey’s Anatomy, Ingrid’s music reached #13 on the iTunes pop chart and her MySpace page registered a staggering 10,000 hits per day.

The momentum continued when two more songs were chosen to air in back-to-back episodes. The track “Corner of Your Heart” was followed by “Keep Breathing” which was chosen for the most coveted slot on TV—the dramatic climax during the final six minutes of the Grey’s Anatomy 2006 season finale, seen by 25+ million viewers.

The day after the finale aired, the reaction to her beautiful song was instantaneous. Both Ingrid and her lyrics were the #1 and #2 on Google’s most searched items list in the U.S, she charted as the #4 unsigned artist on MySpace. Sales of the album Girls and Boys immediately climbed to #53 on the iTunes pop charts and has remained in the Top 100 since its debut in January 2007—another unprecedented feat for an independent release.

National media began to take notice as well and in early summer 2006, Ingrid appeared on Good Morning America, NPR’s Talk of the Nation and Fuse TV. She’s also been the subject of a front page feature article in the Wall Street Journal.

Ingrid is staying true to her indie roots by continuing to release Girls and Boys through her Cabin 24 Records imprint, with distribution via Original Signal/RED. (-) collapse