I'd been living in Canberra all of six weeks when I toddled off to see Macy Gray in concert at the Royal Theatre in 2000.
Alone, that is.
Didn't know anyone to ask back then to come with me. Was pretty shy as well, in this big new city. (Well, it was big to me.)
Would never usually go to a concert alone. But, for Macy, I did.
The whole world seemed to be singing her single I Try. And singing it out loud and proud, relishing that shared experience of understanding the heartache of when a relationship isn't quite right but is still too good to leave.
And I wanted to be there to see and hear her sing it live. I had a beloved CD (of course) of her first studio album, On How Life Is, and it was on high-rotation in my new-millennium world. In real life, she was wonderful. Of course. Her voice unique and captivating and ever so soulful.
Nearly a quarter of a century later, when I tell her this story of going to her concert alone, Macy's voice softens on the line from Los Angeles.
"Oh, that makes me happy," she says.
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS LATER
And now she's coming back. Her tour of Australia next month celebrates the 25th anniversary of the release of On How Life Is. This time, Macy will be performing in the intimate cocoon of The Playhouse, at the Canberra Theatre, on Thursday, July 11.
Less than a year after that original Canberra concert, Macy won the Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for I Try, up against industry behemoths Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears - and Joni Mitchell. As well as then indie darling Aimee Mann. I Try was also nominated for Song of the Year (won by U2's Beautiful Day.)
On How Life Is, released in 1999, sold more than 10 million copies worldwide, and I Try also topped the charts in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.
"That was amazing. I was much younger, didn't know anything," Macy says of that whirlwind time.
"I wasn't expecting anything. I didn't really have high hopes....When it happened, it was a surprise."
The biggest change to her life was, literally, a new world opening up to her.
"Seeing the world," she said, when asked were her greatest memories of that time.
"I hadn't really been out of the States. I just saw a lot of things I hadn't seen before."
She laughs when reminded she initially thought I Try was "too wordy" to release as a single.
"I still think it's too wordy," she said, with a laugh.
But it struck a chord.
"I think everyone knows that feeling of being in a relationship and things aren't how they're supposed to be," she said.
"You want to leave, but that night you go straight back."
THAT VOICE
Born Natalie McIntyre in Canton, Ohio, Macy was bullied as a child because of her unique-sounding speaking voice.
"Just, you know, nothing violent, but calling me names," she said.
"That's just as painful. I don't remember bruises but I remember the words people used to call me."
While her voice is nothing but breezy and warm over the phone, Macy says those taunts stayed with her.
"It's so crazy. I still listen to my voice and kind of second-guess myself," she said.
"For so much of my childhood, I was the girl with the squeaky, high-pitched voice."
Married for two years in the late 1990s, Macy has three adult children, two daughters and a son, all involved in creative pursuits, from art to photography.
At 56, she says the biggest change is that travelling "is not as easy".
ON THE BIG AND LITTLE SCREEN
Over the years, she has made multiple cameos in film and television, from Spider-Man to Fuller House to The Real Housewives of Potomac.
"Doing TV, I think it was just an opportunity," she said.
"I'd never been on TV before. It was like Disneyland."
One of her appearances was on the Australian version of The Masked Singer in 2021, dressed as Atlantis. American singer Anastacia, as Vampire, won the series, which was distinguished by being held in the midst of covid lockdowns, without a studio audience and social-distancing at its most extreme.
"For me, it was a really great experience. It filled up my soul," she said.
"But it was also pretty wild, right in the middle of covid. If we went outside our hotel room, we would have been kicked off the show. There's was no one on the streets, everyone had to wear a mas. Covid was wild, for everyone, really wild."
WHAT'S NEXT
Over her career, Macy has released 10 studio albums, one live album and three compilation albums.
And she's not finished yet.
Macy says she has a new record coming out soon, including four new songs. It'll be called Reset Part 3.
"I think I also want to do a cover album," she said.
She sings a little of one of her new songs. Just for me.
Oh my heart.
- Tickets are selling fast for Macy Gray's concert at The Playhouse at 8pm on Thursday July 11. Go to macygraytour.com/ or to canberratheatrecentre.com.au/ to purchase tickets.
