Skylar Grey was born on February 23, 1986 in Mazomanie, Wisconsin, USA as Holly Brook Hafferman.
I never really focus on writing for other people, to be honest. Every song I've ever written was for...Show more »
I never really focus on writing for other people, to be honest. Every song I've ever written was for me to sing. Maybe if I'm writing for a rapper, but I'd still write it as though it was for myself and then sometimes I'm actually asked to do the part. Show less «
My mom was a folk singer and Celtic harpist. My dad was in a barbershop quartet and my great grandma...Show more »
My mom was a folk singer and Celtic harpist. My dad was in a barbershop quartet and my great grandma was an opera singer. As I grew up, I discovered pop music and Top 40 radio, but it was in the '90s, so music was very different then - it was really lyrical. Show less «
I played trumpet in school once because I joined band because a cute boy played trumpet too. And I w...Show more »
I played trumpet in school once because I joined band because a cute boy played trumpet too. And I was really bad at trumpet. Show less «
I would say that nobody is going to work harder for your career than yourself - the one with the vis...Show more »
I would say that nobody is going to work harder for your career than yourself - the one with the vision. No matter how many people you hire, nobody is going to get is as much as yourself does. So it's really important to be your own leader at all times and not hand it all off, otherwise the whole empire will fall apart. Show less «
I love New York. I first came here with my Mom when I was in 9th grade. I took the subway for the fi...Show more »
I love New York. I first came here with my Mom when I was in 9th grade. I took the subway for the first time and the doors closed between me and my Mom, and I was so scared. I could see her through the window and I didn't know what to do. I got off at the next stop and she caught up to me, but I couldn't stop crying. Show less «
I don't watch movie trailers. I just go to the movie, and I don't know anything about it, because th...Show more »
I don't watch movie trailers. I just go to the movie, and I don't know anything about it, because that's the only way I appreciate the movie fully. Show less «
Mazomanie doesn't even have a stoplight, so it doesn't do a lot. But the cheese curds there are unbe...Show more »
Mazomanie doesn't even have a stoplight, so it doesn't do a lot. But the cheese curds there are unbelievable. I've never had them anywhere else, even at places in California that claim to have the real thing. There's a cheese factory in Arena, Mazomanie's neighboring town, and they'll give you fresh curds that are so amazing. Show less «
Expectations are an evil thing.
Expectations are an evil thing.
I think, honestly, that a lot of people think I'm sad and dark all the time, because of the music I ...Show more »
I think, honestly, that a lot of people think I'm sad and dark all the time, because of the music I have made. But there's a huge part of my personality that's really energetic, outgoing and goofy. Show less «
The best thing that can happen is that a song you've written will live in the world so people can he...Show more »
The best thing that can happen is that a song you've written will live in the world so people can hear it. Show less «
I moved out to L.A. when I was 17, dropped out of high school, and pursued a career in music.
I moved out to L.A. when I was 17, dropped out of high school, and pursued a career in music.
There's this one song called 'Final Warning' that I'm really excited about because I love the contra...Show more »
There's this one song called 'Final Warning' that I'm really excited about because I love the contrast of my vocal sounding very soothing and my harsh lyrics. Show less «
Putting out a debut album is a bit scary - I want it to be just right, so I took some extra time to ...Show more »
Putting out a debut album is a bit scary - I want it to be just right, so I took some extra time to finish it. Eminem's increased involvement has been such a blessing; I'm getting guidance from an artist I really admire and trust. Show less «
I didn't have any knowledge of the music industry when I first got to L.A., and I really didn't know...Show more »
I didn't have any knowledge of the music industry when I first got to L.A., and I really didn't know on a creative level what I wanted to sound like, so I had to do a lot of experimenting. It led to a spiral of depression and being broke. Show less «
Honestly, I don't recommend anyone get into music. If you have something else that you're good at, d...Show more »
Honestly, I don't recommend anyone get into music. If you have something else that you're good at, do that instead. This is a really tough world to live in. Show less «
I discovered that my insecurities and my flaws were things that I actually need to embrace, and I le...Show more »
I discovered that my insecurities and my flaws were things that I actually need to embrace, and I let them become my superpowers. Show less «
I've been through a lot in the music industry, in life. I've learned that I have to be tough in this...Show more »
I've been through a lot in the music industry, in life. I've learned that I have to be tough in this world. Show less «
I have a tattoo on my foot that says 'it's a whale' in Japanese, because Japanese people kill whales...Show more »
I have a tattoo on my foot that says 'it's a whale' in Japanese, because Japanese people kill whales. My stuffed whale was like most children's teddy bear. I took it with me everywhere. I slept with it. I couldn't live without my whale. Show less «
Writing songs for other people was never the goal for me.
Writing songs for other people was never the goal for me.
One of my biggest problems is I get bored too easily, and I like to experiment too much, to the poin...Show more »
One of my biggest problems is I get bored too easily, and I like to experiment too much, to the point where I confuse myself and I confuse my fans. Show less «
When I was young, my voice was so strong, and I would annoy people because I had such a loud little ...Show more »
When I was young, my voice was so strong, and I would annoy people because I had such a loud little voice. And then it changed, and I thought I wouldn't be able to sing again, because I thought you had to sing like Christina Aguilera to be a singer. Show less «
Your personal life, your professional life, and your creative life are all intertwined. I went throu...Show more »
Your personal life, your professional life, and your creative life are all intertwined. I went through a few very difficult years where I felt like a failure. But it was actually really important for me to go through that. Struggle, for me, is the most inspirational thing in the world at the end of the day - as long as you treat it that way. Show less «
I'm not a big fan of trying to be a sex symbol or any of that stuff because I really like the music ...Show more »
I'm not a big fan of trying to be a sex symbol or any of that stuff because I really like the music to speak for itself. Show less «
I've always been jealous of rappers, because they can fit so many words into a song and tell a story...Show more »
I've always been jealous of rappers, because they can fit so many words into a song and tell a story with lots of details. But when you're a songwriter, you have to fit the words to the melody and you can't fit as much in. I'm just a big fan of storytelling. Show less «
I'm a shy person, so I get really nervous going into interviews.
I'm a shy person, so I get really nervous going into interviews.
I think one of the reasons I've had success in hip-hop is that I can bring out vulnerability in peop...Show more »
I think one of the reasons I've had success in hip-hop is that I can bring out vulnerability in people who are generally seen as tough guys. To me, when a hip-hop musician always plays tough, I find it annoying because I know they're not really like that - there's something deeper and vulnerable. There has to be, because they're human beings. Show less «
I have a lot of experience in the studio, performing onstage, talking to an audience. I learned most...Show more »
I have a lot of experience in the studio, performing onstage, talking to an audience. I learned most of that stuff when I was performing with my mom. Show less «
Anytime someone basically commissions a piece, I write a song based on something personal to them. I...Show more »
Anytime someone basically commissions a piece, I write a song based on something personal to them. I go online and I do research on that person - Wikipedia, YouTube interviews, anywhere I can find a piece of information that kind of tugs at your heart a little bit. Show less «