In late May of 2007, Marié Digby—a 24-year-old singer-songwriter from Los Angeles—set up a webcam in her living room and recorded a breathy, acoustic rendition of Rihanna's hit single "Umbrella." Within weeks of uploading the video to YouTube, the wide-eyed, porcelain-skinned chanteuse had been seen by 2 million Web surfers, appeared on Last Call With Carson Daly, and had one of her songs featured on The Hills.
But no sooner had the Japanese-Irish-American girl next door been held up as a symbol of the grassroots, star-making power of the Internet than the conspiracy theories began making the rounds. "YouTube Phenom Has a Big Secret," wrote the Wall Street Journal in a front-page article last September, noting that Digby had been signed to Hollywood Records since 2005 and dismissing her videos as a viral marketing ploy. Suddenly, Digby found herself at the center of an Internet firestorm: Was she or wasn't she "real"?
Half a year later, Marié is still standing. With an album of original songs out this month, the girl who once shouted down a roomful of heavy metal hecklers sets
the record straight about the real role of YouTube in catapulting her to fame, the haters who write her off as a prefab phenom, and why—unlike some other It girls—she always, always wears underwear.
The Wall Street Journal article accused you of being a Lonelygirl15-style "product" of your record label. What's the story with that?
They made it seem like I had some horrible dark secret! The writer totally misquoted me. He wanted to know why I hadn't put my label's logo up on my site. I still haven't, actually. I told him, "Hollywood Records wasn't involved at all in the making of this site, and I run it completely on my own. I don't believe they define me as an artist. I also don't believe"—and here's where he got his quote—"that telling people I'm signed to a label is going to make them like me more."
So Hollywood Records didn't engineer your rise to fame and fortune?
No! They're a busy company with a lot of artists on their hands. It's not really their job to sit and think about small ways to get my name out there. I took full responsibility for that. Here's the deal: In 2006, I played pretty much every venue in Los Angeles—open mikes, showcases, what have you. I realized that if I kept doing that for years, it might become effective for creating a fan base, but in my eyes, I was running out of time. YouTube was my last resort.
What do you mean, "running out of time"?
When you're signed to a major label you have a specific amount of time before you're not new anymore. At that point, it had already been six months since I finished my first album, and it still hadn't come out. I knew that if I didn't get things going soon, it would be shelved.
So you came up with the idea to do covers?
Yeah. I wanted to do originals, but I didn't think anyone on YouTube would find them. It wasn't until I put up the "Umbrella" video that everything exploded.
Why do you think people are so caught up in the is-she-or-isn't-she-real debate?
I think because it sounded too good to be true. Which it was. But at least it started a great dialogue between people. I actually don't have that many bad feelings about it anymore. The publicity was initially negative, but because of it, lots of people have asked me for the true story. Half of me wants to send that Journal guy a box of chocolates and some flowers for putting my face on the front page. Thanks!
Speaking of your face, it seems like a lot of your fans comment not only on your music, but also on your looks. Any stalker issues?
Well, there's one guy who borders on stalker. He's obsessed with girls who wear guitar straps when they play. And I don't use a guitar strap most of the time. He would write me about five times a day asking, "Why aren't you wearing your guitar strap in your videos?"
You weren't adequately fulfilling his fantasy.
No, I guess I wasn't! I'm apparently not the only one he stalks. He writes any girl who plays a guitar in their videos.
A psychologist could have a field day with that.
Oh, God, I'm sure there's some reason for his twisted fantasy!
Do cautionary tales like Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan make you nervous about becoming a pop star?
I don't think I'm ever going to be one of those paparazzi targets. I'm not the biggest partier, so I'm not at those clubs. And I wear underwear at all times, so I don't have to worry about crotch shots. Those girls invite that into their lives. I don't think that's anything I'll ever have to worry about
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