<ul class="summary-list"><li>We launched the <keyword id="9131107" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="stay-insider-sessions">Stay Insider Sessions</keyword> to connect with artists while the world practices social distancing.</li><li>Next up, <keyword id="1494724" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Skylar-Grey">Skylar Grey</keyword> explained why she decided to cover <keyword id="2092059" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Travis-Scott">Travis Scott</keyword>'s 2016 single "Goosebumps," and how the "legend" has inspired her solo <keyword id="6354530" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="music">music</keyword> career.</li><li>"I'm grateful that Travis Scott kind of paved the way to opening people's ears up in the popular music world to more experimental stuff," she said.</li><li>Grey, who has written hit songs for artists like Eminem, Rihanna, and Nicki Minaj, is planning to release more solo music — but isn't building towards a traditional album release.</li><li>"I don't really believe in albums anymore," she said. "So I think it's more that, yes, I'm working on a project, but I'd like to call it more of just an endless playlist that I keep adding to."</li></ul>Insider launched the <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/stay-insider-sessions">Stay Insider Sessions</a> to connect with musicians while they, like many of us, are grappling with isolation and unprecedented downtime. Next up: Skylar Grey.When you hear <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/beyonce">Beyoncé</a> crooning about humanity and humility on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryr75N0nki0">Eminem's "Walk on Water"</a> — "I don't think you should believe in me the way that you do / 'Cause I'm terrified to let you down" — it's actually Skylar Grey's soul that she's bearing."I think I found out a week before it came out that Beyoncé was the one who cut those vocals," Grey shared during a recent Zoom call with Insider, "and I was just stoked. Beyoncé is singing my music, something I wrote. It's just crazy."Of course, Grey was already a seasoned songwriter, having famously written Eminem and Rihanna's Grammy-nominated duet "Love the Way You Lie" — in addition to more hits like Fort Minor's "Where'd You Go," Dr. Dre's "I Need a Doctor," Nicki Minaj's "Bed of Lies," and Macklemore's "Glorious."But Grey said this time felt different."To be honest, I thought that that song was really good and I did want to keep it for myself," she revealed."But I have this thing — there's a little bit of a safety zone for me in giving songs to other people because I know that I can make a living doing that," she continued. "And so I thought, 'Well, this is a good one, and I think somebody is going to cut this one, and I can keep my life going by giving the song to somebody who's going to make it big, versus me just putting it out.'"<div type="image" title="skylar grey zoom interview" height="900" width="1200" msid="76348692" hostid="261"></div>More recently, Grey has made a point to defamiliarize herself with her comfort zone.She left Los Angeles for the open space of Napa Valley and freed herself from label restrictions; now, the ability to sing her own emotions, ideas, and innermost thoughts has felt more accessible and urgent than ever."I set out to be an artist. I didn't set out to be a songwriter for other people, that just kind of happened by accident," Grey explained. "I'm totally free and clear of a label, and it's actually been really liberating creatively for me to just really focus on what I want to do and not have to please the label or please anybody else," she continued. "It's just making the music that I really would want to buy and listen to."<h2>'I don't really believe in albums anymore'</h2>The 34-year-old singer-songwriter, born Holly Brook Hafermann, released "Dark Thoughts" in May — an intimate, atmospheric introduction to her new self-produced sonic landscape.She told me she's been feeling "super productive" during her self-quarantine. Her home studio offers comfort, solitude, and freedom, rather than the "pressure to deliver" that creeps in during studio sessions with collaborators."I'm going back to the stuff that has always inspired me, which is kind of dark, and interesting chord changes," she explained. "And then I'm incorporating more current things that I've been into, which is heavy 808s and a nice sub, with vocals that are very soft and beautiful."<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OOFFXY6IkF4" frameborder="0"></iframe>She plans to release more music throughout the year and beyond, but isn't building towards a traditional album release."I don't really believe in albums anymore," she said. "It's just such a different industry than it was when I was growing up, buying CDs and stuff.""I see people put out albums now, and it feels like they put a ton of time and energy into them. They drop their albums and then a week later, nobody cares," she continued. "That's the feeling I get from it at least. Or it's not that nobody cares, but people move on to the next thing because there's constant content coming out every day.""So I think it's more that, yes, I'm working on a project, but I'd like to call it more of just an endless playlist that I keep adding to."<h2>'Travis Scott is one of the more creative people in music'</h2>Grey's most recent release is a moody, melancholic cover of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dst9gZkq1a8">Travis Scott's 2016 single "Goosebumps,"</a> featuring Kendrick Lamar.<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CAwfXSxpFij" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">My cover of @travisscott’s #goosebumps is OUT NOW! Link in bio. #travisscott #kendricklamar #skylargrey</a> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Skylar Grey (@skylargrey) on May 28, 2020 at 9:03pm PDT<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-05-29T04:03:05+00:00">May 28, 2020 at 9:03pm PDT</time></div></blockquote>"It's the first song that I heard of Travis Scott's — or at least, it was the first that I recognized as him and thought, 'Oh my god, that's dope,'" she explained."So I was listening to it one day and thinking, 'I would love to figure out these chords on the piano. I love these chords.' I'm a chord nerd. So I sat down and started playing it on the piano and started singing it. And it just felt right to record it."Grey called Scott a "modern icon" and "one of the most creative people in music." In preparation to release her cover, she wanted to honor the rapper's artistic vision."I decided to <a href="https://skylargreymusic.com/lookmom">recreate a bunch of pictures of Travis Scott</a> and pay homage to him as an artist," she said. "Because I just figure, why do we have to wait for legends to pass or whatever before we decide to honor them? He's a legend now.""And I just want to show my appreciation and not only cover his song, but cover some of his visuals too."<div type="image" title="skylar grey travis scott photoshoot" height="900" width="1200" msid="76348695" hostid="261"></div>(Insider followed up with Grey after she provided us with a <a href="https://skylargreymusic.com/lookmom">preview of the photos</a>. It shows the white artist in braids, similar to Scott's. We asked if she viewed the photos as problematic, especially given the ongoing conversation in music and pop culture around cultural appropriation. Grey declined to comment.)Grey also cited <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ONRf7h3Mdk">Scott's 2018 collaboration with Drake, "Sicko Mode,"</a> as a major inspiration."When I first heard that song, it feels like there's tempo changes and there's just total vibe switches in the song," she said. "I was like, 'Wow, that's so ballsy because it's so against the formulaic style of pop music.' And yet, it's very popular. And so it kind of encouraged me and gave me the courage to be more experimental in my own music.""In some of the songs that I have coming out in the future, I have some similar vibe switches, not necessarily tempo changes, but just drastic vibe switches happening," she continued."It's the sort of thing I've always wanted to do, but I just felt like, 'Nobody is going to get this.' And I'm grateful that Travis Scott kind of paved the way to opening people's ears up in the popular music world to more experimental stuff like that."Grey spoke with Insider weeks before <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/george-floyd">George Floyd's murder</a> sparked international outrage and <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/black-lives-matter">Black Lives Matter</a> protests, but she's been vocal about her support of the movement online, sharing resources and links for her fans to donate."To the Black community including all of my friends, collaborators, fans, and idols... I LOVE YOU. I am so grateful to have you in my life. Every day I am so incredibly inspired by your talents, creativity and artistry," she wrote in an open letter posted on Instagram, signing her real first name."I stand with you to fight this injustice and I pledge to be in this for the long haul."

Skylar Grey explains why Travis Scott is a 'legend' and how he's inspired her new solo music

Once again, an NBA player has come "home" and that means Diddy and Skylar Grey's song <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coming_Home_(Diddy-Dirty_Money_song)">"Coming Home"</a> is being played everywhere across radio and TV.
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lebron-james-signs-cavaliers-2014-7">LeBron James has announced</a> he's going to become a Cleveland Cavalier once again, and Skylar Grey decided yesterday was a perfect time to give her popular hit a new version.
She hopped on YouTube yesterday to perform the song with new lyrics to reflect LeBron's return to Ohio.
 
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In this version she says "I know that Cleveland awaits, and they've forgiven my mistakes." Given the enormous debacle of "the decision," most NBA fans and Cleveland sports fans would probably agree with this sentiment. It perfectly describes what this moment is all about for Cavs fans.
This is not the first time this song has been featured prominently in a huge NBA move. When Carmelo Anthony was traded to the New York Knicks a few years ago, MSG Network decided to use the same song to welcome the superstar and drum up some hype.
Here's the commercial they aired for Carmelo:
 
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Skylar Grey Made The Perfect New Version Of 'Coming Home' For LeBron's Return To Cleveland

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/52a00d0369bedd4d18db238c-1200-924/paul-walker-17.jpg" border="0" alt="paul walker" />Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images</div></div></div>Following the Nov. 30 death of <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/paul-walker-dead-at-40-2013-11">Paul Walker in a car crash in Santa Clarita, Calif.</a>, the Fast &amp; Furious franchise - for which he's most famous for - has released a touching two-minute video tribute to the 40-year-old actor.
The video highlights Walker's five appearances as the Brian O'Conner character in the series (he was not in Fast &amp; Furious: Tokyo Drift) before finishing with a message of "In Loving Memory."
The song "Coming Home" by P. Diddy featuring Skylar Grey plays in the background.
The Youtube <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8UCI7r1Aqw">description</a> of the video advises fans and friends to donate to Walker's charity, <a href="http://www.roww.org">Reach Out Worldwide (ROWW),</a> instead of sending flowers or other gifts.
Production of Fast &amp; Furious 7 has been put on hold indefinitely, and some Hollywood insiders are saying the actor's death puts the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/paul-walkers-death-uncharted-territory-in-hollywood-2013-12">studio in "uncharted territory" with no clear way forward.</a>
Here's the video:
<iframe width="640" height="360" frameborder="0" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/o8UCI7r1Aqw?rel=0"></iframe>

You Searched For "Skylar Grey" and got 3 results

Skylar Grey explains why Travis Scott is a 'legend' and how he's inspired her new solo music

Callie Ahlgrim

Skylar Grey Made The Perfect New Version Of 'Coming Home' For LeBron's Return To Cleveland

Matt Johnston

Fast & Furious Franchise Releases Emotionally-Charged Video Tribute To Paul Walker

Paul Szoldra