Macy Gray's voice has been compared to both Billie Holiday's and Tina Turner's, and when she debuted in 1999 with On How Life Is, she gave R&B aficionados a reason to smile. Raised in a sea of soul, Gray was exposed to the tunes of Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder. While she was studying film at U.S.C., Gray began recording demos on the side, and it didn't take her long to get discovered. A modern super-freak, Gray's retro throw-backs and fiery lyrics quickly made her a star and one of the decade's most talked about performers.