Corey Cesare
Corey Cesare is Talent Recap's Managing Editor and featured YouTube Host. She has a love of all things pop culture and an unhealthy obsession with celebrities. Corey earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Cinema/Screen Studies from the State University of New York at Oswego in 2021. She spends her spare time shooting astro, nature, and portrait photography, and coming up with movie ideas that she hopes to make into a film someday.
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| March 28, 2022 SIGN IN TO SAVE POST
Astrida Valigorsky/Getty ImagesReading Time: 3 minutes
Macy Gray is set to take stage with the rapper Maino on the second episode of American Song Contest. Gray shared a sneak peek at their “Every Night” performance on Instagram. The video showed Maino rehearsing his rap for the live performance.
While other artist’s songs have been shared on Atlantic Records YouTube and and streaming pages, Gray and Maino‘s song has yet to be released. At this moment, Gray’s Instagram preview is the only “first look” fans have ahead of the series.
Gray’s video features Maino walking on stage while rapping his verse. Once on stage he meets her and they sing together with a choir behind them. With the choir and on stage animations, it appears that this live performance will feel magical. I can’t wait to see them perform this live during the second episode of the series.
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Meet One Of The Grammy Award Winners Competing on American Song Contest
It’s no secret that Gray is one of the bigger named artists competing on this season of American Song Contest. This 54 year old singer is no stranger to the music industry, she won the Grammy Award for best vocal performance in the 43rd Annual Award Ceremony in 2001. This honor was given to the artist near the beginning of her career for her performance of her biggest hit, “I Try” from her debut album.
Gray’s music features her raspy voice and style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday. Since being awarded a Grammy, Gray remained active in the music industry, releasing ten albums in total. She’s also gone on to appear in multiple films such as Spider-Man, Scary Movie 3, For Colored Girls, and more.
While it’s alarming to have a singer with such history on the show, fans should keep in mind that Gray hasn’t had mainstream musical exposure in a while. Apple Music states that her feature on Ariana Grande’s 2016 track “Leave Me Lonely” is her top song, with her popular hit “I Try” right below it.
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Who is The Rapper Accompanying Gray?
Before this video, it had been announced that Gray would represent the state of Ohio within the American series, this rapper’s inclusion hadn’t been shared. Maino is a rapper that began his art in prison due to boredom. Following his release, he launched an independent record label, Hustle Hard Entertainment and began releasing mixtapes. Eventually, he was signed to Universal Motown Records, but left the label for Atlantic Records in 2007.
Maino thrived at Atlantic Records, especially with his track “All of the Above” featuring T-Pain. This was the rapper’s first song to hit the Billboard Hot 100 songs chart, it debuted at No. 54. This song found success on Billboard’s Hot Rap Tracks, Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, and Pop 100 charts.
He has since created a rap group called The Black Flag Mafia through his own label, but it seems like this group is inactive after releasing a mixtape. Maino’s most recent independent release is an independent album entitled Die a Legend. Aside from that, he’s been featured on several singles in 2022.
Make sure to tune into American Song Contest‘s second episode to catch Macy Gray and Maino’s live performance. The second episode airs on March 28 from 8 to 10 p.m. EST on NBC.
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