Ingrid Michaelson

In the past two years, Ingrid Michaelson — who’ll drop her fifth studio album, Lights Out (Cabin 24/Mom+Pop) on April 15 — has vaulted from overachieving indie-pop sweetheart to a bona-fide pop star. Her last release, Human Again, debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard album chart (plus No.1 on iTunes). 

This achievement merely crowned the considerable success Ingrid had already earned with her previous compositions: beautiful, idiosyncratic songs that have been prominently featured in popular films, television and on regular rotation in commercials. Her DIY approach to making music — composing her own songs, co-releasing albums on her Cabin 24 imprint, building an organic following through music-licensing, and back in her MySpace days (where she was discovered in 2006), promoting herself — was a slam-dunk. Now, it had evolved into a well-oiled machine, The New York Times even weighed in, declaring her songwriting “smart,” her tunes “irresistible” and her live show “seamless.”

Then, says Ingrid, “Everything just came to a screeching halt.” While helping out seriously ill relatives, her dog died. Soon after, Ingrid herself fell sick with serious stomach issues. “My whole throat was on fire for a few months. I had to stop writing,” she says, of the time between April and August 2013. “I was so ill, I couldn’t sing.” After seeing countless doctors — “like, three a day” at its worst — she got better and was able to resume writing Lights Out. For someone associated with crafting sun