Skylar Grey Goes From Grammys to 'Idol' With 'Cinematic Sound'

For most young artists performing in front of millions of people on 'American Idol' would be nerve-wracking. But for Skylar Grey, who performed 'Coming Home' on last night's result show with Diddy Dirty Money, it was just another TV performance following her highly successful turn with Eminem and Dr. Dre on 'I Need A Doctor' during last month's Grammys.

Did having already shared the stage alongside two hip-hop icons in front of the entire music industry make the 'Idol' performance easier? "It doesn't make it seem like a breeze. It's not a breeze ever," she tells Popeater laughing. "But it definitely helps to know that I've done this and this is just an extension of what I did on the Grammys."

Grey says too she doesn't really get nervous in a performance, something that was evident during the way she held her own at the Grammys. "I don't really think about who's in the audience or anything like that 'cause I know the minute I hit the first note I'm just in the song and nothing else matters," she says. "I don't think about, 'Oh my gosh, there's Will Smith in the front row.'"

Since that Grammy performance things have, according to Grey, gone way to the next level since Popeater premiered her demo of 'Love The Way You Lie' -- a song she co-wrote -- last month. And now things have accelerated with the young singer-songwriter signing with Interscope records. For her she couldn't be more thrilled to be on the label that is the home of Lady Gaga, among others. "I love what they do for female pop artists, they just know what they're doing. I've always loved what they've done with Gwen Stefani ... amazing, and just Gaga's a good example," Grey says. "Anytime that they're doing the female pop girl thing they make them cool and credible, which is hard to do."

And there is the matter of the fact that she is now on the same label as Dre and Eminem, which makes easier the possibility of future collaborations. "I don't know what the involvement will be of Dre and Em on my stuff, but I love them so much and they've given me such a great opportunity that I want to find a way to involve them in some way," she says.

Grey, who will release her first single this spring, is working on the album with producer Alex Da Kid. Fans who recall her previous incarnation as Holly Brook (where she had a deal with Warner Bros. and released an album) will get a clearer picture through her debut as Skylar Grey as to why the name change happened. "All the songs on my album were inspired by real-life experiences and emotions," she says. "It paints the picture of how I grew out of Holly Brook and became Skylar Grey." As for the sound, she says, "My album is already sounding very diverse and dynamic. I can't pigeonhole my sound into any specific genre. It's very cinematic."

We can't wait, based on her previous track record. And of course, since she performed on 'Idol,' we have to ask, any favorites? "There was one guy who had a frigging amazing voice, Paul MacDonald."

Watch Skylar Grey Perform 'Love the Way You Lie'

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