Holly Brook Hafermann, born February 23, 1986, known professionally as Skylar Grey, is an American singer, songwriter and record producer from Mazomanie, Wisconsin. In 2004, at the age of 17, Grey signed a publishing deal with Universal Music Publishing Group and a recording contract with Machine Shop Recordings under the name Holly Brook. In 2006, she released her debut studio album, Like Blood Like Honey, under the aforementioned labels.
In 2010, Grey co-wrote Eminem and Rihanna's hit single, "Love the Way You Lie", with Eminem and the British record producer Alex da Kid, who subsequently signed Grey to his Interscope Records label imprint, Kidinakorner. Grey's second album, Don't Look Down, was released in July 2013. The album reached the top 10 in the US and had produced four singles. Grey's third studio release, Natural Causes, was issued in September 2016.
Grey is perhaps best known for providing guest vocals on several hit singles, such as Fort Minor's "Where'd You Go", Diddy's "Coming Home", Dr. Dre's "I Need a Doctor", Nicki Minaj's "Bed of Lies", and Macklemore's "Glorious". Additionally, she has written songs for a number of prominent artists in the music industry, including Kehlani, G-Eazy, Alicia Keys, Christina Aguilera, Zedd, Nick Jonas, Céline Dion, and CeeLo Green.
Gray won several prizes like the Grammy Awards, MTV Video Music Awards and the Teen Choice Awards.