Macy Gray says it how it is

It's the eve of the release of her third album, The Trouble With Being Myself, and Macy Gray is holed up in a north Hollywood rehearsal studio, conducting interviews and rehearsing with her band for her upcoming world tour.

There's no doubt Gray has come a long way since her debut album, but it is only recently that she has learned to appreciate what the rest of the world heard back in '99.

"I was sitting back in the bathtub the other day and I was listening to On How Life Is, and it hit me: 'I finally know what all the fuss was about'," she exclaims, shaking her head. "I now get what everybody thought was so great about it. I just can't believe it's taken me all this time to work it out."

Addressing the obvious about her new album - what is the problem with being Macy Gray? - she replies, "The title of the album is about my relationship with the media. From my childhood days, I was always taught to be myself, but it's something else to be yourself in front of the whole world. It doesn't always work out well, and that can come back to haunt you. I'm way too honest. That's my problem."

It is clear that her alarmingly original fashion sense will never land her on the Best Dressed pages of Vogue - and today is no exception. Gray is wearing flared adidas track pants, a nondescript shirt and a faux-zebra-fur hat, which dips lower than eye level and sits higher than your average vaudeville top hat. Subtlety has never been her calling card.

She does have a sense of humour about it: she arrived at an awards ceremony wearing an oversized T-shirt emblazoned with the message, "Buy my album!", advertising The Id.

Gray counters, "I didn't wear it as an act of self-promotion. I wore it just to crack myself up."

There's no doubt Gray's appeal relies on an element of political incorrectness, though not the type of contrived antics we've come to love or hate from Courtney Love, who has built a career out of being in a state of perpetual premenstrual angst. Gray appears completely genuine in her lack of social skills, and despite herself comes across as likeable. "People think I have developed this wacky persona like it was a conscious decision, but I'm just doing my thing. I'm just me, and I say it how it is."

The Trouble With Being Myself follows the disappointing sales of previous album The Id, which still managed to snag a healthy two million worldwide, but Gray is philosophical, realising that following up an eight-million-selling debut (On How Life Is) is going to be near impossible to equal.

"Of course I was disappointed, because I was really proud of The Id. This business is fickle, and I have to accept that. I don't let it ruin my day. For me, making music is more natural than even breathing. I go into the studio and I do my thing. I know how to make an album," she says.

"When I experienced success for the first time with On How Life Is, it really [expletive] with my head, a lot. Fame and success do things to you, but like anything else, there's an art to being successful. Once you have it, you have the challenge of finessing it and making sure it doesn't trip you up too much, because it can and it will," she says. "But it's worse trying to figure out how to be successful while not actually having success. Now that's really [expletive] up."

Like its predecessors, The Trouble With Being Myself (produced largely by Dallas Austin and Darryl Swan), recorded at various studios around LA, centres around familiar subjects like love, sex and humour.

"I like exploring these themes because I like connecting with people and I'm a huge fan of relationships."

Reminiscent of the optimism of On How Life Is, this album stands in stark contrast to the cynical, introspective flavour of The Id.

"This album is really big and kind of arrogant. It takes up its own space and owns its own thing. I definitely have a good feeling about life at the moment."

Gray shifts constantly in her seat, gradually warming to the topic.

"You know when you just know that everything's going to be cool? I have that feeling now," she says. "But I think all my music has a celebratory element to it. For this album, I was listening to a lot of Diana Ross. I took the best from her vocal style and used it on every song."

She admits that her newfound happiness is partly due to a new relationship, but this subject is not open for discussion.

"Yes, I'm in love, but that's all I can tell you. I suppose most of my positive outlook now is because I've been feeling really awake lately. I'm more present and I've switched my priorities a little bit. My father died in August and I had a really hard time with that. Then I just woke up one day and had a different idea of what was important and what wasn't. When something like that happens, you get a real good perspective on what matters and what doesn't."

Gray, now 33, is raising three children on her own in Los Angeles.

She was born Natalie McIntyre and grew up in Canton, Ohio, before moving to California, where she started her career playing in jazz clubs.

"I think I changed once I turned 30. I've grown up a lot and a lot has happened in the past couple of years to change my opinions and philosophies. I've travelled a lot and that has opened my mind. In the past I've been brainwashed, like other Americans, that this is the greatest country in the world, but now, having been to other places, I can appreciate other cultures.

"I especially liked Italy," she says with a laugh. "I loved the culture and all the sightseeing, but I especially liked the men."

She did a brief (but not altogether pleasant) acting stint in Training Day (starring Denzel Washington and Ethan Hawke).

"I had to shoot for three days and it was such a tedious process. Acting takes a lot of patience, and anybody who knows me knows I don't have an inch of that," she says.

* The Trouble with Being Myself is released on May 5.