Hitting a High Note

by Emily L. Foley | Jezebel magazine | February 6, 2012

With a penchant for outlandish costumes, an enviable set of pipes and a style that transcends genres, singer Cee Lo Green knows how to hold an audience captive. Some folks would say it’s his wardrobe, others would call it skill, and the man himself would likely credit his “swagger,” but one way or another, when Green takes the stage, it’s impossible to look away.

The Atlanta-bred artist began his career in the ’90s as a member of the hip-hop group Goodie Mob and went on to form Gnarls Barkley in 2004, a duo perhaps best known for its hit “Crazy” and the habit of dressing like characters from famous films (Grease, Star Wars and The Matrix, to name a few). When the singer released his third solo album, The Lady Killer, in 2010, its first single, “Forget You” (a radio-friendly version of the album track), skyrocketed to the top of the charts. It earned the accolade Best Song of 2010 by Time magazine, plus three Grammy nods and one win, making Green a household name. Then, there was his show-stealing performance at the 2011 Grammy Awards—complete with a multicolored feathered headdress, puppets as background singers and actress Gwyneth Paltrow as duet partner. Two months later, he signed on as one of four judges—along with Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton—for the reality singing competition The Voice, earning him an enormous following before a parody of the singer, by Saturday Night Live’s Kenan Thompson, solidified his star power.

But despite the stellar year, don’t expect Green to slow down and enjoy the ride: The second season of The Voice premieres on Feb. 5; he is currently in the studio writing and recording a new Goodie Mob album, and he plans to start a new Gnarls Barkley album later in the year. “It’s so utterly gratifying to be so well received and embraced after all this time,” he says. “I’m going into all these new endeavors highly enthusiastic.”

And although, as he puts it, his “star is shining a little bit brighter,” Green remains the same guy he’s always been—deeply intellectual, starkly honest and intensely funny; a man who loves the stage, revels in his music and is unapologetically true to himself—crazy as that may be. “I quote David Bowie in saying, ‘They don’t pay me to be normal,’” he laughs.