Macy Gray could dilute her brand to the point of no return by stretching her talents to fashion. But what’s new in the celebrity world? The singer songwriter is planning to pick up her career in fashion next year with the relaunch of her women’s plus-size line, Humps.

Her renewed involvement in the fashion game no doubt reflects a genuine interest and it is certainly a clever strategy to leverage her appeal to a mainstream audience. It’s all about charts and radio play afterall! Similarly, Gray’s March 23 appearance to open Esprit’s new flagship store on 34th Street, in New York City, shows us Gray’s commercial fashion venture just might be a serious one, although some might say that Esprit seems like an odd fit for such a cool hipster like Macy. Phew – Esprit’s slightly more funky ‘edc’ collection aligns more closely with her musical vibe.

So, should we be surprised that soul and high street fashion decide to marry? Absolutely not. Gray has every right to use what means are available to her to reach and capture an audience. It’s called marketing and if you don’t play, you’re out of the game. Why should she be exempt from doing what ultimately converts to sales? She’s trying to make a living just like us all.

If Macy can change the face of pop culture with her incredible musical sensibility and ability to communicate to the masses, bring it on. Let’s hope she doesn’t have a contract stipulating exclusivity with Esprit. I’d love to see her around more.

Her fifth album titled The Sellout’ is set for launch on June 22. Yeh! I was lucky enough to hear a couple of the new tracks from ‘Sellout’ when she sang at Origin cosmetic’s World Earth Month promotion on Monday April 19 at Webster Hall in New York City. Wonderful stuff! She says of ‘Sellout’ , “It’s all about the mountains I’ve been climbing to be where I want to be in my personal and professional life.”

The new marketing strategy for the Macy Gray brand is a commercial necessity. Thankfully Gray’s brand personality and the brand’s core values appear to have been retained, and simply ripened with maturity. Now only time will tell if it’s strong enough to maintain this credibility and withstand selling out to ordinariness.