On The Download: Ingrid Michaelson Is A-‘Ok’

Last year, it was almost impossible to escape that Old Navy commercial featuring singer/songwriter Ingrid Michaelson’s song, “The Way I Am.” I have to be honest — I really couldn’t stand that song at first. (In all fairness, it’s probably because it was so overplayed on the commercial).

A lot of people found this charming song to be the best one on her 2007 album “Girls and Boys.” Leave it to me to go against the grain. While “The Way I Am” started to grow on me a bit, I still found it to be the least enjoyable song on that album. But that’s only because I immensely enjoyed the rest of her creative and insightful songs.

Ingrid returns this year with a new album and a somewhat similar sound. “Be Ok” isn’t too much of a departure from her debut album, but that’s just fine with me, seeing as how I loved her first album. The title track on “Be Ok” is an upbeat, toe-tapping breakup song that starts the album off on a good note. “Keep Breathing,” a wistful, piano-heavy tune about wanting the world to change while standing idly by, has already been featured in an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” (along with a few of her other songs).

Her version of “Over the Rainbow” could be considered just another played-out rendition of a classic, overdone song (Katharine McPhee, anyone?) But Ingrid takes the song and makes it her own with a colorful arrangement and unique vocal inflections. The same goes for her version of the Elvis song, “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” which was recorded live. “You and I” is a cute love song about getting rich and making everyone happy in the process.

For those of you who loved “The Way I Am” from her first album, there is a new, stripped down, live version on this album, which I found more affecting than the original.

Ingrid is currently touring alongside Rachel Yamagata, Jenny Owen Youngs and many more with The Hotel Café Tour 2008. She begins her headlining tour promoting “Be Ok” at the end of October. A portion of the proceeds from the album goes to the Stand Up To Cancer organization.