In 2016, Maggie Rogers was a student at NYU's Clive Davis Institute, and she had the nerve-wracking opportunity to play her song "Alaska" for superstar producer Pharrell. Pharrell got teary-eyed while listening to the track, and then he gushed over her "singular" qualities: "Your whole story, I can hear it in the music." Video of that moment went viral, and a career was born.
Today, "Alaska" is platinum. Rogers has done a lot in the past decade. Last week, for instance, Rogers performed "Different Kind Of World" at the No Kings protest outside the Minnesota State Capitol, and then she and Joan Baez sang "The Times They Are A-Changin'" together.
The video of Maggie Rogers and Pharrell had its 10th anniversary last week, though it went viral a few months after that. The anniversary inspired Rogers to establish the Maggie Rogers Foundation, a new scholarship fund that she announced last week.
Last night, Rogers was the musical guest on Stephen Colbert's Late Show, which is now in its final weeks. As a tribute to Colbert, Rogers sang "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)," the 1943 standard most famously recorded by Frank Sinatra.
As an online bonus, Rogers also sang a slow, tender version of "Alaska," with a string section and the Great Big Joy Machine's Louis Fouché and Jon Lampley backing her up.
