UPDATED 5/18: Digby is not the DIY phenom she's portrayed as in the press release posted below, according to the Wall Street Journal. The venerable daily newspaper revealed in a story published in September (yeah, I slept on this one, thanks for the link, Mr. Benidt), that Digby's not been honest with her multitudes of online fans. Digby inked a deal with Walt Disney Co.'s Hollywood Records before the YouTube clips were posted, WSJ reported, but never disclosed the info on her MySpace site. So, basically, Digby's a prefab pop star just like Britney Spears or Christina Aguilera. I consider Aguilera a major talent. Spears? A hack. I'll have to hear Digby's first album before I decide into what category she falls.

I'd never heard of Marie Digby until this morning, when a press release about her June 9 appearance at Orpheum in Ybor City, popped up my inbox. Anyone out there familiar with her? Apparently, I'm not spending enough time perusing YouTube for budding stars. Here's the publicity info on this "YouTube-created creature" (a term used by my chief editor David Warner, which I plan to pass off as my own in the future):

Digby broke onto the national stage in 2007 using YouTube, where she posted homemade videos of herself covering major pop hits including Rihanna’s “Umbrella.” To date, she has become the 7th most subscribed artist on YouTube with more than 26 million views. Marié’s debut album "Unfold" came out last month and debuted at #29 on The Billboard Top 200 and has already sold nearly 30,000 copies in three weeks. Her first single off the album, “Say It Again” is in heavy rotation throughout the country on Hot AC radio. Her music has been featured on MTV's "The Hills," and the CW's “One Tree Hill” and “Smallville”. She was also featured in GAP’s spring ad campaign “The Sound of Color.”

I can't decide if Digby's stripped-down versions of heavily-produced pop hits ranks as genius or the most gimmicky move since Limp Bizkit nu metal-ed George Michael's "Faith" back in 1997. Here's Digby, looking quite adorable, performing "Umbrella" solo while accompanying herself on acoustic guitar, in what appears to be her living room. Whatcha think?