FOUR REASONS INGRID MICHAELSON IS YOUR NEW CELEBRITY BESTIE

Ingrid Michaelson has got the quirkiness of Regina Spektor, the pop stylings of Sara Barielles, and a killer down-to-earth personality that’s earned her such celebrity besties as Taylor Swift and Jamie King.

After chatting with the singer-songwriter about her latest album and upcoming Australian tour, we bring you the four reasons Ingrid is your new celebrity BFF.

Her new album is all kinds of amazing

Michaelson is the first to admit her latest record is a bit of a different sound for her. For 'Lights Out', she ventured away from writing all the songs herself, instead reaching out to different songwriters, guest vocalists and producers to help create the album.

"The first half of 2012 was pretty rough in terms of just my own health and my family’s health, and there was just a lot of darkness," she said of the decision.

"When you have a really hard time it changes you in a lot of ways, and when I came out of it, I just wanted to do things differently.

"I had this change of heart and I wanted to embrace the idea of making a very collaborative record," she said.

Michaelson describes the new sound as "very cohesive" and says the record is "bigger than me".

Of the fan reaction to her new direction, the singer says there’s something for everyone.

"There’s always going to be people that want you to sound the way they want you to sound," she said.

"But I think there’s enough diversity on this record too, I feel like there’s something for everybody on it."

She’s not afraid to stand up for what she believes in…and she has fun doing it

Michaelson caused a stir when she released the first single off the album: the poppy, upbeat 'Girls Chase Boys'.

The music video – a gender-bending homage to Robert Palmer’s iconic ‘Simply Irresistible’ – garnered international attention for its message of equality.

"The song is about moving on and finding joy even though your heart’s broken. The line ‘girls chase boys’ felt very inclusive of just heterosexuals, and I have a very large gay and transgender and bisexual following,” Michaelson said of the song.

"I felt it was too closed off, so I added 'girls chase girls' and 'boys chase boys'. That just opened the song up to be this love song for everybody. Everybody wants to experience this, everyone wants to and deserves to love and be loved."

The video, which Michaelson intended to be "lighthearted" and "make people happy", took the concept one step further.

"[The video] just messed around with gender roles, the idea that we’re all just people, it doesn’t matter what gender you identify with, you’re a person," she said.

But Michaelson was quick to discover that "the internet is a great way for people to anonymously hate".

"There are plenty of ignorant comments [on the music video], but there are also these really great rebuttals where people defend the message of the song," she said.

"Every couple of weeks I’ll check in, and I’ll read them, and I just find it very interesting that there’s this kind of social discussion on my YouTube video. I haven’t really stretched in terms of making a statement that way, so it was scary, but also really thrilling. And I like being part of that discussion."

She’s super excited to return to our shores

Ingrid’s last two Australian tours were sell-outs, so she’s excited to be heading back Down Under this September.

"I really do enjoy interacting with the audience, and I’ve found that in Australia, people are just very welcoming of that," she said.

As for her short – but sweet – Australian trip, Ingrid said she would like to explore her adventurous side.

"I’ve been to Sydney before and whenever I’ve seen people on the [Sydney Harbour] bridge…I don’t know why but I just want to climb it!" she said.

"Or go up that tower! I feel like those would be two really amazing things to do."

She’s a (not so secret) sports fan, and is definitely worth a follow on Twitter

Much to her fans’ delight, Michaelson is happy to share the goings-on of her life – and thoughts – on social media.

When we talked to the singer, she had just finished watching the World Cup Grand Final.

"I really got into it this year, it’s such a shame it’s only every four years! I can’t wait another four years!" she said.

She’s also famous for her hilarious musings, which has earned her over 190,000 followers on Twitter.

Here’s some our favourite "Ingrid Twitter moments":

UPDATE: Due to a personal family emergency, Ingrid Michaelson has postponed her Australian tour until March 2015. Tickets will be transferable to the new dates. For more information and tickets, visit Metropolic Touring.