“One of the problems of people who live with pain is that they spend the whole day thinking about it, and it's exasperating. But even when I am having a bad moment and I can't get myself together, I get on stage and for an hour or two the pain becomes super-small.”

American musician, singer, songwriter, and composer

Melody Joy Gardot is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and composer, born in 1985. She came to attention in the mid-2000s and is known for her jazz-inflected songs and smoky contralto voice. Her music blends jazz with blues, bossa nova, folk, and pop. She reached international recognition with albums including Worrisome Heart, My One and Only Thrill, The Absence, Currency of Man, and Sunset in the Blue.