Marsha Ambrosius turned the lights down low this morning at ABC’s “Good Morning America,” where she performed her single “Far Away,” along with the title track off her debut Late Nights & Early Mornings, which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2. Clad in a brown leather jacket over a tank top and beige skirt, the former Floetry member bared her soul as she belted out the tunes, holding it down on the mic. Listen to the songbird soar.

Marsha Ambrosius reclaims her track “Butterflies” for her solo debut Late Nights & Early Mornings (March 1). The original version, which she penned for Michael Jackson in 2001 and was later rerecorded for her group Floetry’s 2002 album Floetic, gets a grown ‘n’ sexy remake where horns blurt alongside popping instrumentation and Marsha delivers a vocally-layered performance.

“Getting the opportunity to work with the best who ever did it, on planet Earth, period, is just a blessing,” Marsha told Rap-Up.com of the late King of Pop, who jokingly called her a “singing heifer.” “I knew him as a father, as a friend. It was me paying my respects back to him and just thanking him for doing something for me so early in my career I never expected.”

Catch butterflies again by checking the newly-configured tune.

Not many artists can lay claim to collaborating with a legend before they’ve even gotten their feet wet, but they’re not Marsha Ambrosius. Ten years ago, the English songstress worked alongside Michael Jackson to create “Butterflies,” a hit single off the King of Pop’s Invincible album, and has fond memories from the once-in-a-lifetime experience.


The former Floetry member played a pivotal role in the song’s evolution, but she was just happy to be part of the process. “The original record I produced and wrote myself,” Marsha tells Rap-Up.com. “Andre Harris co-produced it with me. I worked with Michael Jackson on the record here in New York in March 2001. Wow, it’s 10 years later and my album is going to be out. I just did the math on that. It’s crazy.”

As a sign of appreciation to the late pop icon, Marsha offers a remixed version of “Butterflies” on her debut solo LP, Late Nights & Early Mornings. The 33-year-old is grateful for the memories, even years later.

“Getting the opportunity to work with the best who ever did it, on planet Earth, period, is just a blessing,” she shares. “For me, it was just paying my respects. For those who don’t know, I’ve worked with him, but I knew him outside of music. I knew him as a father, as a friend. It was me paying my respects back to him and just thanking him for doing something for me so early in my career I never expected. When I came in the industry at such an early age—for me, 20, 21—it was way early to take on as a businesswoman and having Michael Jackson be one of the first artists that you work with as a producer and a writer, I just think that’s a blessing.”

Though the public knew Jackson for being reserved and soft-spoken in interviews, behind studio doors he was anything but. “Michael Jackson was a practical joker,” reveals Marsha. “He was just funny. And his laugh just made you laugh. When we were in the studio, his engineer kept calling me a singing heifer. And [Michael] would tell the engineer, ‘You know a heifer is a cow, that’s a cow.’ I’ll never forget that. So I’ll always be Michael Jackson’s singing heifer.”

Marsha Ambrosius’ debut album Late Nights & Early Mornings arrives in stores March 1, featuring the singles “Hope She Cheats on You (With a Basketball Player)” and “Far Away.”