Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Chicago Sun-Times
Christgau's Consumer Guide
Entertainment Weekly	B
The Guardian
Los Angeles Times
Muzik
Q
Rolling Stone
The Rolling Stone Album Guide

On How Life Is is the debut studio album by American singer and songwriter Macy Gray, released on July 1, 1999 by Epic Records. Produced by Andrew Slater, it became Gray's best-selling album to date, selling 3.2 million copies in the United States and seven million copies worldwide.

The album's second single, "I Try", became an international hit, topping the charts in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand, while reaching number five on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song also won a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2001.

On How Life Is was met with highly positive reviews from music critics upon its release, with many praising Gray's songwriting and vocal performance. Q rated the album four out of five stars, calling it a "confident, bluesy soul debut [...] with a lived-in sound – as if Rod Stewart were a girl."

All lyrics written by Macy Gray.

Credits adapted from the liner notes of On How Life Is.

^*sales figures based on certification alone
^{^}shipments figures based on certification alone

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Wikipedia