Mark Sayers McGrath (born March 15, 1968)
is an American singer who is the lead vocalist of the rock band
Sugar Ray
Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". T ...
. McGrath is also known for his work as a
co-host of ''
Extra'', and he was the host of ''
Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' in 2010. McGrath hosted the second season of the TV show ''
Killer Karaoke'', taking the place of
Jackass star
Steve-O.
Early life
McGrath was born in Hartford, Connecticut. His family moved from Connecticut to
Newport Beach, California when he was eight years old. He attended
Corona del Mar High School in Newport Beach and later the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8. ...
in Los Angeles.
Music career
McGrath, Rodney Sheppard, Murphy Karges, and Stan Frazier formed Sugar Ray in Orange County, California in 1992.
In 1994 the band signed with
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most ...
. Their first success came in 1997 with the song "
Fly".
McGrath's personal popularity soared as he appeared on such national magazine covers as those of ''Rolling Stone'' and ''Spin''. He also made numerous appearances on
MTV,
VH1
VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
, and various talk and awards shows. ''
People
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of proper ...
'' magazine named him the "Sexiest Rocker" of 1998.
McGrath contributed the track "Reaching Out" on ''Strait Up'', a tribute album to late vocalist
James Lynn Strait, whom he has a dedication tattoo to memorialize. He appeared in the video of "Angel's Son", another song written for the album by
Sevendust
Sevendust is an American rock band from Atlanta, Georgia, formed in 1994 by bassist Vince Hornsby, drummer Morgan Rose and rhythm guitarist John Connolly. After their first demo, lead vocalist Lajon Witherspoon and lead guitarist Clint Lo ...
, and performed with the band during their appearance on ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014.
The fourth incarnation of the ' ...
''.
In 2012, McGrath—along with Everclear's Art Alexakis—organized the SummerLand Tour, which consisted of Sugar Ray,
Everclear,
Lit,
Marcy Playground
Marcy Playground is an American alternative rock band consisting of three members: John Wozniak (lead vocals, guitar), Dylan Keefe (bass), and Shlomi Lavie (drums). The band is best known for their 1997 hit " Sex and Candy".
History
Early yea ...
and
Gin Blossoms
Gin Blossoms is an American alternative rock band formed in 1987 in Tempe, Arizona. They rose to prominence following the 1992 release of their first major label album, ''New Miserable Experience'', and the first single released from that album ...
. McGrath and Alexakis decided to split ways in 2013, and McGrath formed the "Under the Sun Tour" with Sugar Ray,
Smash Mouth
Smash Mouth is an American rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994, and was originally composed of Steve Harwell (lead vocals), Kevin Coleman (drums), Greg Camp (guitar), and Paul De Lisle (bass). With Harwell's depar ...
, Gin Blossoms,
Vertical Horizon
Vertical Horizon is an American alternative rock band, formed in Washington, D.C. Vocalists and guitarists Matt Scannell and Keith Kane started the band in 1991 when they were students at Georgetown University. The band have undergone multip ...
, and
Fastball
The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. " Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have t ...
.
He appeared in Smashing Pumpkins' ''Silvery Sometimes (Ghosts)'' video, released in October 2018.
He is also a DJ. He hosts a show on
SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...
's 90s on 9 on weekends, the 120.
Television career
McGrath is a three-time champion of ''
Rock & Roll Jeopardy!
''Rock & Roll Jeopardy!'' is an American television game show, created by Scott Sternberg, and adapted from the quiz show ''Jeopardy!'', created by Merv Griffin. The show debuted on VH1 on August 8, 1998 and ran for four seasons, ending on October ...
'' on
VH1
VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
. In the finals he won against
Dave Mustaine
David Scott Mustaine (born September 13, 1961) is an American musician. He is the co-founder, lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist and primary songwriter of the thrash metal band Megadeth, as well as their sole consistent member. Mustaine has releas ...
of
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wi ...
and
Gary Dell'Abate of ''
The Howard Stern Show
''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...
''. He and his band Sugar Ray performed as themselves in the 2002 ''
Scooby-Doo
''Scooby-Doo'' is an American animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the original series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are ...
'' movie, starring
Freddie Prinze Jr. and
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Michelle Prinze ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actress. After being spotted at the age of four in New York City, she made her screen acting debut in the television film ''An Invasion of Privacy'' (1983). A leading role on the te ...
. In 2004, he and his band performed in the series ''
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...
'' (Season 1, Episode 19).
In 2004, McGrath began his work as co-host of the ''
Extra'' television show on September 13, after a producer had noticed his work hosting various
VH1
VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Commun ...
and
MTV programs, and asked him to join. McGrath left the show in July 2008 to focus on his music career.
He served as a guest judge for ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to A ...
'' auditions that were aired in early 2005. McGrath received the part of Dex Lawson on
The WB
The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on terrestrial television, broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture be ...
show ''
Charmed'' in 2005, but he ultimately turned it down due to scheduling conflicts, and he was replaced by
Jason Lewis. McGrath was the host of ''
Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search for the Next Doll'' (2007) and ''
Pussycat Dolls Present: Girlicious'' (2008).
In 2010, McGrath began hosting the third season of ''
Don't Forget the Lyrics'' which aired on syndication. He appeared on ''
The Celebrity Apprentice Season 4'' which premiered in March 2011, where he was fired in week six and finished in tenth place.
In 2013, he appeared on ''
Celebrity Wife Swap'' and the penultimate episode of ''
The Office''. McGrath continued his TV appearances in 2014 and 2015 by guest starring on ''
The Neighbors'' and ''
Workaholics
''Workaholics'' is an American sitcom created and predominantly written by Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine, Anders Holm, and Kyle Newacheck, all of whom star in the series. ''Workaholics'' originally ran on Comedy Central from April 6, 2011, to M ...
''. McGrath also hosted truTv's ''
Killer Karaoke'' and starring in ''
Sharknado 2: The Second One''. In 2016, he appeared in the pilot episode of ''
Lady Dynamite'' portraying himself.
In 2018, he was announced as one of the eleven houseguests to be competing on the
first American edition of ''
Celebrity Big Brother
''Big Brother VIP'', is an adaptation of the ''Big Brother'' reality television series. It is the celebrity version of its parent franchise ''Big Brother'', the celebrity version airs in several countries, however, the housemates or houseguests ...
''. He finished in third place, tied with
Ariadna Gutiérrez. McGrath also appeared in the
second season as a special guest.
In 2021, McGrath competed on the
fifth season of ''
The Masked Singer
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...
'' as the wild card contestant "Orca". Also in 2021, he became the host and narrator of the
documentary television series ''
Dark Side of the 90s
''Dark Side of the 90s'' is a documentary television series created by Insight Productions and RailSplitter Pictures for Vice Studios that takes a look at popular culture of the 1990s. It is a spinoff of Vice's '' Dark Side of the Ring'' serie ...
''.
On December 19, 2022, McGrath appeared on the first episode of the American version of “
The Wheel”. He was one of the celebrities helping the contestants win money.
Personal life
He married beautician Carin Kingsland on September 24, 2012.
The couple met in 1994 and were engaged on New Year's Eve 2009 after 16 years of on-and-off dating.
McGrath and Kingsland are parents to twins Lydon Edward and Hartley Grace, born on April 29, 2010.
Discography

Sugar Ray studio albums
* ''
Lemonade and Brownies'' (1995)
* ''
Floored'' (1997)
* ''
14:59'' (1999)
* ''
Sugar Ray
Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". T ...
'' (2001)
* ''
In the Pursuit of Leisure'' (2003)
* ''
Music for Cougars
''Music for Cougars'' is Sugar Ray's sixth studio album. The album was not as successful commercially as previous Sugar Ray albums. It reached number eighty on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with none of the album's three singles charting. This w ...
'' (2009)
* ''Little Yachty'' (2019)
Solo EP
*''Summertime's Coming'' (2015)
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Mark
1968 births
Living people
20th-century American male musicians
20th-century American singers
21st-century American male musicians
21st-century American singers
Alternative rock singers
American game show hosts
American male pop singers
American male singers
American pop rock singers
American punk rock singers
American rock singers
American television hosts
Big Brother (American TV series) contestants
Camp Freddy members
Musicians from Hartford, Connecticut
Musicians from Newport Beach, California
Nu metal singers
Participants in American reality television series
Singers from California
Singers from Connecticut
Sugar Ray members
The Apprentice (franchise) contestants
The Wondergirls members
USC Thornton School of Music alumni