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 Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

'', and he was the host of ''

Don't Forget the Lyrics! ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' is an international game show in the United States. The American show originally aired on Fox from July 11, 2007, to June 19, 2009, and after a year off the air, a third overall season, and first as a syndicated show ...

'' in 2010. McGrath hosted the second season of the TV show ''

Killer Karaoke ''Killer Karaoke'' is an American karaoke game show that was broadcast on the truTV cable channel. The series debuted on November 23, 2012 and features contestants attempting to sing in front of a live studio audience while various bizarre attempt ...

'', taking the place of Jackass star

Steve-O Stephen Gilchrist Glover (born June 13, 1974), known professionally as Steve-O, is an American entertainer, television personality, stunt performer and YouTuber. His career is mostly centered on his performance stunts in the reality comedy tel ...

Early life

McGrath was born in Hartford, Connecticut. His family moved from Connecticut to

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

when he was eight years old. He attended

Corona del Mar High School Corona del Mar High School (CdM) is a public school located in the Eastbluff neighborhood of Newport Beach, California, and belongs to the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. It is a combination of a middle school (7th and 8th grades) and a ...

in Newport Beach and later the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

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 i ...

. Their first success came in 1997 with the song "

Fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

". 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 MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, VH1, and various talk and awards shows. ''

People A person (plural, : 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 pr ...

'' 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 James Lynn Strait (August 7, 1968 – December 11, 1998) was an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer and lyricist for the nu metal band Snot. Biography Strait was born in New York City, but moved to Santa Barbara, California ...

, 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 Lowery ...

, 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, Tempe, Arizona. They rose to prominence following the 1992 release of their first major label album, ''New Miserable Experience'', and the first single released ...

. 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 multiple ...

, 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 thro ...

. 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 S ...

's 90s on 9 on weekends, the 120.

Television career

McGrath is a three-time champion of '' Rock & Roll Jeopardy!'' on VH1. 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 ...

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 wit ...

and

Gary Dell'Abate Gary Patrick Angelo Dell'Abate (born March 14, 1961), also known by the nickname Baba Booey, is an American radio producer who has been the executive producer of ''The Howard Stern Show'' since 1984. His autobiography, '' They Call Me Baba Booey'' ...

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 animation, animated media franchise based on an animated television series launched in 1969 and continued through several derivative List of Scooby-Doo media, media. Writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears created the orig ...

'' movie, starring

Freddie Prinze Jr. Frederick James Prinze Jr. (born March 8, 1976) is an American actor, television & film producer and screenwriter. He has starred in films such as ''I Know What You Did Last Summer'' (1997) and its sequel ''I Still Know What You Did Last Summer' ...

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 for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

'' (Season 1, Episode 19). In 2004, McGrath began his work as co-host of the ''

'' television show on September 13, after a producer had noticed his work hosting various VH1 and

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 Ap ...

'' 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 broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture between the Warner Bros. ...

show ''

Charmed ''Charmed'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by Constance M. Burge and produced by Aaron Spelling and his production company Spelling Television, with Brad Kern serving as showrunner. The series was originally broadcast ...

'' 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 ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' is an international game show in the United States. The American show originally aired on Fox from July 11, 2007, to June 19, 2009, and after a year off the air, a third overall season, and first as a syndicated show ...

'' 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 ''Wife Swap'' is an American reality television program that was first broadcast on ABC in 2004 based on the British show with the same name. In the program, two families, usually from different social classes and lifestyles, swap wives/mothers ...

'' and the penultimate episode of ''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series of ...

''. 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 Marc ...

''. McGrath also hosted truTv's ''

'' and starring in '' Sharknado 2: The Second One''. In 2016, he appeared in the pilot episode of ''

Lady Dynamite ''Lady Dynamite'' is an American comedy series starring Maria Bamford, and is loosely based on her life. It was created by Pam Brady and Mitch Hurwitz, on Netflix. The twelve-episode first season was released in its entirety on May 20, 2016. The ...

'' 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 houseguest ...

''. He finished in third place, tied with

Ariadna Gutiérrez Ariadna María Gutiérrez Arévalo (born 25 December 1993) is a Colombian model, actress, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Colombia 2014. She represented Colombia in the Miss Universe 2015 competition on December 20, 2015, an ...

. 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 already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' as the wild card contestant "Orca". Also in 2021, he became the host and narrator of the

documentary television series Television documentaries are televised media productions that screen documentaries. Television documentaries exist either as a television documentary series or as a television documentary film. *Television documentary series, sometimes called d ...

'' Dark Side of the 90s''. 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 ''Lemonade and Brownies'' is the debut studio album by the American rock band Sugar Ray. It was produced by the band's director friend Joseph McGinty "McG" Nichol and executive produced by DJ Lethal. Actress Nicole Eggert is featured on the c ...

'' (1995) * ''

Floored ''Floored'' is the second studio album by American rock band Sugar Ray, released on June 24, 1997. It includes the hit song " Fly", and another moderately successful single, "RPM". Two versions of "Fly" appear on the album, one of them featuring ...

'' (1997) * '' 14:59'' (1999) * ''

'' (2001) * ''

In the Pursuit of Leisure ''In the Pursuit of Leisure'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Sugar Ray, released in 2003. Singer-songwriter Esthero and reggae singer Shaggy (musician), Shaggy both make guest appearances. It features the single "Mr. Bartender (I ...

'' (2003) * '' Music for Cougars'' (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