Macklemore and Ryan Lewis were once less-than-mainstream names, and now that they've hot the big time, the duo is exposing the public to a slew of other names that helped make 2012's "The Heist" one of the biggest albums of the year, including "Thrift Shop" vocalist Wanz and "Can't Hold Us" guest Ray Dalton. Sunday night at the MTV Video Music Awards, Mary Lambert, the vocalist carrying the hook for "One Love" made her big debut while performing the song with the duo. She had performed the song with Macklemore on "The Colbert Report," but nothing close to the viewership of the VMA's.


The song serves to promote equal rights for gay couples in the United States, and its a message that hits close to home for Lambert. Her performance has caused many to reach out in support of Lambert, who is openly gay.

"For me, writing the song was a very personal endeavor," says Lambert, who co-wrote "Same Love." "It's talking about my sexuality and my religion. To have that resonate with people -- and not just on a wide scale, with the pushing of gay marriage -- but on a very personal, real level, with people talking to me about their experience in church and their sexuality, that's where it really hits home to me. You're hearing these stories, and you know exactly what that person's gone through."

Lambert earned her attention Sunday night, going toe-to-toe with Jennifer Hudson during her delivery of the song's hook.

The performer is thankful for the attention she's found working with the hip-hop duo, but now she's focusing on delivering her own solo debut (she released an EP during 2012). She's adapted the chorus of the song, with Macklemore and Lewis's blessing, into her own single: "She Keeps Me Warm." There's no date for an album set yet, but Lambert's VMA performance has set hopes high.

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