Music | Colbie Caillat | The Teenager

Ever tried becoming a singer with the help of people from all quarters of the world who are not remotely known to you? Meet Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter musician Colbie Caillat who became one of the first artists to emerge from the pages of MySpace with a huge fan base without any marketing effort involved. Her haunting voice and mesmerizing music was all it took to win her countless fans worldwide. Colbie Marie Caillat grew up in Malibu and Ventura County surrounded by music. Songs were often mixed at the console in her Malibu beach house, filling the corridors with the sound of Billy Idol, Pat Benatar, and other '80s pop/rock. As a child, Colbie gave piano lessons a try but wasn't inspired until she turned 11 and became enthralled watching Lauryn Hill sing in the movie Sister Act 2.

With the encouragement of her parents Colbie started taking singing lessons and soon began performing in school and at talent shows. At the age of 15, she met producer Mikal Blue, known for his work with Five for Fighting and Carrie Underwood. Blue asked Colbie to record vocals for some techno tracks he was producing, which were used as runway music for St John Knit's fashion shows. The pair continued to record new tracks together during the following years.

“My songs are optimistic and bright. I grew up in southern California and Hawaii. The lifestyle was laid back and I listened to mellow, positive music. So I think that’s all inside me. I’m happy, and that gets expressed in my music.”

With a career as a professional singer seeming possible, Colbie eventually learned to play guitar and wrote her first song at 19. Around this time, Jason Reeves, an aspiring LA songwriter became her co-writing and musical partner. With Blue and Reeves, she recorded demos of several of the tunes that would ultimately appear on her debut album.

In 2005, Colbie posted a few of her recordings on MySpace, but received little response initially. Shortly after Bubbly was added to her profile in 2006, her page started receiving thousands of hits through an international word-of-mouth buzz, a feat all the more impressive considering there was absolutely no marketing campaign involved. In October 2006, Rolling Stone magazine touted her as one of the top female artists on MySpace after she had amassed more than 6,200 friends on the popular social networking site. The unexpected publicity garnered Colbie's page even more visits. She became MySpace's No. 1 unsigned artiste with more than 100,000 friends popping up on her page. Her profile had received more than 3 million visits and 10 million plays before she was signed to any label.

With several record labels suddenly taking notice, Colbie signed with Universal Republic in 2007. She entered the recording studio with her longtime collaborators Reeves and Blue to produce her debut album Coco released in July 2007. Interestingly 'Coco' is also Colbie's nickname.

Born on May 28, 1985 in California,
Colbie is of French ethnicity.

She is 5'8½" tall

She recorded a cover of Kiss the Girl
from Disney's The Little Mermaid and
has featured on the OST of the movie
Imagine That.

Colbie released a song and video for the
2008 Beijing Summer Olympics
called Something Special.

With success coming her way, a line of singers queued up to collaborate. She recorded a duet with Jason Mraz on the song Lucky from his album We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things. She also featured on Colombian singer Juanes' album La Vida... Es un Ratico en Vivo on the song Hoy Me Voy. Colbie also provided background vocals and co-wrote with teen pop star Taylor Swift for her song Breathe on her 2008 album Fearless.

With so much going for her, it was time to enter the studio and give fans a new album - August 2009's Breakthrough. The first single Fallin' For You is funky and suited to the younger crowd, just like the rest of the tracks. Overall the album addresses the problems of love and break-ups. The album has been nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards this month. So watch out for Colbie!

VERUS FERREIRA is a freelance journalist since the last 18 years. Passionate about music, he started writing for THE TEENAGER in 1992, soon after finishing college. In addition to this column, he reviews the latest music albums and movies as well. He also contributes to The Free Press Journal, The Afternoon, AV Max, Ragatorock.com and selects the in-flight audio entertainment for two international airlines.