Colbie Caillat | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Caillat in December 2023 | |
| Born | Colbie Marie Caillat (1985-05-28)May 28, 1985 (age 39) Malibu, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Coco[1] |
| Occupation | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Partner | Justin Young (2009–2020) |
| Father | Ken Caillat |
| Awards | Full list |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instruments |
|
| Labels |
|
| Formerly of | |
| Website | colbiecaillat |
Colbie Marie Caillat (/koʊlbikæˈleɪ/KOHL-bee kal-AY;[3][4] born May 28, 1985)[5] is an American singer-songwriter. She rose to fame on the social networking websiteMyspace in 2005. At that time, she was the number one unsigned artist of her genre[citation needed].
She signed withUniversal Republic Records to release her debut studio album,Coco (2007), which was supported by the singles "Bubbly" and "Realize", peaked at number five on theBillboard 200, and receiveddouble platinum certification by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA). At the52nd Annual Grammy Awards, her 2008 duet withJason Mraz, "Lucky", wonBest Pop Collaboration with Vocals, her second album,Breakthrough (2009), received a nomination forBest Pop Vocal Album, and she wonAlbum of the Year for her contributions toTaylor Swift'sFearless (2009). Furthermore,Breakthrough debuted atop theBillboard 200 and spawned the single "Fallin' for You". Her third album,All of You (2011), was supported by the single "Brighter Than the Sun", and her fourth album,Christmas in the Sand (2012), was aChristmas album. Her fifth,Gypsy Heart (2014), was supported by the single "Try". From 2018 to 2020, she was part ofcountry music quartetGone West.
Caillat has sold over six million albums worldwide and over 10 million singles. In 2009, she was namedBillboard magazine's 94th-best-selling music artist of the 2000s.[6][7]
Caillat was born inMalibu, California,[8] and grew up inNewbury Park, California. Her father,Ken Caillat, co-producedFleetwood Mac'sRumours (1977),Tusk (1979), andMirage (1982) albums. When she was an infant, her parents gave her the nickname "Coco", which she would later name her debut album.[9]
Caillat took piano lessons as a child, but lacked significant inspiration until she turned 11 years old, when she became enthralled withLauryn Hill's performance inSister Act 2.[10] She realized that she wanted to be a singer, and began taking vocal lessons, performing onstage for the first time in sixth grade.[11] Since then she has covered theRoberta Flack song "Killing Me Softly", which had previously been covered byLauryn Hill, and Hill's own "Tell Him".
Caillat soon met producerMikal Blue, who hired her to sing ontechno songs used at fashion shows. Caillat began playing the acoustic guitar at age 19, and Blue helped her record her first song.[10]
She auditioned forAmerican Idol in an early season (one of the first four seasons beforeBubbly was released), but was rejected at the pre-audition stage and was unable to sing for the judges.[12] The second time she auditioned for the show, she sang her own original song, "Bubbly", and was rejected once again. However, Caillat expressed gratitude at the judges' decision, saying "I was shy. I was nervous. I didn't look the greatest. I wasn't ready for it yet. I was glad, when I auditioned, that they said no."[13]
The popularity of Caillat'sMySpace profile led her to become the number-one unsigned singer in her genre for four consecutive months.[14]
Caillat's debut album,Coco, was released on July 10, 2007, in Australia and Asia and a week later in North America. Its deluxe edition was released on September 3, 2008, in Japan and November 11, 2008, worldwide. The album was certified 2×Platinum by theRIAA with shipments to U.S. retailers of 2,000,000 units.[15] The album's first single, "Bubbly", peaked at number five on the USBillboard Hot 100 and number two on the Pop 100. It also topped theHot Adult Contemporary Tracks andHot Adult Top 40 Tracks charts for 19 and 14 weeks, respectively.[16] The single was certified platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America on December 13, 2007, with sales of more than 2.6 million downloads in the US.[17] On November, 20, she released the Christmas song "Mistletoe" and peaked at number 75 at Billboard Hot 100. The song was the most downloaded holiday song of 2007.[18] It was also featured in the filmBaby Mama.[19] The second single fromCoco, "Realize", was released on January 23, 2008, peaking at number 20 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart, becoming her second Top 20 hit in the United States.[20]
"The Little Things", was released as the third single in Germany on March 7, 2008, and in United States in October 2008. The single did not chart well in the US, and was her weakest charting single from the album, peaking at number seven on USBillboard Bubbling Under Hot 100. She also recorded a French translated version of this song. The original music video was released only in Europe and was shot in San Francisco. Another music video for the song was shot in Hawaii and was a prequel to "Bubbly". The fourth and final single from the album in the United States was, "Somethin' Special (Beijing Olympic Mix)", released on July 29, 2008.[21] The song was included only in the deluxe edition. It was released to give support to the American athletes participating in the2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, in China, and also was included on theAT&T Team USA Soundtrack.[22] Caillat also sings on "You" bySchiller and appears in the music video. She has been involved in the soundtrack of the movieImagine That; she and Mikal Blue cover theBeatles song "Here Comes the Sun". She is also featured in Colombian singerJuanes' albumLa vida... es un ratico (en vivo) in the song "Hoy Me Voy". In October, the song "Midnight Bottle" was included in the soundtrack of Brazilian soap operaTrês Irmãs. She also played herself in this soap opera and performed the song. Caillat provided background vocals for and co-wroteTaylor Swift's song "Breathe", on her album,Fearless.
On January 13, 2009, Caillat also released a duet withJason Mraz, called "Lucky", on his album,We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things.[23] Caillat's second album,Breakthrough, was released in August 2009. Most of the album was co-written byJason Reeves and features guitaristDavid Becker on two tracks. Becker has worked with Caillat's father Ken.[24] Caillat had writer's block during the recording sessions, so she enlisted her friendsKara DioGuardi andJason Reeves, and they went to Hawaii for three weeks, rented a beach house and wrote songs.Breakthrough debuted at number-one on theUSBillboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 106,000 copies, becoming her first album to debut at the top and an improvement of the first week sales of her debut albumCoco (2007), which started at number five with only 51,000 copies.[25] It was alsoUniversal Music Group's sixth consecutive number-one album to debut at the top.[26] It was later certified Platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[27] The first single, "Fallin' for You", was released on June 29, 2009. The "lilting" mid-tempo ballad "features an instantly catchy chorus and toe tapping melody," as defined by Melinda Newman ofHitFix.[28] It achieved chart success in the United States, reaching number twelve on theBillboard Hot 100, her second highest-charting single and her highest debut with 118,000 first-week downloads,[29] spending fourteen weeks at number two on theAdult Pop Songs and topping theAdult Contemporary chart. Elsewhere, it reached the top-twenty in four other countries and top-forty in the remaining territories.[30]
Initially "Begin Again" and "You Got Me" were under consideration to be the album's second single,[31] however "I Never Told You" was released instead on February 16, 2010.[32] It reached number forty-eight on theBillboard Hot 100 and was more successful on the Adult Pop Songs, where it peaked at number three, and on the Adult Contemporary, reaching number eleven.[33][34] Caillat was recognized asBMI's songwriter of the year. In July 2010, Caillat performed "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch at the2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Game. In September 2010, Caillat performed the national anthem in the season opener game of theNational Football League in New Orleans and a Monday Night Football game in Chicago. In December 2010, Caillat performed at theNobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway. In 2010, Caillat visited the Watkins Glen, New York shelter ofFarm Sanctuary, an organization she supports.[35] Caillat's third album,All of You, was released on July 6, 2011.[36][37] The set, largely produced byGreg Wells, features one guest appearance by rapper/actorCommon, who graces "Favorite Song", while her songwriting collaborators include Ryan Tedder, Toby Gad, Jason Reeves and Rick Nowels.[38]All of You debuted at number six on the USBillboard 200 with first week sales of 70,000 copies.[39] However, it managed to top theDigital Albums Chart.[40] As of June 2014 the album has sold 331,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan.[41]
The album's lead single, "I Do", was released on February 7, 2011, and was a success, debuting at number 23 on the USBillboard Hot 100. The song gathered positive reviews from music critics. The second single "Brighter Than the Sun" was released on May 17, 2011, and reached number 51 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart.[42] Caillat promoted the album onToday on July 12, 2011, and appeared onThe Tonight Show with Jay Leno on July 14, 2011.[43] The song "What If" debuted at number 77 on theBillboard Hot 100, due to strong digital downloads on the week of the album release.[44] Potential singles cited in the future include "Shadow" and "Before I Let You Go".[45] Fans chose the next single of the album via an online poll on Caillat's website, with "Favorite Song" receiving the most votes.[46] The song was released as the third single on May 8, 2012, peaking at number 21 on theHot Adult Pop Songs chart.[47][48] Caillat appeared in the third episode of the cancelledNBC television seriesThe Playboy Club as 1960s singerLesley Gore. In the episode broadcast on October 3, 2011, Caillat sang Gore's 1963 hit, "It's My Party".[49] Cast for the part in August 2011,[50] Caillat taped her portion of the episode in Chicago.[51]
Caillat completed a Christmas album titledChristmas in the Sand that was released on October 23, 2012. The album features collaborations withBrad Paisley,Gavin DeGraw,Justin Young and Jason Reeves. She also began working on her fourth album, set to be released after her Christmas album. In mid-2012, it was announced that Universal Republic Records was going defunct; all other artists including Caillat moved from the label toRepublic Records, thus reviving that label.[52] Caillat and Gavin DeGraw wrote the song "We Both Know" together for the soundtrack of the 2013 filmSafe Haven.[53][54] The song was nominated forGrammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the2014 Grammys. Caillat sang the national anthem at the 3rd game of the2013 World Series between theBoston Red Sox and theSt. Louis Cardinals on October 26, 2013. Caillat's new single, "Hold On" was released to digital retailers on November 19, 2013. The song would be released as the lead single from the new album, but for uncertain reasons wasn't included in the domestic version, included only in international release.[55] In United States the song was a non-album single.[56]
"Try" was released as theGypsy Heart album's second single worldwide and lead single in United States on June 9, 2014. It was written by Caillat,Babyface andJason Reeves and was produced by Babyface. Caillat says about "Try", "It's this song I've had in my head my entire life about personal insecurities, imperfections, self-confidence issue." The song hit number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100 in August of that year and later went platinum in the USA. A lyric video was released June 10, 2014, featuring fans, as well as female celebrities such asHoda Kotb,Miranda Lambert,Sara Bareilles,Katharine McPhee and the members ofFifth Harmony without makeup.[57] The official video shows Caillat along with other women with makeup, which they remove later on in the video.
On July 2 she released a lyric-video for "Live It Up". The official lyric-video for "Never Gonna Let You Down" was released on October 25. The fourth album,Gypsy Heart, was released only on September 30, and was produced by American record producerBabyface.[58] It features songwriting collaborations with past co-writer,Jason Reeves, as well as new co-writers and producersMax Martin, Julian Bunetta, andJohan Carlsson.[41] The album debuted at No. 17 on theBillboard 200 for chart dated October 18, 2014,[59] with 16,000 copies sold in the first week. The album has sold 91,000 copies in the United States as of October 2016.[60]
Caillat co-wrote "Chasing the Sun" along withJason Reeves andToby Gad forHilary Duff. The song was released as the first single for Duff's fifth album.[61] Caillat penned a song forThe Walking Dead: Songs of Survival Vol. 2 called "The Way I Was" which was included exclusively for theWalmart version of the soundtrack album.[62]
In 2016, Caillat parted ways with her major record label and launched her own independent label called PlummyLou Records, named after her family dogs.[63][64] Caillat also moved to Nashville this same year.[65]
On July 22, 2016, Caillat released "Goldmine", the first single from her new album,The Malibu Sessions.[66] The album was released on October 7, 2016, and contained the unreleased title track, "Gypsy Heart", from her previous album. "Goldmine" peaked in theBillboard Adult Top 40, whileThe Malibu Sessions peaked in the top 40 of theBillboard 200 Albums chart.The Malibu Sessions also reached the top 10 of theBillboard U.S. Independent Albums chart, peaking at number seven.
During the fall of 2016, Caillat undertook an acoustic world tour forThe Malibu Sessions.[67][68] The tour continued into the summer of 2017.[69] In 2017, Caillat also released her first-ever campaign withWhite House Black Market titled "Women to Women". For the campaign, Caillat recorded a cover of "We Are Family" bySister Sledge.[64]
During 2018, Caillat formed a band calledGone West with her fiancé Justin Young, longtime collaborator Jason Reeves, and his wife Nelly Joy.[70] The group debuted at theGrand Ole Opry on October 26, 2018. Gone West signed with label Grayscale Entertainment.[71]
On August 12, 2020, Caillat announced on Instagram the band had broken up.
In September 2020, Caillat was featured on theDisney+ seriesBecoming.
In 2021, Caillat rerecorded her vocals for her 2008Taylor Swift collaboration, "Breathe," fromFearless (Taylor's Version).[72] The rerecording was released on April 9, 2021, along with a "meditative" lyric video.[73] Upon its release, "Breathe (Taylor's Version)" appeared on severalBillboard charts.
On July 28, 2021, Caillat signed withCreative Artists Agency.[74] In September 2021, Caillat released a cover of the song, "White Christmas", which was a collaboration with country singerBrett Young. The duet appeared on Young's album,Brett Young & Friends Sing the Christmas Classics.[75] In December of that year, Caillat made an appearance onCMT Crossroads Christmas to perform her duet with Young.[76]
In early 2022, Caillat embarked on the Coco Live 15th Anniversary Tour, where she performed her albumCoco live from start to finish.[77] The tour continued through the summer and into the fall.[78] On October 21, 2022, Caillat released "Iris", a cover of the 1998 hit by theGoo Goo Dolls.[79] The cover was featured in an ad forKroger.[80]
According to her official website, Caillat recorded a new album inNashville. Her new single "Worth It" was released on April 21, 2023.[81] She announced her new albumAlong the Way, due October 6, after the release of the second single of the project called "Pretend".Along the Way is her first solo country album.[82][83] She released the album's third single "Wide Open" in July 2023.[84]
Caillat has acontralto vocal range.[85][86] According toApple Music, Caillat is best known for offering the folk-pop genre a 21st-century sound,[87] although her music has also been described as pop soul.[88] Jill Renae Hicks of theColumbia Daily Tribune describer her music as "sunny", frequently characterized by "beachy, ray-soaked tunes filled with bouncy guitars and upbeat percussion ... fronted by the singer’s California-drawl alto".[89]Reuters found her style to be reminiscent of female musicians from the late-1970s, namelyKarla Bonoff andNicolette Larson, and considers her timbre and tone to be similar to that ofSheryl Crow.[90] She has experimented with genres such as rock, hip-hop, country, R&B, and dance music, particularly on her fifth studio albumGypsy Heart.[86] A writer forThe Plain Dealer theorized that jazz influences are evident in the singer's "proclivity for pseudo-scatting".[85]
According to several publications, Caillat was arguably the first successful music artist to be discovered onMySpace.[91] Some journalists nicknamed her the "Queen of Myspace" due to her popularity on the platform.[92][93][88] Caillat considers herself a songwriter first and foremost.[94] She described songwriting as "this amazing therapy that you can do on your own, and people can relate to the songs that you write".[95] She has said she enjoys writing in bathrooms due to their echoeyacoustics, which allow her to sing softer than she would otherwise.[96] She calledJason Reeves her favorite person to write with, and has frequently co-written with Kara DioGuardi, Toby Gad and Jason Mraz.[94] The singer's lyrics have discussed themes such as self-empowerment, with the writer mentioning that her lyrics "all have a level of deftness ... that goes light years beyond the typical fare of I love you, and such".[85] Reviewing a 2008 concert, a writer for Reuters called her songwriting underwhelming and generic.[90]
Caillat has spoken about suffering fromstage fright earlier in her career,[97][98][99] an experience she wrote about in her song "One Fine Line".[96] She was promoted in the press as a shy "online sensation who suffered from a fair share of stage fright".[97] Critics such as Brian Passey ofThe Spectrum noticed she had overcome her stage fright by 2017.[100]
Caillat was in a relationship with singerJustin Young from 2009 to 2020. The two were engaged in May 2015.[101] They announced that they had ended their engagement in April 2020.[102] Her song "Worth It", released in 2023, is inspired by the relationship and break up.
In 2010, Caillat posed nude for the May issue ofAllure magazine, alongsideEmmanuelle Chriqui,Regina Hall,Kara DioGuardi, andJessica Capshaw.[103]
Caillat supports various charities includingFarm Sanctuary,United Service Organizations,Wish Upon A Hero,MusiCares, Earth's Call Fund, theHumane Society of the United States, andWE Charity.[104][105][106][107]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Três Irmãs | Herself | Episode: "November 13, 2008" |
| 2009 | Saturday Night Live | Herself | Episode: "Steve Martin/Jason Mraz" |
| 2011 | The Playboy Club | Lesley Gore | Episode: "An Act of Simple Duplicity" |
| 2011 | So Random! | Herself | Episode: "Colbie Caillat" |
| 2011 | Majors & Minors | Guest mentor | Episodes: "One World – Part 1" and "Fly Away" |
| 2020 | Becoming | Herself | Episode: "Colbie Caillat" |
| 2023 | Barmageddon | Herself | Episode: "David Arquette vs. Colbie Caillat" |
|
|
| Year | Awards | Category | Recipient | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice Breakthrough Artist | Herself | Nominated |
| Choice Music – Love Song | "Bubbly" | Nominated | ||
| American Music Awards | T-Mobile Breakthrough Artist | Herself | Nominated | |
| Billboard Music Awards | Rising Star | Herself | Won | |
| 2009 | BMI Pop Awards | Songwriter of the Year | Herself | Won |
| Song of The Year | "Bubbly" | Won | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice Music: Hook Up | "Lucky" | Nominated | |
| 2010 | Grammy Awards | Album of the Year | Fearless (as featured artist ofTaylor Swift) | Won |
| Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals | "Lucky" (withJason Mraz) | Won | ||
| "Breathe" (withTaylor Swift) | Nominated | |||
| Best Pop Vocal Album | Breakthrough | Nominated | ||
| People's Choice Awards | Favorite Music Collaboration | "Lucky" (withJason Mraz) | Nominated | |
| 2014 | Grammy Awards | Best Song Written for Visual Media | "We Both Know" | Nominated |
| 2015 | MTV Video Music Awards | Best Video with a Message | "Try" | Nominated |
| 2016 | BMI Pop Awards | Award-Winning Song[109] | Won |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by — | Billboard Rising Star Award 2008 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
