Colbie Caillat Artistfacts

May 28, 1985
Caillat became a pop sensation via MySpace back when it was the dominant social media site. Colbie isn't big on the technical stuff, so her friend set up her page and posted her songs. When "Bubbly" went up, so did her view count, and she became the top unsigned artist on MySpace. She got a deal with Universal Republic, who released the song as her first single.
Colbie didn't start playing guitar until she was 19, and it was just three years later that she got her record deal. She has since learned how to write songs on other instruments and has benefited from the collective wisdom of co-writers like Toby Gad, Jason Mraz and Mikal Blue. In her Songfacts interview, Colbie said: "Learning from all the writers and artists I've worked with over the years has really helped me grow a lot. I can write in so many different styles now. I used to just write with my guitar. Then piano. Now I know how to write to tracks and beats and come up with melodies to no music at all. It's so fun!"
Her father, Ken Caillat, co-produced Fleetwood Mac's Rumours (1977) and Tusk (1979) albums. He was one of the behind-the-scenes folks who helped the band stay productive during their most tumultuous years. Colbie shared with Digital Spy what it was like knowing Fleetwood Mac: "They were around. I've been with all of them on lots of different occasions. It was cool knowing them and experiencing that growing up."
For her second album, Breakthrough, Caillat took a multi-week songwriting retreat to Hawaii with cowriter Jason Reeves and American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi. They rented a house on the beach wrote songs every day - not a bad way to work.
The name of her second album, Breakthrough, comes to mark her getting over her stage fright, as she was always afraid to get on stage and perform in front of people. She preferred the studio setting, where she could craft her sound, but later came to enjoy live performances.
Her song "Fallin' For You" features in the movie The Back-up Plan. "You Got Me" and "What If" feature in Letters to Juliet.
She claims her top influences are John Mayer, Bob Marley, Lauryn Hill and Fleetwood Mac.
In 2009, Colbie began dating her guitarist, Justin Young. On tour, he would join her to duet on the song "Lucky," which she wrote with Jason Mraz. Colbie told Songfacts, "I couldn't fully relate to it because I had never been in love with someone I considered my best friend. Then I fell in love with my boyfriend Justin Young and got to sing that song on stage with him every night and could relate to the song 100%. It was an amazing feeling."
Colbie Caillat likes to drink hot water and honey with a little Jameson before a show. She told Billboard magazine: "I have a raspy voice, so that soothes it and smoothes it out."
Caillat auditioned for American Idol seasons 2 and 3 (2003 and 2004) but was turned away early both times, even though she sang "Bubbly" at her second audition. "They just said no instantly," she told Off The Record. "I was nervous, and I just didn't have the look. I didn't have any of the things. So, 10 seconds in, they were like, 'Next!'"
Her 2025 album This Time Around contains new versions of her old songs with a slate of guest vocalists that includes Maren Morris, Maddie & Tae and Jason Mraz.

"I wanted to re-record/reimagine the versions of all my old singles that I still sing and how we sing them live," she said on Off The Record. "I sing a lot differently than I did at the very beginning of my career, so when I listen back to the old recordings, I'm like, 'Oh, I want a redo.' Then it turned into, 'Let's have a couple duets,' and then it became, 'Every song is going to be a duet.'"

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