The 'Bubbly' life of Colbie Caillat

(Credit: Andrew Southam/Universal Republic)

Colbie Caillat, 'Breakthrough'

‘Bubbly’ singer’s talent shines through on slick...

Colbie Caillat seems to lead a charmed life. Raised in Malibu, the daughter of a successful record producer (Ken Caillat, whose credits include Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumors”), the singer-songwriter found success right out of the gate, becoming MySpace’s most popular unsigned artist when she was just 21 and enjoying a smash hit with her debut single, “Bubbly.” To work on songs for her sophomore album, the just-released “Breakthrough,” Caillat retreated to a beach house in Hawaii with friends, family and ace songwriter-for-hire (and “American Idol” judge) Kara DioGuardi. Has this girl ever had it rough?

“I’ve struggled with stage fright for my entire life,” a tired Caillat admits, phoning us from an airport lounge after a long day of interviews. “Going on tour with John Mayer and Goo Goo Dolls and doing [all] these TV performances was totally nerve-wracking for me.”

But even this story has a happy ending. “That’s why I actually titled my album ‘Breakthrough,’ because I had a personal breakthrough with my fear of stage fright and I overcame it. Now I actually love what I do in performing.”

Both Caillat’s stage fright, and the matter-of-fact way she talks about conquering it, say a lot about this young talent and her unique appeal. In a world of look-at-me pop stars and angst-ridden, me-against-the-world rockers, she remains refreshingly unassuming and down-to-earth. It’s a quality that comes across in her songwriting, which is honest but never self-indulgent, and her voice, a soft, sultry instrument that’s a world away from the Auto-Tuned robots dominating today’s pop airwaves. She’s the anti-Heidi Montag: a blonde California beach girl who radiates contentment instead of an ugly sense of entitlement.

In addition to confessing her former stage fright, Caillat discussed working with some other star songwriting partners (including Rick Nowels, who co-wrote the Santana/Michelle Branch smash “The Game of Love”) and the hazards of having a French last name.

I understand you went on a retreat to Hawaii with Kara DioGuardi while you were working on songs for “Breakthrough.”
Yeah, I did. [Laughs]

Sounds pretty rough.
Yeah, it was terrible. [Laughs] No, it was actually one of the best things that ever happened to me. I got home from tour in December, and I went to Hawaii with Jason [Reeves, her longtime songwriting partner] and Kara and a few other writers, and my family, and we had this house on the beach and we just soaked up life and did everything that we wanted to do. And in the evenings we would write songs and talk about life situations and how to turn them into beautiful songs for people to relate to. I became even better friends with Kara, and learned so much from her as a songwriter. I mean, she’s one of the best songwriters around.

How were Kara’s boogie boarding skills? Did you teach her any tricks while you were on the beach there?
We actually did not boogie board; that was the boys. Me and Kara took jogs around the beach and did Pilates together, we didn’t boogie board. We would all have barbecues and bonfires, and play music. Made smoothies together.

Now that Kara’s a judge on “Idol,” can we expect a Colbie guest appearance?
I would love to. I’ve just been hearing that there’s gonna be celebrity guest judges, so I would love to do that for sure.

And celebrity guest performers.
I would love to do that this year too, for sure.

In addition to Kara, you worked with some new songwriting collaborators on this album, in particular Rick Nowels. How was it working with him?
It was a strange process for me, because I was used to writing with friends and being comfortable with that situation. I went to Santa Monica and met with Rick, and the first day that we met and wrote a bunch of songs together is when we wrote [lead single] “Fallin’ for You.” It was, like, the second song that we started working on. The best part about writing with Rick is he gives me so much confidence. Like, he loves everything I come up with. I’ll be singing a lyric or a melody idea and he’ll be like, “Ooh, I like that! Keep going with it. I really think this song is a hit!”

You wrote a song [“Breathe”] for Taylor Swift’s last record. Is that something you’re interested in doing more of, writing songs for artists other than yourself?
Yeah, that’s exactly what I want to start doing. I’ve been working with Dave Stewart and Rob Thomas and Taylor Swift, and I have so many songs written that I would love to start giving some that I don’t think are meant for me out to other artists that they could be perfect for. So, that’s why I just keep writing: because I love it, and even if the song’s not going to go on my record, it could go perfectly for someone else.

Now that you’re famous, do people still mispronounce your last name or do they generally get it right at this point?
No, they still get it wrong. It’s still a confusing thing, or they have to ask if they got it right. 

It’s “Cah-LAY,” right?
I mean, yeah, it’s “CAL-ay,” but people say “Cah-LAY,” it’s totally fine.

Add me to the list of people who still can’t get it right.
It’s understandable. It’s a French last name, and I even say it wrong. In France, they make me pronounce it how it’s really pronounced, which is “KAI-uh.” At radio interviews, I’ll be like, “Hi, I’m Colbie CAL-ay.” And they’ll be like, “No, no, no, you’re Colbie KAI-uh. Please re-do it.” And I’m like, “Oh, wow, OK.” But it’s understandable: for French people who see [how my name is spelled] to know who I am, it has to be done.