The mellow songs of Colbie Caillat grew 'til they burst the Net

By Manta Klangboonkrong

daily xpress

Folk-pop sensation Colbie Caillat is no new face, especially to the music junkies who get their fix from Myspace.

Her then-demo-now-hot-track "Bubbly" got an unbelievable 10 million plays. Thanks to her sunny, gentle and mellow sound, the 22-year-old singer/ songwriter soon attracted the attention of Universal Music, with whom she released her debut, "Coco".

The LA girl started singing at 11 - inspired by the magical voice of Lauryn Hill - and soon began composing her own songs. Accompanied by acoustic guitar, soft piano, light bass lines and groovy percussion, Caillat mixes R&B flavours and reggae flair into her pop-folk music.

Caillat was recently in Sing-apore to promote her South-east Asian tour and gave Daily Xpress an exclusive interview.

Where do you get the inspiration to write songs?

It's from when I'm on the road, or when I'm alone and have time to think. Some of it is my personal experience - people around me, my feelings, my fears. Sometimes I play the guitar and hum along, and the words just come into my head - and that's it.

What about love?

Yeah ... it's one of those feelings where you don't want to meet anybody else, and you think about this person everyday. But I didn't write "Bubbly" when I was in love. I was alone at the time and sort of thinking about the feeling you have when you're in love. I missed that kind of feeling.

You could have been a very successful underground singer. What made you decided to get a record deal?

I'd been thinking about it ... I wanted to get the music out there to more people but I wanted it done the right way. And the deal came along so here I am. But I can still put the music on Myspace.

Staying on Myspace would have been different though...

I imagine so. Doing it alone is a lot harder. My father thinks I should sign and keep all my credits, which is how it is now. I have my own creative freedom.

How have you changed as a person?

I'm still the same me, just getting wiser and growing up a bit. I've learned the business side of things and how to negotiate. Also I get recognised more when I go out.

What do you do in your downtime?

I hang out at the beach or have a barbecue with my friends, my family and my three dogs.

For more, visit www. MySpace.com/ColbieCaillat.