Beloved by fans for his blue-eyed soul vocals, freewheeling melodies, and earthy charm, singer, songwriter, and musician Gavin DeGraw was also a crowd favorite on this year’s Dancing With the Stars. He is known for his songs "Chariot,” "Follow Through,” "I Don't Want to Be," (which has been featured as the theme song for the television drama series, One Tree Hill since 2003), "In Love with a Girl,” and "Not Over You."
On Gavin’s new album Sweeter, the New York native experimented with new techniques, “I think Sweeter is the first album I’ve made that has caught my true sound, and that was the result of taking risks. I want to take people from the beginning to the end of their emotions, for however long they’re with me,” he says. “I want to woo people. I do. I want both women and men to love it, because I feel this album satisfies in a masculine way while still having a feminine touch.”
Armed simply with her dusky vocals and acoustic guitar, Colbie
Caillat and her homespun music continue to resonate with listeners and
win new fans. Caillat has so quickly made such an enduring impact that
USA Today declared the California girl a vital part of, “a new wave of
troubadours luring fans of all ages into a peaceful, easy feeling.”
Caillat’s summery style has been compared to artists like Jack Johnson,
Jason Mraz and Sara Bareilles.
With no marketing push and only
the power of the music behind her, Caillat became a sensation on
MySpace starting in 2006 when, upon the advice of friends, she began
uploading her songs to her page. She became the top unsigned artist on
MySpace for an unprecedented four months, garnering over 14 million
plays in the process, and leading to a record deal with Universal
Republic. In 2008, she recorded a duet with Jason Mraz, "Lucky,” which
won a Grammy. Her second album, Breakthrough, was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2010 Grammy Awards. Her latest album, All of You, was released last summer.
Beginning his career at age 17, Justin Young released a number of successful albums in Hawai'i. With eight number-one hits on Hawai'i radio and 4 Hawaiian Music Awards under his belt, Justin relocated to Los Angeles. Justin quickly established a following in the local music scene and connected with other singer/songwriters including up-and-comer Colbie Caillat. Colbie quickly ascended to the top of the Billboard charts and soon after asked Justin to join her band. Justin has been touring with Colbie Caillat as her acoustic guitarist and background vocalist for three years. Shades of the laid-back lifestyle of the islands can be sensed in his mellow, relaxing, and soulful songs that combine old and new sounds.
