Still soft & easy with Colbie Caillat

The best way I can describe our discovery of the music of Colbie Caillat two years ago is like coming out of a dark, crowded and smoke-filled room into a sunlit field of daisies. She was a refreshing sound who took us out of the realm of singing champions and screaming divas. She was so sweet and real that she made all of the others seem like overblown flowers on the verge of wilting.

Young and pretty in a wholesome, sunny California way, she also proved something nobody thought possible. She became a star through the web. Colbie recorded her own composition titled Bubbly and uploaded it into Myspace on the Net. Users liked what they heard and bought the song from iTunes. By the time her first album Coco and single Realize was released late in 2007, Colbie had already become an international sensation. The list of adoring countries included the Philippines where Colbie effortlessly changed the listening habits of the trendy set.

Now comes Colbie’s crucial test, the release of her second album. Titled Breakthrough, it is made up of new originals of the same easy beat and simple themes as before. Nice to hear though that she now shows a little rock edge in the songs. This should keep her from becoming predictable or worse, boring. But because she had a hand in writing every cut and even sings some background vocals, the CD is still basically that of the Colbie we all loved with Bubbly.

Will Breakthrough turn out to be as big or even bigger than Coco? It has a strong chance. Lucky, the duet that Colbie sang and co-wrote with singing idol Jason Mraz of I’m Yours fame, is already a big hit. There are also other possibilities in the CD like the intimate sounding single release Falling For You. I see a lot of girls relating to this one. First cut I Won’t also has a nice infectious appeal and because we Pinoys really love duets, I see a lot of us warming up to the sweet Droplets featuring her song collaborator Jason Reeves.

But no matter what happens to Breakthrough, Colbie should always be proud of her second CD. Musically and technically, it is the better product. The decision to experiment a bit with her music has opened huge possibilities for more exciting changes in the future. I am not surprised this happened. Unlike most newcomers who end up one-hit wonders, Colbie had the good sense to work with seasoned veterans of the music industry for her sophomore effort.

One of them is her father, the Grammy-winning producer Ken Caillat. He has worked on the recordings of really big names in the US. Think of the likes of Frank Sinatra. Ken is also a sort of legend in the field of rock music for having produced the acclaimed hit albums Rumors, Tusk, Mirage and others for the legendary rock band Fleetwood Mac. Wow! Colbie must be getting really good advice from him.

Another one is songwriter and producer John Shanks, who has an excellent hitmaking record with female artists. Among those he helped steer to the top of the charts were Kelly Clarkson, Hilary Duff, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Michelle Branch and Melissa Etheridge. And not to forget Colbie also has Kara DioGuardi of the TV show American Idol singing background vocals in Begin Again.

Breakthrough also includes Begin Again, You Got Me, Rainbow, I Never Told You, Fearless, Runnin’ Around, Break Through, It Stops Today, and Breakin’ At The Cracks.

MYX’s top videos of the week

From MYX, the Pinoys’ favorite music channel, here is the list of the top videos of the week: One Time by Justin Bieber; It’s You by Super Junior; Tell Me Your Name by Christian Bautista; Diamond Shotgun by Chicosci; Kasalanan by 6Cyclemind and Gloc 9; Party In The USA by Miley Cyrus; Ignorance by Paramore; Fly With Me by Jonas Brothers; Genie by Girls Generation; I Don’t Care by 2NE1.

Higante by Francis M and Ely Buendia; Bangon by Rico Blanco; You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift; Simulan Mo Na by Pedicab; Bahay Kubo by Hale; Down by Jay Sean and Lil Wayne; Good Girls Go Bad by Cobra Starship and Leighton Meester; Love Drunk by Boys Like Girls; Automatic by Tokio Hotel; and New Perspective by Panic At The Disco.