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Pop Rock Nation

Tag: Colbie Caillat

  • Let it snow!

    Let it snow!

    As I watch tiny flakes fall from the German sky, I think to myself… “Let it snow!”

    Snow shouldn’t excite me as much as it does. I still can’t help but feel excited when I see it, though, especially since I’ve been living in warm places for the past five years. Not counting Thanksgiving 2014, when my husband Bill and I ran into an aberrant snowstorm that dumped a couple of inches in Virginia, I haven’t really seen much of the stuff in years. Now that we live in Germany again, I’m thinking to myself “Let it snow!” I’ll just sit in the house and snuggle with my dogs… and listen to music, of course. Lots of artists have recorded the song, “Let It Snow”, which usually gets played at Christmas time.


    A classic version by Dean Martin.

    This song isn’t really a Christmas song, though, is it? Do they even mention the big winter holiday at all in this song? I don’t think so. Why shouldn’t we sing it in January or February, when snow may be more likely to fall?


    Michael Buble updates “Let It Snow”, along with some manly sounding backup singers.

    I think it works even better with a woman singer…


    Maybe not Jessica Simpson, though… What the hell is she doing to this song?

    I’m kind of partial to the song, “Baby It’s Cold Outside”. You can have a lot of fun with the suggestive lyrics if you have the right partner. The first time I heard this song, it was sung by James Taylor and Natalie Cole, who sounded fine together but didn’t seem to have much chemistry.


    Lady Gaga sings with Joseph Gordon-Levitt… Do they have chemistry?

    It’s kind of cool that Lady Gaga and Joseph Gordon-Levitt traded roles, but I’m not so sure they pull it off. Hmm, now that I think about it, it’s kind of a creepy song. Basically, one person is trying to talk the other to sticking around for some nookie. A little date rape, perhaps?


    Colbie Caillat and Gavin DeGraw sing… after Colbie hawks her Christmas album.

    And here’s a very cute version of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” by the Hound + the Fox.


    These two have chemistry! So cute, despite the song’s date rape theme.

    Even I get into the act on this one. I recorded this version with a SingSnap member named Outnumbered 321.


    Nobody’s ever sung this to me for real, though. No one I ever dated could sing worth a damn.

    Sadly, since my husband is currently in hot and sunny Chad, I won’t be snuggling with anyone on this snowy day. Bah humbug!

  • Colbie Caillat and the Virtues of Unspectacular Niceness

    Today, I was listening to my iPod at my desk and my next-cube-neighbor overheard the song that was playing – you know: that one that goes, “it starts at my toes and it twinkles my nose”, or whatever it is she says, doesn’t really matter – and asked me what the name of that singer was. I was like, oh that’s Colbie Caillat. And she was like, oh yeah, that’s right. As if I had just reminded her of some bit of common but unimportant and therefore easily forgettable knowledge. Like, oh yeah, that’s right: Montpelier is the capital of Vermont. It’s easy to understand how her debut single “Bubbly” became a top 10 hit. It’s a sweet, easygoing song with the kind of melody the cozies up to a listener right around mid-afternoon and makes the dreary day seem not just bearable, but, y’know, kinda nice. It makes no particular demands of the listener, except to lay back and sing along if you want (that is, if your next-cube-neighbors don’t mind). It’s the audio equivalent of a back rub. Seriously, what’s not to like? And, consequently everyone seems to like it. Harder to explain is the fact that, three years later, Colbie Caillat isn’t a one-hit wonder.

    Colbie Caillat “Bubbly” (2007)

    Have a great summer! Luv n’ Hugs, Colbie Caillat, Your Musical BFF

    In Wayne’s World, Mike Myers joked that artists who just made songs that everybody liked were the BeeGees. He could make the same joke today about Colbie Caillat. She’s really pretty (okay, she’s hot – even a gay like me can see), but in a really normal, everyday sorta way. Her album covers are as innocuously generic as senior yearbook pictures. She’s got a warm, lovely voice that also happens to be unspecial enough that only the most devoted fan could pick it out of a radio line-up. And even then, it might have as much to do with her surroundings as with her voice itself. She plays a strummy guitar in an Autotune world. Born to a record producer who worked with Fleetwood Mac in their glory years (and who also produces Caillat’s records), Colbie writes and sings unassuming 70s-style singer-songwriter country-ish pop songs in an era where producers armed with flashy Eurosynths and premium manufactured beats rule over all they survey with the help of their faithful army of sexy robot minions like Flo Rida and Ke$ha. Colbie Caillat remains fully clothed and defiantly unprovocative in the valley of the shadow of the Haus of Gaga’s ascendance. And yet, for the last three years, she’s been semi-reliably holding her own on the charts – not just the adult contemporary chart for which she’s a virtual archetype for success, but also on the general Pop charts and Billboard’s Hot 100, where her songs may not reach the heights attained by Gaga, but have a tendency to stick around two or three times as long.

    Colbie Caillat “Fallin’ For You” (2009)

    You’d never know it from her songs or her voice, both of which project a maturity and confidence on par with Sheryl Crow (who could’ve been her mother) the 25-year-old Colbie is younger than Britney and Xtina, and could have attended high school with Stefani Germanotta and Kesha Rose Sebert. Admittedly, she’s not the only artist in her age group currently mining this particular vein of pop. But 26-year-old Mandy Moore, who began her career as a third-tier Britney soundalike, has been transforming herself into the second coming of Carly Simon ever since the release of her shockingly tasteful covers album Coverage in 2003; and her increasing artistic legitimacy has paid off in decreasing commercial viability. And former Idol finalist Brooke White, has found the world outside the Nokia Theater to be harsh and unaccommodating of that 21st Century Carole King thing she’s got going on.

    Meanwhile, Caillat’s songs are getting licensed to Brazilian soap operas, and getting picked up by Taylor Swift, a country-pop star even younger than herself. Her songs have an emotional intimacy to them, but they’re never really quirky or confessional the way, say, Sara Bareilles or Ingrid Michaelson are. They sound as good to a middle-aged commuter as they do to a teenager doing homework. You can hear them at the beach, and you can hear them at Walgreen’s. I don’t think I’ve ever really fallen in love with one of her songs. But I really, really like a lot of them. In a sense, we need a Colbie Caillat right now. She gives Lady Gaga something to be freaky in contrast to at a time when other starlets (who really should know better, Ms. Aguilera) are doing their best to challenge the Lady on her own turf. She’s a welcome respite from “edgy”. An oasis of unspectacular niceness in a landscape of computerized, militarized, vampirically sexualized pop menace. And I say: it’s all right.

    Colbie Caillat “I Never Told You”

  • Chart Chat Recap Part 1: Who Has The Keys To The Top?

    Yes, folks, it’s that time of the year again. Billboard recently released its’ year-end charts, and some of the results will surprise you. Chris Brown ranks as the year’s top artist, thanks to three huge hit singles and a double-platinum album. He’s also (obviously) the top male artist on the year-end survey, while to no one’s surprise, his girlfriend Rihanna ranks as the top female artist. In their breakout year, The Jonas Brothers rank as the top band/duo/group.

    This week, we turn our attention to the year’s top albums. Now, when doing their year end survey, Billboard does not use hard sales figures, nor do they use the strict calendar year. Their year end charts are based on a calculation of chart positions from week-to-week, while the time period they tally is from the first week of December 2007 to the last week of November 2008. Which should explain why the biggest-selling album of 2008 isn’t actually the Number One album of 2008. Let’s move on to the chart, shall we? Oh, and as always, all chart positions are courtesy of the good folks at Billboard communications.

    1) “As I Am” Alicia Keys

    Keys snared the #1 spot by spending all 52 weeks of the chart year on the Top 200. During that period, “As I Am” has sold 3.7 million copies. It’s the first time Keys has had a #1 album of the year. And here’s a sign at how flat record sales have become: “As I Am” is the worst selling studio album of Keys’ career.

    2) “Noel” Josh Groban

    “Noel” was actually the biggest selling album of the time period captured in the year-end chart, but as it was a holiday release, it’s time on the chart was limited. By the way, in terms of actual album sales, “Noel” wound up being 2007’s #1 album.

    3) “Tha Carter III” Lil Wayne

    2008’s #1-selling album by a healthy margin, Weezy joins Alicia Keys as the only artists in the Top 5 Artists, Albums and Singles of 2008. It’s also (obviously) the highest-ranking hip-hop title on the year end chart and the only one in the Top 20. The rest of the top 5, in order, T.I. (#23 on the overall chart), Rick Ross (#50), Jay-Z (#57) and Young Jeezy (#62)

    4. “Long Road Out of Eden” The Eagles

    5. “Fearless” Taylor Swift

    Swift had two hit albums this year (“Fearless” ranks at #66), and is the highest-ranking country artist on the chart, assuming we’re not counting The Eagles as a country band. Take that, Joe Jonas!

    6. “Rock ‘n Roll Jesus” Kid Rock

    Kid’s album, which came out in October ’07, is the oldest album in the year-end Top Ten. His hit single “All Summer Long” was a hit on both pop and country radio and gave him one of the biggest songs of his career. Who’d have thought that the hick rapper with the midget sidekick would still be on top of the charts ten years later?

    7. “Viva La Vida or Death & All His Friends” Coldplay

    Coldplay’s album, conversely, is the newest album to appear in the year-end Top 10, as well as the highest ranking album by a U.K. artist. Leona Lewis is the only other Brit import in the Top 25. The rest of the Top 5 as far as Brits go: Led Zeppelin (#31), Robert Plant (with Alison Krauss, #39) and Amy Winehouse (#43).

    8. “Now That’s What I Call Music Vol. 26” Various Artists

    This series has proven to be quite durable over the years, proving that some Americans are just too damn lazy to make their own mix tapes. “Now 28” is #37 and “Now 27” is #41.

    9. “Carnival Ride” Carrie Underwood

    Carrie’s one of four “American Idol” alumni in the year-end Top 100. The others? Daughtry (#33), Jordin Sparks (#35) and Jennifer Hudson (#93)

    10. “The Ultimate Hits” Garth Brooks

    11. “Hannah Montana Soundtrack 3/Meet Miley Cyrus” Miley Cyrus

    12. “Growing Pains” Mary J. Blige

    13. “Exclusive” Chris Brown

    Chris and Rihanna handily beat out R&B/hip-hop’s other power couple. Jay-Z, as previously mentioned, landed at #37 for the year with “American Gangster” and Beyonce’s “B-Day” ended the year at #170. “I Am…Sasha Fierce” came out too late to qualify, but it should figure mightily on next year’s chart.

    14. “Sleep Through the Static” Jack Johnson

    15. “Black Ice” AC/DC

    16. “Death Magnetic” Metallica

    AC/DC, Metallica, The Eagles and Garth Brooks (who sneaks in by virtue of debuting in 1989) are the only artists on the year-end Top 25 whose careers predate 1990. Mariah Carey and Kid Rock narrowly missed, as both issued their freshman efforts in 1990. So, basically, if you want a long career? Record metal or country.

    17. “Jonas Brothers” Jonas Brothers

    The Jonases are the only artists with two albums in the Top 25. Touche, Taylor Swift.

    18. “Coco” Colbie Caillat

    19. “Spirit” Leona Lewis

    Leona’s the only artist in the Top 25 to debut in 2008, although Colbie Caillat narrowly tops her with the highest-ranking debut album on the chart. As far as debut albums go, those two are followed by Daughtry, Jordin Sparks and Amy Winehouse (“Back to Black” counts because it was her U.S. debut).

    20. “High School Musical 2 Soundtrack” Various Artists

    21. “Good Girl Gone Bad” Rihanna

    If “Rehab” ascends just a few more positions in the next couple weeks, Rihanna will follow Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and Bruce Springsteen as the only artists to pull seven Top 20 songs from one album. Not too shabby.

    22. “E=MC2” Mariah Carey

    23. “Paper Trail” T.I.

    T.I  not only found himself beat by Lil Wayne on the charts this year, I’m pretty sure Weezy got arrested more times in the past year as well. However, T.I.’s the one looking at a stretch upstate, so he wins something after all.

    24. “Mamma Mia Soundtrack” Various Artists

    25. “A Little Bit Longer” Jonas Brothers

    I would love to make another Jonas/Taylor Swift joke here…but I can’t think of one. Shit.

    Next week…the year’s Top 25 singles.