Fame came fast with MySpace hit

When Universal Records dropped its lawsuit against MySpace in April, it was welcome news to many musical artists, and few more so than Colbie Caillat.

For months, the California-based singer-songwriter had to soothe angry fans with blog posts as her record label’s squabble with the social networking site forced her to replace full-length versions of songs from her major label debut, “Coco,” with 90-second snippets.

Once an agreement was reached, Caillat could repost her songs in full — but not before dozens of frustrated fans had weighed in, some demanding that the artist let them know when the songs returned.

That’s the kind of mentality that no doubt enrages those who sell records for a living, but one that Caillat has to understand. She owes much of her success to MySpace and her catchy song “Bubbly,” which garnered millions of plays on the site’s player before becoming a pop radio hit.

It’s how Rolling Stone found her, naming her one of the top female artists on the site.

Perhaps most importantly, it’s how Caillat, now 23, gained the confidence and focus to pursue music seriously.

“That was my dream when I was younger,” she said. “I wanted to be a famous singer. But I was really lazy. It took me until I was 19 to actually learn to play an instrument, and after that, I started writing songs.

“But even once I did that, I wouldn’t play shows, because I hated it. I was so nervous. I didn’t even have a MySpace (page). My friend had to put my songs up on MySpace for me.”

By the time “Bubbly” had been posted to MySpace, Caillat said, “I had only performed live at school talent shows in high school and junior high, so I could count probably five times I’d performed live.”

That figure has risen considerably since “Coco” was released last summer. Caillat estimates she’s given more than 1,000 performances of “Bubbly” alone, and her onstage nerves are starting to taper off.

“If it’s a bigger crowd, I’m less nervous. If it’s teeny, I get terrified,” she said.

“I have to remind myself to have fun with it now, since I do get nervous and I don’t like performing all the time. … But it’s gotten better over the months, because now I’m actually having fun performing.”

Caillat said she has close to a dozen songs written for her next album, which is due for release in summer 2009.

She’ll be working with the same writers and producers as she did on “Coco,” and with Universal’s new MySpace Music venture, the site will play a large role in promotion.

Source: courier-journal.com