Colbie Caillat

Caillat became a pop sensation via MySpace back when it was the dominant social media site. Colbie isn't big on the technical stuff, so her friend set up her page and posted her songs. When "Bubbly" went up, so did her view count, and she became the top unsigned artist on MySpace. She got a deal with Universal Republic, who released the song as her first single.

Colbie didn't start playing guitar until she was 19, and it was just three years later that she got her record deal. She has since learned how to write songs on other instruments and has benefited from the collective wisdom of co-writers like Toby Gad, Jason Mraz and Mikal Blue. In her Songfacts interview, Colbie said: "Learning from all the writers and artists I've worked with over the years has really helped me grow a lot. I can write in so many different styles now. I used to just write with my guitar. Then piano. Now I know how to write to tracks and beats and come up with melodies to no music at all. It's so fun!"

She claims her top influences are John Mayer, Bob Marley, Lauryn Hill and Fleetwood Mac.