Dec. 7: Sara Bareilles - "Love Song" & "Gonna Get Over You"- is 34-years-old today.

Sara Bareilles first achieved mainstream success in 2007 with the hit single "Love Song," which brought her into the number one spot on the Billboard Pop 100 chart. She has sold over 1 million records worldwide and has been Grammy-nominated three times.

Bareilles' vocal range registers from contralto to mezzo-soprano, and is often compared to artists such as Fiona Apple, Billy Joel, Joni Mitchell and Norah Jones . Her sound is described as "slightly edgy, stompy piano-based pop rock" that incorporates jazz and soul. besides piano, she also plays guitar, ukulele, and harmonium.

Starting in the third season of NBC's The Sing Off, Bareilles is a celebrity judge alongside Ben Folds and Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men. In December 2010, Bareilles appeared with The Backbeats on the second season finale of The Sing-Off.

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Sara Beth Bareilles was born and raised in Eureka, California, and participated in the high school choir, Limited Edition, and local community theater musical productions, including her high school's production of Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey.

Bareilles attended the Communication Studies program at the University of California, Los Angeles, where she was a member of the co-ed a cappella group Awaken A Cappella, and can be heard on their Dysfunktional Family album singing "Gravity" and "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5.

The group's rendition of Bareilles' "Gravity" was featured on the Best of College A Cappella 2004 compilation CD. She performed in the annual student concert UCLA Spring Sing, winning twice.

Sara has said she and the band Maroon 5 have been acquainted since their younger days in California when the band was known as Kara's Flowers.

After graduating from college in 2002, Bareilles performed at local bars and clubs building a following before performing in larger venues. She issued two demos of mostly live tracks in 2003: The First One in April and The Summer Sessions in October. In 2004, she appeared as a singer in a bar in the indie film Girl Play, performing the song "Undertow."

In January 2004, Bareilles released her first studio album, Careful Confessions. She signed a contract with Epic Records on April 15, 2005. Her song, "Gravity appears briefly in the 2006 independent film Loving Annabelle.

In June 2007, iTunes featured Bareilles' single "Love Song" as the free single of the week. The following month, her major-label debut Little Voice shot to #1 on the list of most downloaded albums of the music store in its first week of release, and debuted at #45 on the Billboard 200 chart.

After being featured on a Rhapsody commercial in 2007, "Love Song" began climbing the pop charts, jumping from #73 to #16 in one week. It entered the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 27, 2007, and peaked at #4. Soon after, the song entered the UK Singles Chart, peaking at #4.  The following month, her major-label debut Little Voice shot to #1 on the list of most downloaded albums of the music store in its first week of release, and debuted at #45 on the Billboard 200 chart.

In 2010, Little Voice has been certified Platinum by the RIAA. The album peaked in the Billboard 200 at #7, and the UK Top 40 at #9. "Love Song" has since been certified 3x platinum.

On October 28, 2008, Bareilles released Between the Lines: Sara Bareilles Live at the Fillmore" on DVD and CD. She concluded the tour in her home town of Eureka, California on December 19, 2008, at the Arkley Center for the Performing Arts.

During the spring of 2009, Bareilles was on her second headlining tour, the "Gravity Tour to promote the third and final single from her album Little Voice. She sent out a special holiday message to fans on her mailing list and gave out a free live acoustic EP recorded during her Gravity Tour. The EP contains 7 acoustic songs including a new song "Free Ride" and "I'm On Fire," a Bruce Springsteen cover duet with Tony Lucca.

In early 2010, Bareilles recorded video of what she called "An Ode To Jersey Shore" and posted it to her official website as a gag for fans.

Bareilles began work on the follow-up to her major label debut in the summer of 2009, collaborating with the likes of Amir "Questlove" Thompson, members of Weezer, and Pharrel Williams. The first single from her second album, King of Anything was released in June and has since been certified Platinum by the RIAA.

In anticipation of the new album, Bareilles released a series of webisodes, featuring the making of select songs from Kaleidoscope Heart including "King of Anything," "Uncharted,"  "Gonna Get Over You," "Bluebird,"  and a strings only version of "King of Anything." Kaleidoscope Heart was released on September 7, 2010 and debuted at number 1 in the U.S.

She toured in support of Kaleidoscope Heart from September to December 2010. She will also be opening select shows for country music duo Sugarland on their Summer 2011 Incredible Machine Tour.

 

On May 13, 2011 her song "Breathe Again" was used in the Smallville series finale for the wedding of comic book couple Clark Kent and Lois Lane.

On August 13, 2011 the Hoosier Lottery Grandstand stage at the Indiana State Fair collapsed right after Bareilles finished performing as the opening act for Sugarland. She was uninjured, tweeting "I'm speechless and feel so helpless "My heart aches for the lives lost." Seven people died and more than 45 were injured in the collapse.

Bareilles performed with many other singers on the season 3 finale of 30 Rock, alongside Mary J. Blige, Rachael Yamagata, Sheryl Crow, Norah Jones and Elvis Costello.

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For more about Sara, visit her official Website at-

http://www.sarabmusic.com/us/home

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