Franklin, TN (Nov. 15, 2014) — Yamaha Entertainment Group is proud to announce the addition of GRAMMY Award-winning songstress Colbie Caillat to the global family of distinguished Yamaha Piano Artists.
Whenever touring, recording and appearing at events, Caillat will be performing on a variety of Yamaha Grand Silent Pianos, which combine the best of acoustic and digital pianos and enable the piano to be played silently using headphones. The Yamaha Silent System features a range of pre-installed sounds and the ability to record performances and connect to mobile devices to use the latest Apps.
"I have always loved Yamaha pianos!," says Caillat. "My parents bought me one when I was a teenager and I've stuck with them ever since. I am so in love with the grand piano Yamaha gave me two years ago. I have written so many important songs on it. The feeling is like no other. I'm extremely honored to be joining the Yamaha family and looking forward to our future collaborations."
In 2007, the Newbury Park, Calif., native released her double-Platinum debut album Coco, titled after the nickname given to Caillat by her father Ken Caillat, an established audio engineer who co-produced Fleetwood Mac's Rumours and Tusk albums. Coco contained "Bubbly," a song that garnered more than 14 million plays on MySpace, where Caillat was named the No. 1 unsigned artist before she inked her record label deal. "Realize" and "The Little Things" were other singles from the album.
A year later, Caillat's song "Somethin' Special" was featured during the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and she was honored with Billboard's first Rising Star award.
Caillat won two 2009 GRAMMY Awards – Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "Lucky," her duet with Jason Mraz, and Album of the Year as a featured artist for background vocals and co-writing "Breathe" on Taylor Swift's Fearless.
"Everyone at Yamaha is honored to be working with Colbie Caillat, a very talented artist who has already accomplished so much yet is poised to do so much more," said Chris Gero, founder and vice president, Yamaha Entertainment Group. "We look forward to this long and mutually beneficial relationship."
Named Billboard's 94th-best-selling music artist of the 2000–2009 decade, Caillat released her second album in 2009, Breakthrough, which was nominated for GRAMMY Best Pop Vocal Album of The Year and featured the hit "Fallin' for You." She's received additional awards nominations for People's Choice, American Music and Teen Choice.
Caillat released All of You featuring "Brighter Than the Sun," in 2011, and followed the next year with Christmas in the Sand. Her fifth album, Gypsy Heart, out Sept. 30, 2014 on Republic Records, features the hit song "Try," produced by Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds and co-written by him, Caillat, Jason Reeves and Antonio Dixon. The ballad, which contains a lush piano melody and acoustic guitar, makes a powerful statement about body image and bestows women of all ages with a stronger sense of self-worth.
The star-studded lyric video incorporates photos of Sheryl Crow, Miranda Lambert, Sara Bareilles, Christina Perri, Jessie J and fellow musicians, entertainers, friends and fans of Caillat, makeup free, to support the song's message. And the music video shows Caillat alongside diverse women with makeup and wigs they remove throughout, ending with their natural beauty.
In support of Gypsy Heart's release, Caillat has been hitting the airwaves and her Yamaha keys with October appearances on "Good Morning America," "The Meredith Viera Show" and "Dancing with the Stars."
On more than 30 occasions, Caillat's music has been featured on television shows ("The Walking Dead," "Glee," "Pretty Little Liars," "So Random!," "The Playboy Club," "Three Sisters," "Majors & Minors") and in movies ("Letters to Juliet," "Leap Year," "Imagine That," "Baby Mama," "The Back-Up Plan," "Morning Glory"). Her co-write and duet with Gavin DeGraw, "We Both Know," featured on the "Safe Haven" soundtrack, was nominated for a 2014 GRAMMY Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
Beyond music, Caillat is an avid spokesperson and supporter for The Humane Society, ASPCA, Farm Sanctuary, Surfrider Foundation and VH1's Save the Music Foundation.
Yamaha has the proud distinction as one of the most recognized brands and managing more artists relationships than any other music and sound company in the world. Yamaha Entertainment Group works with a roster of international music stars to promote music awareness and education, as well as underscore the breadth and quality of the Yamaha brand.
A partial list of Yamaha artists includes Elton John, Paul McCartney, Barry Manilow, Jackson Browne, Alicia Keys, John Legend, Luke Bryan, Josh Groban, Michael McDonald, Sarah McLachlan, Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum, Ben Folds, Zac Brown, Graham Nash, Dave Koz, Robin Thicke, David Foster, Nathan East, Chick Corea, Jason Mraz, Sara Bareilles, Richard Marx, Mindi Abair, Jon McLaughlin, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Ingrid Michaelson, Jim Brickman, Glenn Kotche and Lindsey Stirling.
