Listening to All of You, the third and most intriguing release from Colbie Caillat, is like turning a page of a book you’ve savored for two chapters only to be surprised and delighted by what awaits in Chapter 3.
This is, first of all, definitely and unmistakably a Caillat gem. Those qualities that burst from the first notes of her 2007 debut Coco like bouquets of sonic joy, and flowered in 2009’s Breakthrough, emanate from every track on All of You. But now they bloom with a richness of emotion and insight that comes only when a gifted artist can channel lessons learned into her music.
Think about it: Coco debuted at No. 5 and raced its way past the multi-Platinum barrier. Her first single, “Bubbly,” caught a generation’s imagination and has become one of the best-selling digital tracks of all time. Billboard took note by naming Caillat its Breakthrough Artist of the Year. Fittingly, Breakthrough broke at No. 1 and was honored with two Grammy nominations; that same year, Colbie won two Grammys for her collaborations with Jason Mraz and Taylor Swift. She has sung the national anthem on the kickoff to the 2011 NFL season and performed at the Nobel Peace Concert in Oslo. She and her original music have been featured in commercials for cotton and in ABC Family Channel’s “25 Days of Christmas,” whose theme song she wrote and arranged. Her embrace has stretched to include work for honorable causes including the Surfrider Foundation, Save the Music and the Humane Society, for which she has recently become a spokesperson.