On 'Along The Way,' Colbie Caillat seamlessly transfers her success into country music

Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and California native Colbie Caillat's career is best regarded as a series of serendipitous arrivals of acclaim that have frequently coincided with her evolving talents as a musical creator.

"Along The Way," her seventh solo studio album arrived Friday, Oct. 6, as Caillat revives her thoughtful, vibrant and creative passions.

Never one to quickly pen her material, she's essentially released 75 songs in 15 years that have yielded a dozen top-10 singles and sold 25 million albums. Thus, Caillat has created a relatively small yet potent songwriting output that sets a modern pop standard for contemplative, adult contemporary balladry.

"I make calming, soothing music that has multi-generational appeal," says Caillat to The Tennessean.

In 2021, Caillat ended her long-term relationship with Hawaiian singer-songwriter Justin Young, with whom she moved to Nashville in 2016.

The moment slowly awakened her pen and thoughts.

"I wanted to write about cherishing the beauty of the love I had and when you can work with writers and performers like Sheryl Crow (collaborator on album track "I'll Be Here"), A.J. Pruis (recently co-wrote "twenty something" with Alana Springsteen) and Liz Rose (collaborator with Taylor Swift, 1/3 of the "Love Junkies" writing team with Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey) in doing that, you take the opportunity," says Caillat.

"The wisdom and well-established careers they have offered me writing as a perfect, therapeutic craft and learning experience. Being surrounded by a supportive artistic community working within a small-town ease and friendship [benefitted this album greatly]."

Caillat's rise from being discovered releasing single tracks on MySpace in 2007 to being an artist able to create robust albums as bodies of work is notable. The list of artists whose careers were not significantly impacted by the rise of singles as profit leaders and the decline of overall industry revenue is small — the "Bubbly" vocalist is in that number.

Intriguingly, the performer's father, Ken Caillat, co-produced Fleetwood Mac's albums "Rumours" (1977), "Tusk"(1979) and "Mirage" (1982). Domestically, those recordings sold over 25 million units and yielded nine global top-10 singles. That pedigree has impacted how she viewed the creative process for an album that arrives with streaming now delivering similar appeal for both albums and singles.

"At the end of the day, the most important way to consume music is how the artist intended it to be presented," Caillat says. "Singles connect people while deep cuts are more intentional and personal."

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On "Along The Way," songs like "Meant For Me" examine the notion of what's retained from love lost. Via what Caillat cites as the influence of Liz Rose, the song "rips your heart out a bit" but also is a "relatable, heart-warming ballad." The songs "Old And New" and "Two Birds" also highlight her emerging past her "timidity" in thoroughly crafting personal thoughts into pieces that toe the line between mainstream and indie pop influences.

Turn back the clock to 2007, and Caillat is joined on Billboard's Year-End Hot 100 singles chart in the singer-songwriter category by plaintive rock ballads like "Hey There Delilah" by the Plain White T's and "Teardrops on My Guitar" by Taylor Swift. Fast-forward to 2023, and the moment for these songs has revived in country music.

"To me, this isn't a contrived movement," says the performer.

"There's a massive audience for a group of honest songwriters whose craft embraces a brilliant, lucrative tradition, stated Caillat, whose work now unifies generations of 20-somethings from the era of Justin Bieber and Swift to present-day country upstarts like Ashley Cooke and Alana Springsteen.

"Fans gravitating to the music they like is as vital as labels championing genres and tastes," Caillat continues.

She's concerned that the imbalance between labels and social media as equally impactful could eventually be problematic.

"Equally loving the people you both work with and support your music is critical to having an industry fostering authentic joy among all involved."

When asked to summarize what connects her path through two decades in the music industry, Caillat arrives at her most earnest, personal answer.

"I'm still just a singer-songwriter trying to connect with my audience by making entertaining yet emotional songs."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Can Colbie Caillat's new album carry her success into country?