Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles is marking her return to pop music with her first ever stop on Saturday Night Live this weekend, coinciding with the release of her new album, Amidst the Chaos.
The Eureka, California native started her music career in 2002 after graduating from UCLA, but it was not until 2007 that she finally found mainstream success with the single “Love Song.” Since then, she has remained an inescapable force in pop music, with hit singles like “King of Anything,” “Brave” and “Uncharted.” She has also been nominated for a handful of awards and wrote the music for the Broadway hit Waitress, based on the cult Keri Russell film.
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Before Bareilles takes the SNL stage Saturday night, here’s a look at her career and the new album.
Photo credit: Santiago Felipe/Getty Images
Bareilles Released Her First Album in 2004, Long Before ‘Love Song’
Bareilles found mainstream success with “Love Song” and her major-label debut record Little Voice in 2007. However, she started her music career in 2002, performing in Los Angeles and releasing demo recordings of her live shows. In 2004, she released her first studio album, Careful Confessions, independently. The album features a few songs she would rework for Little Voice, including “Gravity.”
Early in her career, Bareilles also appeared as a bar singer in the 2004 film Girls Play.
‘Love Song’ Was Written in Response to Record Label Pressure
“Love Song” was born out of frustration. Recorded three years after she signed her first record deal, her label pressured her to write a radio-friendly hit. So she responded by writing a song about writing a love song “because you asked for it, because you need one.” She told CBS News it is “kind of a nasty song, but it was very tongue-in-cheek, which is so me to, like, be nasty in a passive-aggressive way!”
In fact, Bareilles thought the executives would pick up on the frustration in the lyrics. Instead, they called her to tell her, “‘We love it! We’re on board!’ Are you crazy? Who’s playing this joke on me?”
The song hit the top of Billboard’s Adult Contemporary Chart in 2008 and earned a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year.
‘King of Anything’ Was Also a Response to the ‘Onslaught of Outside Opinions’
After “Love Song,” Bareilles waited until 2010 to release her third album, Kaleidoscope Heart. The record’s hit single is “King of Anything,” which, like “Love Song,” was also a response to feedback she was getting from executives.
“That onslaught of outside opinion, which is just a hard thing to metabolize anyway, [caused ‘King of Anything’] to become a very specific, pointed response to a general feeling of feedback that I was just not interested in,” Bareilles recently told Bustle.
Bareilles said she does not regret getting so specific with the song, saying she admires how stubborn she can be.
“I was kind of stubborn, in a way, and the part of myself that I actually really appreciate, that has stayed intact, is that stubborn self,” the singer said. “She’s spunky.”
Bareilles Earned an Album of the Year Grammy Nomination for ‘The Blessed Unrest’
In 2014, Bareilles’ fourth album, The Blessed Unrest, earned a surprise nomination for Album of the Year at the Grammys. The record’s competition was four of the biggest hits of 2013 – Taylor Swift’s Red, Macklemore and Ryan Lewis’ The Heist, Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City and the eventual winner, Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories.
The Blessed Unrest includes the hits “Brave” and “I Chose You.” “Brave” was nominated for the Best Pop Solo Performance Grammy.
Bareilles Starred Made Her Broadway Debut in ‘Waitress’
Bareilles took her talents to Broadway to write the music for Waitress, a musical based on the 2007 film of the same name. When the production opened, Jessie Mueller starred as Jenna Hunterston.
Bareilles herself made her Broadway debut as a replacement for Mueller during brief stints in early 2017 and early 2018. She also released What’s Inside: Songs from Waitress as her fifth studio album in 2015.
Bareilles Has an Emmy Nomination for Playing Mary Magdelene in NBC’s ‘Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert’
In April 2018, Bareilles took another shot at acting on stage, this time for NBC’s live production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Jesus Christ Superstar. Bareilles earned critical praise for playing Mary Magdelene and earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie. She also earned another Grammy nomination for Best Musical Theater Album.
Bareilles also hosted the Tony Awards in June with Josh Groban.
‘Amidst The Chaos’ Is Bareilles’ Reaction to Today’s Political Climate
Bareilles’ career has been full of personal songs, but her new album, Amidst the Charos, is a reaction to today’s political climate and how she felt after President Barack Obama left office.
“Amidst The Chaos refers to the fact that the world actually feels like it’s on fire half the time these days to me,” she told Reuters.
Bareilles said she wrote “love songs” about the Obamas, adding, “That’s how I dealt with my sorrow and my grief honestly when they disappeared. So, I wrote them songs – they were ‘I miss you songs.’… It was a sweet way to sort of channel sentiment that I didn’t know where else to put.”
She told Reuters the album was inspired by the 2016 election and “the women’s movement that has really been an incredible groundswell in the last couple of years.”
Bareilles Is Working on an Autobiographical Show for Apple’s New Streaming Service
Bareilles is also working on a TV series called Little Voice for Apple TV+, the tech giant’s upcoming subscription service. It is based on her own life and will feature new music from the singer.
“It’s about a young girl in New York City who’s a fledgling songwriter and singer and has a really special gift and … doesn’t know what to do with it yet,” she told Reuters.
