Blues pop/rock enchantress Corinne Bailey Rae may have been raised across the pond in Leeds, England, but the young soul singer is just as well known in the U.S. as she is in Europe. Rae's gentle and soothing crooning has helped propel her into the spotlight, not just among adult alternative fans but all across the charts. In just three years, Rae went from being virtually an unknown to a superstar vocalist, garnering immense success with five singles and even a Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 2007.

The daughter of a West Indian father and Yorkshire mother, as well as the oldest daughter of three, Rae started off singing in church as a child, and got her first taste with instrumental music when her youth leader offered to buy her an electric guitar. Deeply inspired by innovative rock ‘n rollers like Led Zeppelin, L7 and Veruca Salt, Rae formed her own indie rock band named Helen when she was just 15. The youthful Helen did not last, but Rae's desire for music did. While earning a degree in English literature from Leeds University, Rae worked at a jazz club, inspiring her to write music. In 2006 the lyrical butterfly signed with record label EMI and released her debut eponymous album. Corinne Bailey Rae contained the hit song "Put Your Records On," and the album immediately made it to number four on the Billboard 200 and number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, setting her up for even more success on her next album, 2007's Live in London & NY. The album absolutely soared in London and New York, but the singer's ecstatic career was put on hold when her husband, musician Jason Rae, died unexpectedly in Leeds in 2008.