Sara Bareilles was born in Humboldt County, California, in 1982, and grew up in the city of Eureka. She spent much of her early years in a rustic setting, living in a home located on acres of Redwood forest country. She is a gifted singer and a multitalented pianist with no formal training.  She burst onto the pop scene with a naturally skilled voice that ranged from powerful and soulful to sweet and gentle, earning her immediate comparisons to Fiona Apple and Norah Jones.

The self-taught pianist has been writing songs for as long as she can remember.  Much of her adolescence was spent sitting in front of an old piano, teaching herself chords and scribbling out simple melodies and lyrics. She honed her vocal skills singing in high school choirs, and also appeared in local community theatre musical productions. Though her first compositions, Star Sweeper and I Love a Parade, didn't win her any Grammys they remain testimony to the fact that song writing has been a passion for the 27 year-old since a young age. Over the years, those early compositions have grown into songs that are currently heard in independent films, television, and on local radio.

At 18, she left her hometown in the pursuit of the big city lights of Los Angeles. Even though she attended UCLA's Communication Studies program, Bareilles spent the majority of her free time writing poetry and songs about the active atmosphere. She also joined a singing group known as Awaken A Cappella, who would go on to record her track Gravity on their Dysfunktional Family Album (2003). Her new surroundings inspired her to start writing a batch of new tunes, which she tested in front of audiences at open mike nights before she graduated to gigs at small bars and clubs early in 2002.

Sara co-produced her first demo, Careful Confessions, in 2003 and became fascinated with recording techniques. The disc included studio versions of Fairytale as well as a reworking of Gravity, later heard in the independent feature film Loving Annabelle (2006). In 2004, she landed a cameo appearance as a singer in a bar in the indie film Girl Play.

Major labels began to take notice of the talented singer-songwriter, and she signed with Epic Records on tax day (April 15 in the U.S.) 2005. She started recording in February of 2006. It took about a year before she felt comfortable putting it to bed.  Entitled Little Voice and released in July 2007, the album covered her past relationships, insecurities, and inner battles with trying to trust her instincts. After being promoted by both iTunes and Rhapsody, the single Love Song made the album a hit; both the single and the album reached the Top Ten.