Born in 1977 outside of Monfalcone Italy singer Elisa Toffolis first steps into the music world came through the way of dance but it was singing that captured her heart and brought out her natural talents Elisa grew up with a love for music spending …

The honey-voiced Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan has ascended from modest success in the U.S. and her native Nova Scotia to international stardom. Her music is accessible enough for the masses, yet serious enough to strike a strong chord w…

Singersongwriter Charlotte Martin got her start singing opera while attending Eastern Illinois University in the late 90s Her father was a respected professor in the music department and naturally Martin followed his footsteps Shed been playing piano…

Missy Higgins was discovered in 2001 when the Melbourne high-school students song All for Believing won an unsigned artist competition sponsored by Australian national radio station Triple J The plaintive piano ballad was an instant hit but Higgins t…

Melissa Etheridge made waves in 1988 as one of the few female rockers on the scene; in 1993, she made headlines by coming out as a lesbian. Etheridge's confessional lyrics and raspy voice earned her comparisons to Springsteen and Janis Joplin; she br…

Getting her start with Canadian bubblegum pop in the early-1990s, Alanis Morissette reinvented herself as an angst-ridden hippie/alternative rocker by the middle of the decade. The makeover paid off splendidly, as Morissette scored one of the best-se…

b. 18 May 1973, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. The respected US magazine Billboard has dubbed Kreviazuk the "grown up version" of Avril Lavigne, Vanessa Carlton and Michelle Branch. The Canadian singer-songwriter was a child prodigy who could play the p…

Tracy Chapman made quite a stir with her first album in 1988. With her soulful, Joan Armatrading-like voice and poignant songs full of artfully rendered social realism, she represented a strong new voice in the singer-songwriter realm. That album's h…

The ultimate expression of the DIY ethic, iconoclastic singer-songwriter Ani DiFranco burst onto the contemporary folk scene while still in her teens. Her confrontational lyrics, aggressive, percussive acoustic guitar playing, and unconventional imag…

Her love of the Cranberries John Mayer and Fiona Apple is easy to hear when one listens to the poignant music of singersongwriter Anna Nalick but its her beloved Blind Melon that had the most impact on her career The California native had been record…

b. Los Angeles, California, USA-based singer-songwriter attended the High School for the Performing Arts as a vocal and cello major. She made her first live performances at open mic nights at the Comedy Store and club gigs throughout the South Centra…

With her hook-filled pop tunes, highly developed melodic sensibility, and pin-up girl looks, Sheryl Crow appealed to a wide audience in the 1990s. Garnering platinum albums, hit singles, and even the tacit approval of rock's old guard, Crow proved to…

Australian singer-songwriter Sia relocated to the U.K. in the late 1990s and started work on her debut, HEALING IS DIFFICULT. Combining elements of folk, pop, and electronica, the album brought her to the attention of Zero 7--she contributed several …

A collaboration between musicianvocalist Imogen Heap and producerarrangersongwritermusician Guy Sigsworth Frou Frou manufactured an impressive brand of vocal-driven electronic pop formerly the exclusive territory of Bjrk The British duo had been coll…

It may have been tempting to dismiss the 19-year-old Fiona Apple as flavor of the month when her 1996 debut record, TIDAL, earned raves from critics and scores of articles about her appeared in the press. But the outspoken Apple, heavily influenced b…

One of the most unpredictable and controversial artists to roil the 1990s, Irish siren Sinead O'Connor created a bold, emotional, and original style, in the process proving herself a first-rate writer--articulate, perceptive, and penetrating. She is…

Born and raised in San Diego CA Leah Andreone began her musical career early at the age of 8 singing with her older sisters band By the age of 13 she had a job writing commercials and jingles which lead to writing her own originals After dropping out…

Rising from the ashes of the amusingly named rock band Y Kant Tori Read, Tori Amos debuted with LITTLE EARTHQUAKES in 1992, a stunning set of brutally honest and emotionally wrought songs that recalled Joni Mitchell and Kate Bush without being slavis…

Influenced in equal measure by Tracy Chapman, the Indigo Girls, and Natalie Merchant, modern-day folk-rock singer Jewel hit it big in the late-'90s with her confessional and stark songwriting. Jewel has also branched out into other fields besides mus…