Brandi Carlile

After debuting with her self-titled album in 2005, the Washington State-bred Carlile saw her fanbase mushroom with her sophomore disc, The Story, in 2007. Among the growing legion of Carlile fans is Elton John. “Brandi has an amazing voice,” he says. “She’s a great songwriter and has a tremendous career ahead of her.” Proudly, Carlile says that John – who duets with her on the song, “Caroline” – played a key a role in her evolution as an artist: “I’ve been listening to country and western music my whole life and I was totally immersed in Grand Ole Opry culture, wherein the entertainers are usually not the ones who wrote the music. But when I was 11 and discovered Elton John, I realized that performers do write and perform their own songs, and I immediately went out and got a keyboard and started writing.” When they recorded together, “I was just overwhelmed by the years, and by the influence that somebody can have on another person’s life without even knowing it.”