Coco

Although “Bubbly” was the immediately likeable hit that propelled Colbie Calliat’s music career, the Los Angeles singer/songwriter proved on her 2007 debut Coco that her tunesmith talent is no happy accident. The songs here also reveal a young woman brought up on the coast — as well as on the sounds of classic pop music. Coco radiates Malibu sunshine starting with “Oxygen” where her sandy alto waxes lyrical on romance. Her prowess as a balladeer surfaces in the heartfelt “Realize” while the tension in her vocals makes for a knockout performance in the sultry slow-jam “The Little Things.”