Colbie Caillat is in the sweet spot of her career.
At 26, she’s still young enough to appeal to the nominating committee of the Teen Choice Awards, but also mature enough to command respect from the Grammy academy.
Last year, she snagged a couple of those career-identifying golden gramophones, one for “Lucky,” her mellifluous duet with Jason Mraz and another for her songwriting contributions to Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” album.
Since first arriving on the charts in 2007 with the pop confection “Bubbly,” Caillat, a true California girl, has become a radio staple with sunshiny hits such as “Fallin’ for You” and most recently, “I Do” and “Brighter Than the Sun,” from her current album, “All of You.”
The singer-songwriter launched a six-week tour Sept. 14 that brings her to Atlanta Botanical Gardens on Sept. 16 for the last of this season’s “Concerts in the Garden” series.
On a recent call from her home in southern California, Caillat talked about what to expect from her and her seven-piece band, her musical hook up with Common and why she’ll be on NBC’s new series, “The Playboy Club.”
Q: You’ll be on the road for a month and a half. Do you generally like touring?
A: Sometimes I get excited to go out, but after three weeks, that’s when you start getting antsy and want your bed and get sick of every outfit in your suitcase.
Q: Now that you’re headlining shows, were you more involved in the production of your stage presentation?
A: Oh yeah. A couple of years ago, I had people go out and buy wicker lamps to put on the stage. [For this tour] the stage looks like you’re in a backyard with lamps and pillows. I thought it would be the perfect setting if you had a concert in your backyard.
Q: How do you think you’ve grown as a performer?
A: When I was on tour with the Goo Goo Dolls, I would wear jeans and sandals and a tank top and wouldn’t do my hair and I’d stand there with my eyes closed and wouldn’t talk to the crowd. I didn’t like performing. That was the part of the job I hated. I was always too shy as a kid, even, to audition for talent shows. So I got a stage coach to learn to open my eyes and to move and now I can enjoy myself. It was miserable before. I would want to cancel the show every time before I went on stage. Now, after three or four songs, I start having a really good time.
Q: Now that you have three albums out, is it getting harder to decide what to play?
A: Sometimes. When you come off a new record, you’re so into it and you love playing the fresh stuff. We try to divide the set evening, with five or six songs from each record and a cover song, The Script’s “Breakeven.”
Q: Your guitarist Justin Young is also your boyfriend. Has it worked out OK being together all the time?
A: We’re best friends. We love doing everything together. We have the same likes and dislikes. It’s cool to be able to travel the world and have fun with someone. But like with anyone, if you’re with them too much, you need to have a girls day.
Q: I hear you’re playing Leslie Gore in an episode of [NBC’s new drama] “The Playboy Club.” What was that like?
A: [The producers] thought I looked similar to her. I recorded the song in L.A. and then a couple of weeks after went to Chicago and taped the show. I got to wear a wig and '60s outfit. It was a really fun experience.
Q: You collaborate with Common on the new record. How did that come about?
A: For a couple of years, whenever anyone would ask who I wanted to work with, I always said him, because I love the tone of his voice and what he writes about. He’s a really positive person. When I was writing with Ryan [Tedder of OneRepublic], we had a couple of sessions booked so I said, ‘Let’s have Common come in.’ I didn’t know him at all, but someone told me a year or so ago that he said his ringtone was ‘Bubbly.’ I was like, oh my God, he knows who I am!
Concert preview
Colbie Caillat with Andy Grammer
8 p.m. Sept. 16. $39.50. Atlanta Botanical Garden, 1345 Piedmont Ave. N.E., Atlanta. 1-877-725-8849, www.ticketalternative.com.
