Coco is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat. The album was released on July 10, 2007, in the United States through Universal Republic. After her prominence on MySpace – following several shots at singing competitions – the singer enlisted English producer Mikal Blue to help her bringing her sound to the forefront, thus recording what would be her debut album. Critics were ambivalent towards the album, with some praising its melodies and her charm throughout the record, while others criticized its clichéd lyrics and monotonous sound.
Its lead single, "Bubbly", released on May 15, 2007, was a huge international hit, which led her to attain significant notoriety, prompting the album to debut at number five on the US Billboard 200, selling 51,000 copies in its first week. It also became Caillat's best-selling album to date, selling 2,100,000 copies in the United States and over 3,000,000 copies around the world. It peaked inside the top-ten in four countries and top-twenty in over eight nations. Caillat supported the album with the Coco World Tour, as well as other two singles: "Realize" and "The Little Things", that became minor hits. "Somethin' Special" was released as a promo support the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, while "Midnight Bottle" was a promotional single and a success in Brazil.
Background and recording Early in her life, at age eleven, Colbie Caillat started her singing debut, venturing in talent shows and school performances in her city. Daughter of Fleetwood Mac's producer, Ken Caillat, the singer grew up listening to the songs that her father used to mix at their Malibu beach house. She attributed her insterest in doing music after Lauryn Hill's role in the film Sister Act 2 (1993), taking vocal lessons as a result of the inspiration. In early 2000s, she auditioned for American Idol but was rejected at the pre-audition stage and was unable to sing for the judges. The second time she auditioned for the show, she sang her own original song "Bubbly" and was rejected once again. However, Caillat expressed gratitude at the judges' decision, saying "I was shy. I was nervous. I didn't look the greatest. I wasn't ready for it yet. I was glad, when I auditioned, that they said no."
Soon after, Caillat met English producer Mikal Blue, who hired her to sing on techno songs used at fashion shows. Caillat began playing the acoustic guitar at the age of 19 and Blue helped her record her first song. Later on, songwriter and producer Jason Reeves came on board, bringing his artistic expertise to enhance Caillat's growing talents. A year prior to her breakthrough, Caillat was working at a tanning salon on weekdays, until one of her friends decided to build her a profile on social networking platform MySpace and posted some of her original songs to the site. Little response was generated until she uploaded the then-exclusive track "Bubbly". As word spread, her MySpace page started attracting thousands of daily visitors. With 6,240 friends amassed, Rolling Stone recognized her as one of the top female artists on the platform. The popularity of Caillat's MySpace profile led her to become the number-one unsigned singer in her genre for four consecutive months.
After her MySpace popularity, Caillat crafted the basic melodies, often composing in her bathroom for its reverb-heavy acoustics, and later collaborated with Blue and Reeves for artistic input. Boasting such an impressive milestone, she attracted the attention of record labels and eventually signed with Universal Republic as her online following surpassed 100,000. As she recalled: "It happened so fast. I was just writing songs and putting them up on MySpace, and then I got a record deal. Then it was like, 'Whoa, you're going on tour with the Goo Goo Dolls this summer.' So it was brand-new."
Music
Coco was produced by Mikal Blue, with additional production by Caillat, her father Ken Caillat and Jason Reeves. Its title derivates from Caillat's nickname that was given to her when she was a young child. The album allows her to "show off her warm and inviting voice", as noted by Washington Post'''s Allison Stewart. Stewart also considered it "a wispy and amiable exercise in coffeehouse soul that draws equally from Carole King, John Mayer and, more to the point, Jack Johnson, who shares Caillat's love of mildly played, determinedly pleasant folk." Jason Lymangrover of Allmusic described it as "a summertime record suitable for both the coffeehouse and the beach." For Bill Lamb from About.com, "this is a CD to tuck into your picnic basket on a summer day." Caillat herself considered the album's content "fresh and sunny".
Lyrically, the album features "numerous love songs [that] find Caillat practically hyperventilating over romantic relationships," as noted by Plugged In authors Adam R. Holz and Bob Smithouser, with intimacy and drowning sorrows also being featured themes. The opening track, "Oxygen", "glides by in a serene soft rock shuffle, with Caillat's vocal being compared to those of Joss Stone and Corinne Bailey Rae. Lyrically, the song has Colbie joyously incapacitated [in a metaphoric way], wanting to share her feelings for a special guy". The follow-up track, "The Little Things" talks about love reconciliation, while "One Fine Wire" deals with emotional distress. Its lead single, "Bubbly", is built over "simple strummed acoustic guitar, a whisper of drums for a beat," and as described by Lamb, "Colbie Caillat's unadorned singing". Lyrically, it suggests intimacy where a couple "is getting playful under the covers." It was compared to Jack Johnson's "Bubble Toes" by Stewart.
"Feelings Show" follows, using "unobtrusive acoustic guitar, mild grooves and a subtle beat, until it builds up for the chorus. Caillat's voice "reaches the upper levels of her range with sensual whispers", as noted by Blogcritics author Jeff Martin. Its lyrics find Caillat "request[ing] that a guy 'take it real slow' while she sorts through conflicting emotions". The sixth track, "Midnight Bottle", has Colbie "chasing the pain of a bad relationship down with alcohol", while "Realize" is about "a potential perfect relationship if only the other person would just realize it." "Battle" touches upon themes of disappointment of disintegrating love, the sweet "Tailor Made" has lyrics of "urg[ing] a girlfriend to quit waffling and invest in a man who’s perfect for her", and "Magic" was considered more explicit with lyrics such as "Wake me with your lips/Come at me from above/Yeah I need you". The conflicts of staying in and fighting for a relationship are the main themes of "Tied Down", while the last song, "Capri", has a "life-affirming melody" with lyrics about "a pregnant woman and the precious baby she’s carrying."
Release and promotionCoco was released on July 10, 2007, in Australia and Asia and a week later in North America. Its deluxe edition was released on September 3, 2008, in Japan and November 11, 2008, worldwide. The album's first single, "Bubbly", was released on May 15, 2007, in the United States. It became a smash hit across the globe, with four number-ones around the world, including Australia, while also reaching the top-ten in almost each country it charted. In the United States, it peaked at number five; it remains Caillat's biggest hit in the US to date, and her only single to reach the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100. The single's music video, directed by Liz Friedlander, aired on MTV, VH1 and CMT. A still from the music video was used as the cover for the album. It was featured in the hit PlayStation 2 karaoke game SingStar Pop Vol 2 released in late September 2008 in the United States, and the SingStar Hottest Hits in PAL regions.
It was followed by a second single, "Realize", officially released on January 22, 2008, for airplay in the United States. The song peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming her second top-twenty hit in the U.S. Caillat and her backup band performed "Realize" as the featured musical performance that closed the May 23, 2008, broadcast of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The third single, "The Little Things", was released in Germany on March 7, 2008, and on October 28, 2008, in the United States. Unlike its predecessor, the song managed to chart in some European countries. However, in the United States, it only peaked at number seven on US Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100. In 2008, she recorded a French translated version of the song, called "Ces Petits Rien". According to one of the pictures on Caillat's MySpace page, it was assumed that her song "Battle" would have been the fourth and final single from Coco. Because of her collaboration with Jason Mraz, "Lucky", being released as a single and with the release of her second album, it was assumed that the single and music video were canceled and all promotion was then focused on "Lucky" and her second album Breakthrough.
Some songs from the album were released as promotional singles. First was the song "Tailor Made", released in Netherlands as a promotional single in 2008. Later, "Midnight Bottle" was released as a single in January 2008 only in Brazil as soundtrack song of Brazilian telenovela The Three Sisters. The song peaked at number one in Brazil. "Somethin' Special" was released as the third promotional on July 29, 2008, to support to the American athletes participating in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. The song was also the opening song of the 2009 film Bride Wars and appeared on the AT&T Team USA Soundtrack.Coco was also promoted with two tours: Coco Summer Tour in 2007 and Coco World Tour in 2008. To commemorate the 15th anniversary of the album, Caillat embarked on a tour to celebrate it in 2022.
Critical receptionCoco received generally positive reviews, with critics praising Caillat's warm vocals and breezy pop sound, though some criticized the album for being overly safe and lacking a distinctive identity. Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album 4 out of 5 stars, writing that "she sings about simple, everyday things in an unassuming manner, letting her melodies and girl-next-door charm carry the day". Similarly, Bill Lamb rated the album with four stars in his About.com review, praising it for being "a perfect album for relaxing and watching the world go by on a warm afternoon. Despite some insinuations of calculated efforts from her family and well-connected friends, Coco is pure, easy pop with abundant familiar charm." Chuck Arnold of People magazine said that "although the midtempo tracks start to blend together, this California girl keeps the sun-kissed sounds coming."Arnold, Chuck (August 20, 2007), "Coco". People. 68 (8):44 Daryl Easlea from BBC Music claimed the album " is very pleasant indeed, perfectly produced, and is packed with tracks like Bubbly, the sort of record destined to reside on a Magic Playlist for the rest of the year." Jeff Martin of Blogcritics praised Coco as a "remarkably listenable album," highlighting Caillat's "smoky" vocals, acoustic sound, and "mellow singer-songwriter" style. He called it a confident debut with a warm, summery atmosphere, while noting that some songwriting was predictable.