With a sizeable underground following Sara Bareilles (pronounced Bar-rell-is) is proving to be one of the year’s most promising new artists. It’s tempting to liken her to Norah Jones or Fiona Apple, but Sara’s sound goes further into another direction. Influenced by soul, jazz, rock and pop, her writing is bold, honest and edgy. She writes intelligent, unpredictable lyrics and melodies that she delivers courtesy of a truly soulful and powerful voice. Having no formal training in voice or piano, Sara spent her adolescence at a worn piano teaching herself chords and scribbling out simple melodies and lyrics. At the young age of 21, she co-produced her first independent studio demo, Careful Confessions which led to a signing with Epic Records in 2005.

Sara’s eagerly anticipated debut album, Little Voice is set for release this summer, but you can get a taste of the songstress now through an digital EP available online and on iTunes with each of these three tracks giving a unique taste of what lies ahead. “Love Song,” the first single off the album, has a pop-y, infectious melody telling the story about love’s challenges. On the edgy Fiona Apple-likened, “Bottle It Up” Sara goes back to her piano roots and finally on “Gravity,” she shines on a haunting, intimate piano / vocal ballad. Sara is fast approaching the next level in her career, having toured with Maroon 5, Ben Folds, Aqulaung and will be on the road again supporting Mika in June. Just when you think everything’s been done in music someone like Sara comes along with a genuinely fresh artistic voice to remind you why you’ve always loved music so much in the first place.