Brandi Carlile

Carlile was the most nominated woman at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards; she received six nominations, including nominations for Album of the Year (By the Way, I Forgive You), Record of the Year and Song of the Year ("The Joke").

Brandi Marie Carlile (born June 1, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter.

Her music spans many genres, including folk rock, alternative country, Americana, and classic rock.

Born in Ravensdale, Washington, a rural town southeast of Seattle, Carlile dropped out of high school to pursue a career in music.

, Carlile has released seven studio albums.

Carlile was born on June 1, 1981, in Ravensdale, Washington, a small town 30 miles outside Seattle.

Growing up in the only house for miles, Carlile played in the woods, built forts, and played music with her brother, Jay, and sister, Tiffany.

When she was four, Carlile contracted bacterial meningitis, which almost took her life.

Her heart flatlined several times and she was in a coma.

Carlile spent her early life living in King County's southern cities of Black Diamond, Maple Valley, and Auburn, in Sumner, Washington, and briefly lived in West Seattle.

Carlile taught herself to sing when she was a child, and she began singing country songs on stage when she was eight years old.

At age eight, Carlile performed Johnny Cash's "Tennessee Flat Top Box" with her mother, Teresa Carlile, and began writing songs at age 15.

At 16, Carlile became a backup singer for an Elvis impersonator.

According to Carlile, she was diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder as a teen.

She attended Tahoma High School, but later dropped out to pursue her music career.

After being introduced to the music of Elton John, Carlile taught herself to play piano, and at 17, she learned to play the guitar.

Carlile began her career performing in Seattle music clubs with twin brothers Phil and Tim Hanseroth.

In the beginning, Columbia Records signed Carlile in 2004 on the strength of songs she had been recording periodically at home.

Her debut major label album, Brandi Carlile (2005), was released to critical acclaim.

Released in 2005, Carlile showcased those early songs along with newly recorded tracks in the self-titled album Brandi Carlile.

The album earned enthusiastic reviews; she was featured on Rolling Stone's "10 Artists to Watch in 2005" list, and other "artist to watch" lists by Interview and Paste.

In his review of the album, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote, "The accolades, combined with cover artwork that captures her at her cutest – as if she were a cousin of Rachael Leigh Cook – might make some listeners suspicious of Carlile, since the cumulative effect makes her seem like a pretty, prepackaged creation."

He further wrote, "her music is... rich, warm, and seductive, familiar in its form and sound, yet sounding fresh, even original, particularly in how her folky singer/songwriter foundation blends with her art-pop inclinations."

The album peaked at No. 80 on the Billboard 200 and reached No. 1 on the US Folk Albums chart.

Shortly after the release of the album, she left her home in Seattle and set out with the Hanseroth brothers, as she had worked with them on her earliest recordings and independent regional tours.

The tightly knit trio, which forms the core of her band today, spent the better part of two years on the road honing the songs that would later become part of her album The Story.

The 2006 re-release by Columbia Records included re-recordings of "Throw It All Away" and "What Can I Say".

By the end of 2006, Carlile had embarked on several headlining tours and supported a variety of artists, including Ray LaMontagne, the Fray, Chris Isaak, Tori Amos, and Shawn Colvin.

Carlile's second album, The Story, was produced by T Bone Burnett.

It includes a collaboration with the Indigo Girls on "Cannonball".

The album was recorded in an 11-day session with Carlile, the Hanseroths, and drummer Matt Chamberlain to capture the raw intensity of Carlile's live performances.

Carlile garnered wider recognition with her 2007 single, "The Story", from her album of the same name.

Carlile later released Give Up the Ghost (2009), Bear Creek (2012), The Firewatcher's Daughter (2015), By the Way, I Forgive You (2018), and In These Silent Days (2021).

Carlile has received 10 Grammy Awards and earned 27 Grammy nominations, including three for her work as a songwriter on Tanya Tucker's album While I'm Livin' (2019).

In 2019, Carlile formed an all-female quartet called the Highwomen with Amanda Shires, Maren Morris, and Natalie Hemby.

The Highwomen released their self-titled debut album in 2019 to critical acclaim and commercial success, winning the Grammy Award for Best Country Song for the track "Crowded Table" in 2021.

Carlile has received two Emmy Awards.

In 2022, Carlile won her first Children's and Family Emmy Awards for Outstanding Short Form Program in the TV series We the People.

In 2023, she received her second Emmy for Outstanding Original Song for a Preschool Program in the YouTube series, "Jam Van".

Carlile has been involved in activism and fundraising on various issues, including humanitarian aid, COVID-19 relief, racial justice, and LGBT rights.