Colbie Caillat speaks again as ‘Breathe’ for ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’

Colbie Caillat speaks again as ‘Breathe’ for ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’

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  • Insider spoke to Colbie Caillat about recording ‘Breathe’ for ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’.
  • The ‘Bubbly’ singer said she was ‘honored’ that Taylor Swift asked her to recreate the 2008 duet.
  • “We were babies then. It was nice to feel those emotions again,” she said, calling Swift an ‘angel’.
  • Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

When Taylor Swift released the playlist for ‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’, fans were excited on find Colbie Caillat’s name was faithfully restored to track seven.

Swift has long been open to plans to re-record her first six albums, although it was not clear if she intended to re-engage her original collaborators. In fact, Caillat herself only recently found out that she would be welcomed with open arms in ‘Fearless’.

“It was not too long ago,” she told Insider or Swift. “I was delighted that she asked me to be a part of it again. Of course, it was an immediate yes. ‘

Caillat said she had to go to work that day and recreated her decade-old singing in a studio in Nashville.

‘It completely flashed me until I was here in Nashville, 13, 14 years ago with Taylor and [producer] Nathan Chapman in the studio, “she said.” Taylor’s parents were there as well. And it was just such a fun day, such wonderful people. ‘

“It was so warm and welcoming and it took me back to that time – which was a lifetime ago, like when we were still babies. It was nice to feel those emotions again,” she said.

In 2008, the two women teamed up with the cowrite “Breathe”, which has long been a favorite track on Swift’s second Grammy album.

The ‘Coco’ singer had earlier told Insider that Swift was inspired by “something she went through with a band member at the time.”

“Singing it again reminded me of what a beautiful song it is, and that we can all relate to it at different times in our lives,” she added Friday. “I know this is a special song for Taylor.”

Caillat, of whom Swift described the background song as ‘ghostly’, was the only artist on the album’s original playlist.

Now she’s with country artists Maren Morris and Keith Urban, who were recruited to perform with Swift on two previously unreleased songs, ‘You All Over Me’ and ‘That’s When’.

After Caillat topped the charts and won Grammys for stripped-down folk pop songs such as ‘Bubbly’ and ‘Lucky’, she also blurred the country genre with ‘Canyons’ in 2020, the debut album by her band Gone West – although she does not think her new style of music influenced her approach to recording “Breathe”.

Caillat said she was instructed to make it sound ‘much like the original’.

“I would not say it was challenging, but I had to focus on having the same inflections as Taylor and as in the past, because people like what they have become accustomed to hearing,” she explained. “It felt very natural.”

However, the multi-platinum artist was told that her singing sounds slightly more pronounced on the new version, which fans could quickly celebrate online.

“I feel like it sounds pretty similar, but I can be a little louder,” she offers, smiling.

“I mean, our voices do change over time. She and I, we were still so young back then. We were newer singers,” she continued. “Our voices have evolved. We’ve become stronger as singers. It probably sounds a little different.”

On Friday morning, Caillat celebrated the release of ‘Breathe (Taylor’s Version)’ and congratulated Swift on her Instagram story.

The “Folklore” singer returned almost immediately. She re-posted Caillat’s story saying she was ‘so grateful’ for their continued collaboration – which started out somewhat hilarious when Swift discovered Caillat’s music on MySpace.

Caillat told Insider she’s so proud ‘of Swift and’ everything she’s created for herself ‘in the years since they first met.

“I think everyone can learn from that that she’s just a strong, beautiful, talented businesswoman. And while she’s staying busy with her fans, she’s really done a beautiful job at it,” Caillat said. “I’m really just happy to be part of ‘Fearless’ again. She’s an angel.”

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