Best known for the single “How to Save a Life,” The Fray is a Grammy-nominated, four-piece piano rock band currently composed of Isaac Slade on lead vocals and piano, Joe King on bass guitar and backing vocals, Dave Welsh on lead guitar, and Ben Wysocki on drums.

It all began with regular two-man jam sessions by Slade and King in 2002, with the addition of drummer Zach Johnson and bassist Caleb Slade, Isaac’s younger brother. The departure of Caleb from the band cause an estrangement between the brothers, and this later inspired the band to write “Over My Head,” a song about the rift between the two. When Johnson left, he was replaced by Wysocki as drummer, and later on Welsh also joined as primary guitarist. The band name came from a suggestion bowl during Caleb’s graduation party. At first, the quartet mentioned that The Fray was very fitting, because of the frequent quarrels they have over the lyrical compositions, but they later on took this back, saying that every member’s contributions to the compositions is being recognized.

Prior to their debut album, The Fray released two EPs, namely, Movement EP, which featured four songs, and Reason EP. The latter was critically lauded locally, and when the group submitted the single “Cable Car,” they immediately found exposure through radio airplays.

How to Save a Life was The Fray’s first full-length record, released in September 2005. The single “Cable Car” was re-named to “Over My Head (Cable Car)”, later becoming the KTCL’s most played song of that year and hitting the top 40 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. The same single also peaked at #8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 charts. Because of the success of their debut album, the quartet did a number of opening acts for various artists, including Weezer and Ben Folds.

As the band was still at the height of success off their debut album, some of their other songs also became featured in several TV shows and movies – “How to Save a Life” in Grey’s Anatomy, Scrubs and One Tree Hill, and “Look After You” also in One Tree Hill, Journeyman, and the movie Jumper. When “How to Save a Life” was eventually released as the band’s second single, it later reached #3 in the Billboard Hot 100, surpassing their first chart-topper. The fact that the single was chosen to be the main advertising promotion for Grey’s Anatomy’s season premiere was contributory to its commercial success, not only in the US but in UK and Canada as well. It has sold over 2 million copies in the US alone and has reached the double platinum status.

The band’s follow-up effort was a self-titled album, released 4 years after their debut. Their first single off the album was “You Found Me,” which made its debut on a commercial break of Grey’s Anatomy. The promotions for this album similarly worked, because their first single reached the #1 spot in Australian charts in no time. After “Over My Head” and “How to Save a Life,” “You Found Me” also became the quartet’s third song to sell 2 million downloads in US alone. Overall, it has been certified gold in three countries – US, Canada and Australia. The second single off the album was “Never Say Never,” and together, these two singles got the band two nominations in its 52nd Grammy Awards.

Born Marié Christina Digby on April 16, 1983, Digby already showed interest in music even at an early age, when she took piano lessons as a toddler. She later expanded her musical background when she started playing the guitar as well. She also exhibited her first attempts at writing songs during her teenage years, when she came up with the “Miss Invisible,” a song that was about being unseen and wanting to fit in. She has since started to write songs which were actually a collection of her experiences in the past 10 years of her life. While studying at the University of California, Berkeley, Digby wrote another song, “Beauty in Walking Away,” which was about her desire to stop pursuing college and instead turn to a career in music. And so in 2004, Digby went on to win the Pantene Pro Voice competition, garnering for her a professional producer for an album, 5,000 USD, and a Wurlitzer Grand Piano.

In 2005, Digby signed a deal with Hollywood Records and finished recording her debut album Unfold under this label. The album was not released immediately, and so Digby took to posting cover videos of popular artists’ songs simply to gain recognition and visibility. Digby’s moment of fame came when she posted a video clip on YouTube of herself in 2007, performing an acoustic cover of Rihanna’s “Umbrella.” Not only did the clip appear in the highly-rated season opening of MTV’s The Hills, it also became her ticket towards an appearance on Last Call with Carson Daly. The song subsequently peaked at #10 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart. It is still being viewed up to this day on YouTube, and is about to reached 15 million views.

Finally, in 2008, her debut album unfold was released, debuting at #29 on the Billboard 200. The album sold 18,000 copies in its first week alone, spelling commercial success early on. Digby has since toured across US and Asia as part of her album promotions. A Japanese edition of Unfold was also produced, so right at this time, she worked on two albums at once, the Japanese album “Second Home” and “Breathing Underwater.” The latter boasts of 17 songs, and was released on September 15, 2009, after being postponed a couple of times.

After three studio albums with seven singles each, Digby is slated to record and release another Japanese studio album.

American singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw is most known for the songs “Chariot”, “In Love with a Girl” and “I Don’t Want to Be”, a single which is being used for the longtime TV drama One Tree Hill. In just a few years, DeGraw has become one of the premier singer-songwriters in the music industry.

Raised in South Fallsburg, New York, Gavin DeGraw started singing and playing the piano at 8 years old. He studied at Berklee College of Music, along with celebrated singer John Mayer. His guitarist brother was the one who actually told him to write his own songs. The brother, Joey DeGraw is presently a part of Gavin’s band, as he plays guitar and provides backup vocals for some of his songs.

Gavin DeGraw used to play along with Andrew West and Lenny Revell, both pianists, in Manhattan clubs and cafes. The songwriter’s biggest break came when his song “I Don’t Want to Be” was selected to be the theme song of CW Television Network’s One Tree Hill, a drama series that is currently on its seventh season. Aside from One Tree Hill, the same song has been performed on Australian Idol, Canadian Idol and American Idol by various contestants, furthering Gavin DeGraw’s exposure in the music scene. Some of the similarly popular songs by the singer are “Chariot,” “Follow Through,” and “We Belong Together,” which was aired in the movie Tristan and Isolde. He later recorded an acoustic version of the album Chariot and called it Chariot Stripped. Since his break with One Tree Hill, he has done tours with popular acts like Barenaked Ladies, Howie Day, Jason Mraz and Maroon 5. Furthermore, he has made appearances on various TV shows, such as Last Call with Carson Daly, The Tonight Show With Jay Leno, The Late Show With David Letterman, Live with Regis and Kelly, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show. He has also made TV guestings in One Tree Hill as himself, singing the series’ theme song.

Gavin DeGraw’s self-titled sophomore album came out on May 6, 2008, garnering the #7 spot on the US Billboard chart. This record includes the tracks “In Love with a Girl,” “Cheated on Me,” “She Holds the Key,” and “I Have You to Thank.” This particular album has been described as composing of impassioned, emotionally resonant tracks about the joys and pains of love and life. The guy’s third album, Free was released on March 31, 2009. Some of the tracks included are “Stay,” “Mountains to Move,” and “Glass.” This record was reportedly created in less than two weeks at a Brooklyn studio, to keep him from overthinking the songs. DeGraw hopes to continue his successful run and personal connection with his audience with this most recent record.

DeGraw boasts of a magnetic voice in popular music coupled with heartfelt lyrical content and freewheeling melodies. Listen to him and you will definitely get that intimate experience.

The Grammy-nominated quartet Death Cab for Cutie consists of vocalist/guitarist Benjamin Gibbard, guitarist Chris Walla, bassist Nick Harmer and drummer Jason McGerr. The indie rock band was formed in 1997 in the bayside college town of Bellingham, Washington.

The band dates its beginnings when Ben Gibbard took a break from his local pop band called Pinwheel, and landed a record deal with Barsuk Records for his first album, You Can Play These Songs with Chords, and so decided to complete the band by recruiting into his circle of friends. Walla joined as primary guitarist and producer then, along with Harmer and drummer Nathan Good. The band name came from the title of a song that was performed by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band in the 1967 film, Magical Mystery Tour by The Beatles.

The band’s debut was released in 1998, called Something About Airplanes. This album actually included some re-recorded tracks from You Can Play These Songs with Chords. While they were promoting this album, Walla and Gibbard went on and pursued their other projects. Because the quartet was gaining recognition gradually, they decided to do a follow-up album in 2000, entitled We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes, with Michael Schorr replacing Good as the band’s drummer. In this album, the band expanded their use of unorthodox musical instruments, such as organ and glockenspiel. During that same year, the quartet came out with The Forbidden Love EP, and another full-length record, The Photo Album, was released a year later. After three studio albums, Death Cab for Cutie has already established a wide fan base that gathered around their emotional music.

Transatlanticism came out next, and along with it was the replacement of Michael Schorr with Jason McGerr in the drums. With Transatlanticism, the band proved to be a commercial success, and so they attracted the attention of some executives in the music industry. After releasing The John Byrd E.P. which was a live disc, the quartet was then taken under Atlantic Records in 2004.

When the group clinched a record deal with a major label, they released another full-length album, Plans, the following summer, debuting at #4 on the Billboard charts and attaining a platinum status after remaining on the charts for nearly a year. This sensational album included the acoustic ballad “I Will Follow You into the Dark,” as well as similar hits “Crooked Teeth” and “What Sarah Said.” Not only did it top the charts, the album also paved the way for a Grammy nomination, as well as appearances in Saturday Night Live and Spin Magazine.

In May 2008, Death Cab for Cutie returned to the music scene after quite a long hiatus, and released Narrow Stairs, their sixth and latest full-length studio album. The rest of the year as well as the first half of 2009 was spent touring US, Japan and Australia for album promotions. The Open Door EP was also released, which featured some of the tracks which were scrapped off Narrow Stairs as well as a demo version of “Talking Bird.” This EP gained another Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album.

Since they formed, they have released six full-length studio albums and five EPs. Their rise to fame is considered by many as one of indie rock’s greatest success stories.

Twelve-time Grammy award winner Alicia Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook on January 25, 1981. As early as age 7, she already began playing classical music on piano. She attended music institutions where she trained, including Professional Performing Arts School and Columbia University.

Alicia Keys’ claim to fame was her debut album, Songs in A Minor, released in 2001 under J Records. This particular album sold over 12 million copies all over the world, earning her the citation as the best-selling new artist as well as best-selling R&B artist of that same year. From this record alone, Keys won five Grammy awards.

Two years later, The Diary of Alicia Keys was released, with similarly chart-topping singles, such as “Karma”, “You Don’t Know my Name” and “If I Ain’t Got You.” This album similarly became a commercial success, selling eight million copies and turning 7-time platinum. Four of Keys’ Grammy awards came from this record. A little later, she released Unplugged, her very first live album, debuting at #1 in the US charts. This produced the single “Unbreakable” which was part of the Billboard Hot 100, and “Every Little Bit Hurts.”

As I Am was Alicia Keys’ third studio album, selling six million copies and getting her another three Grammy awards. Barely 10 hours of being serviced to radio, has the track “No One” has become the fastest moving single on the Billboard Hot R&B charts. With this album, she gained her largest first week sales in her entire career, with 742,000 copies sold. After “No One,” Alicia Keys released “Like You’ll Never See Me Again”, “Teenage Love Affair” and “Superwoman.” She is set to release her next record entitled The Element of Freedom by the end of 2009.

After three studio albums, Alicia Keys has won 12 out of her 24 Grammy nominations, and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide. She has built an unparalleled repertoire of hits, incorporating her brilliance with piano into a majority of her songs. Some of the recurring themes and topics in her compositions are love and female empowerment. Her musical influences include Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Barbra Streisand and Prince. Apart from classical piano, she uses bass and programmed drumbeats to come up with primarily R&B but with a hint of soul and jazz, and a little bit of pop and rock, into her signature musical style. Supplementing this piano mastery is her melodious voice and wide vocal range that spans three octaves.