All of You is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat. The album was scheduled to be released on May 3, 2011, but was pushed back by two months to a July 6, 2011, release in the United States through Universal Republic Records. The set, largely produced by Greg Wells, features one guest appearance by rapper/actor Common, who graces "Favorite Song", while her songwriting collaborators include Ryan Tedder, Toby Gad, Jason Reeves and Rick Nowels. The album's lead-single "I Do" was released on February 7, 2011, and has charted at number 23 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and at number 11 on the Adult Pop Songs. A second single "Brighter Than the Sun" was released on May 17, 2011, and has charted at number 47 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Background
"I still incorporate all the styles that I love that were on Breakthrough and Coco, but it's a new chapter," she said in a Billboard interview. "I've experienced more and I've written with new songwriters who are really talented, but it's still my same music and feel and sound. The songs are more up-tempo on this record, and it's like a full-on summer album." Caillat began recording All of You in 2010, in California and finished up the album between tour dates 2010 fall. The first single, "I Do", debuted at number twenty-three on the Billboard Hot 100 in February and has since sold 154,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Meanwhile, Caillat is excited to unveil the new track "Favorite Song", a guitar-driven pop collaboration with Common in which Caillat croons between the rapper's slick verses. "I've loved Common's music for years," Caillat says of the unlikely pairing, which was put into motion when the two artists met each other at an event for the Grammys in 2009. "He ended up singing his song 'The Light,' and he needed a girl singer [for the chorus] and I was like, 'I know it!' Afterward he was like, "I love your song and I love your voice.' It took about a year for us to get something together, but it worked out better than we could have imagined." Bill Lamb wrote for About.com positively that the song "is bright, summery, and it is utterly charming". Caillat penned two album tracks with pop songwriter Ryan Tedder (Kelly Clarkson, Beyoncé, Leona Lewis), while Toby Gad, Jason Reeves and Rick Nowels all have writing credits on "All of You." Meanwhile, Caillat's boyfriend, musician Justin Young, wrote three songs on the album with the singer, an experience she calls "so much fun. I've never been interested in musicians before, and now having a boyfriend that plays amazing guitar and piano and has a beautiful voice… it's cheesy but it's awesome, because we write these songs about our relationship and it brought us closer together." Guitarist David Becker appears on five songs.
Music and songs
The first single "I Do" jumps headfirst into the vivacious happiness of falling in love. Her inspiration for this track came from finding that person who makes you feel like you're ready for that next big step, marriage, and being unafraid to take that step. The percussion helps set the mood with a sidewalk-skipping beat. Colbie's lyrics are complemented with light guitar and playful piano. The opening track, "Brighter Than the Sun", also stands out as effervescent, with upbeat guitar and claps for percussion. The lyrics reflect the tumble into love: "Boy, we go together like peanuts and Paydays/ Marley and Reggae/ And everybody needs to get a chance to say/ Oh, this is how it starts/ Lightning strikes the heart/ It goes off like a gun/ Brighter than the sun.' "Dream Life, Life" takes a look into the hopes and dreams we have for our lives—and wanting to make them the reality. In the song, Colbie remains realistic about her wishes, and lets us know: "There's no more wasting time on what I think I'm supposed to do/ My clock is standing still so I can have my dream life/ Life with the ones I love playin' all day long/ Laying back by the water side with nowhere to go and the music on/ I'm working hard for my dream life to be my real life, and that can't be wrong/ All I have is this life, so I'm makin' it what I want!".