By Korina Lopez, USA TODAY
Sunny disposition: Her real name is Eliza Caird, but the London native earned her My Fair Lady nickname at an early age. "My classmates started calling me that when I was really young, not just because of the Eliza connection, but I've always been a really positive person," she says. "I'm never one to mope."
By Charley Gallay, Getty Images
Singer Eliza Doolittle performs during the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.
By Charley Gallay, Getty Images
Singer Eliza Doolittle performs during the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.
Feel-good vibe: Her optimism shines through her music, a happy hodgepodge of folk, ska, pop and old R&B. "My idols are Stevie Wonder and Carole King, but I love pop music as well," she says. "When I was very young, I listened to Destiny's Child, Usher and Michael Jackson." Her self-titled debut album, released last July in the U.K., is a platinum success. With 74,000-plus followers on Twitter and counting, her infectious brand of pop is spreading.
Songs of summer?: Happy-go-lucky tracks like Skinny Genes and Rollerblades hold promise for summer. "My music is sunny and bright, and I want it to cheer people up," she says. The album, released here April 19, has sold more than 5,000 copies, but "I have no expectations about how well I'll do in the U.S.," she says. "I'm not nervous, I'm not confident. But what we've done so far has gotten a really great response."
Music's in the genes: Doolittle, it seems, was meant to be on stage. Her parents both come from artistic backgrounds. Mom Frances Ruffelle is a Tony Award-winning stage actress and dad John Caird directs and writes musicals and operas. "I've been writing music since I was 12, and I've always loved to sing," she says. "My mother probably would have preferred that I pursued another career, but she always encouraged me to write. She said that songwriting is where the money is."
Big, happy family: Being one of eight siblings helped the 23-year-old prepare for her busy lifestyle. "My life's always been hectic, there were always people coming and going in my house when I was growing up," she says. "There are so many of us, but we all get along and that's helped carve me as a person. I haven't had the most perfect life, but I try to always look on the bright side and be grateful."
Handling fame: For some artists, success comes out of nowhere. But for Doolittle, she's been plotting her path to success since she landed her first publishing deal at 16. "I was very lucky with my management, they never pushed me to do anything or be someone I don't want to be," she says. "I spent a lot of time figuring out what I wanted to do, figuring out my sound on my own." So far, life hasn't changed much for the rising star. "Fame is still so new to me, I still can't really believe it," she says. "It's bonkers to see people singing along to the words of my songs."
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