Born in Dublin and citing as her primary influences soul icons of the 1960s and '70s such as Otis Redding, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Candi Staton, and Roberta Flack, she began singing professionally as a teenager and developed a personal style that has been compared to Lauryn Hill and Jill Scott. Recognition came quickly for the young Irish R&B singer/songwriter, as she won the 2FM Song Contest at age 15 and was signed to a major-label recording contract with Jive Records at age 17. She began recording her full-length debut album while under contract with Jive Records, but her relationship with the label frayed. She subsequently moved to Atlantic Records, where she continued with the ongoing recording sessions for her debut album, a process that would ultimately take four years in total and include sessions in a variety of studios in Dublin as well as the United States. In 2007 some of her finished material was licensed for release on a series of soundtrack recordings: "Shine" was featured on the soundtrack for the film The Nanny Diaries, "Mmm..." on Why Did I Get Married?, "Carousel" on P.S. I Love You, and "From My Heart to Yours" on the television shows Grey's Anatomy and The Hills. Also in 2007 Atlantic Records released Live from Crawdaddy, Dublin, a five-track live recording. In the run-up to the release of her self-written and co-produced full-length debut album, "From My Heart to Yours" was released as a single in late 2008; a four-track EP featuring a DJ Premier remix of the song was made available digitally. A tour of Ireland and Great Britain as the opening act of Adele in late 2008 also helped promote Let the Truth Be Told, which was unveiled at long last in 2009. ~ Jason Birchmeier