She was re-signed to Island Records during production of her third studio album Joy (2010), whose singles "Ghost" and "Stuttering" saw continued success in Canada.

[6] Before Dobson was signed, she said that she had been stereotyped as a contemporary R&B or popular music singer instead of a rock musician due to her race, often being compared to Brandy Norwood and Britney Spears.

[5] Dobson started writing music at the age of 13 years, and the company Jive Records attempted to develop her as a popular musician, which she eventually refused.

[7] After that experience, Dobson met Jay Levine and contracted with Nelly Furtado's manager Chris Smith.

Universal Music Canada president Randy Lennox showed interest in her, and persuaded Island Def Jam CEO Lyor Cohen and his manager of A&R, Jeff Fenster, to fly to Toronto for another showcase.

[5] Dobson's self-titled debut album was released December 9, 2003, by Island Records, and sold 307,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

"[44] She was also one of the judges for a competition for MTV's "VMA Best Breakout New York City Artist Award" that occurred at the same event.

[46] On Sunday, September 27, 2009, she performed the promotional single "I Want You" at the finale of the second season of the Canadian Cable TV show The Next Star.

[49] Dobson was the headline performer for one of the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month events,[50] a benefit concert held at the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood, CA on October 22, 2009.

[51][52] She performed at a 100 Day Countdown event to the 2010 Winter Olympics at the Canadian Embassy in Washington, D.C., USA on November 4, 2009.

[53] Dobson performed on February 20, 2010, at Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto, Ontario, as part of CTV's national celebration of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

[55] Dobson's involvement with the Olympics continued on March 12, 2010, as she performed "I Want You" and "Watch Me Move" at the Opening Ceremonies for the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.

[56][57] She covered "River Deep – Mountain High" for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 25th annual induction ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City on March 15, 2010.

The singer performed her single "Stuttering" on the November 10, 2010, broadcast of The CW Television Network series, Hellcats.

On January 22, 2013, Dobson announced that recording had begun for her fourth studio album, later revealed to be titled Firebird.

[67] In early July 2013, Dobson got engaged to American rapper Yelawolf; the pair were married on September 27, 2019, in Nashville, Tennessee.

In fact, Dobson originally signed with Jive Records, who intended to make her the next big pop star.

[7] On Dobson's second album Joy, she worked with producers David Lichens, Jon Levine, Howard Benson and Bob Ezrin - living up to the portraits of her heroes she first hung during the recording of her first album: Kurt Cobain, Judy Garland, Coldplay, The Vines and Jeff Buckley.