At age 11, Battaglia independently released A Thousand Stars, an album that was produced by her mother, Donna.

Battaglia began looking for a recording contract when she was eleven years old, due to the success of her independent album.

Like most teen pop albums released in the 1990s and early 2000s, the lyrics deal mainly with themes such as love, break-up, desire and joy.

[2] Following the release of "I Think I Love You", in 2002, Kaci appeared as the opening act for boy band O-Town on certain dates of their tour in the UK and US.

During a stop on the tour in Tampa, Florida, Kaci made an appearance on WFLZ-FM on August 25, 2001, where she gave an in-studio performance.

During "ESPN's Super Bowl Halftime Show" in January 2002, the music video for her single "Paradise" was played for the audience on the big screen, which provided major promotion.

Pepsi sponsored a promotional tour on which Battaglia performed free concerts in shopping malls across ten states during the summer of 2002.

Other critics, however, found the album clichéd, and considered Battaglia similar to the majority of pop artists at the time.