After graduating from University of California, Los Angeles,[1] Bareilles independently released her debut album Careful Confessions in January 2004.

[5] The album became a commercial success, it peaked on the chart at number 7 and was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of one million copies in the United States,[6][7] subsequently becoming her most successful studio album to date.

[8] After experiencing a writer's block,[9] she began to work for her third studio album with Neal Avron in 2009.

[9] The album, Kaleidoscope Heart, was released in September 2010 and debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 chart.

[12] In 2013, Bareilles began to work for her fourth studio album, The Blessed Unrest, after moving to New York City.