Raised in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, Lightman began playing the violin as a child.

She was a member of the orchestra at Cherry Hill High School East and started singing when a friend urged her to join a vocal workshop class.

The audience response to a solo performance in which Lightman sang a gospel version of Simon and Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water led her to pursue her talents as a singer after she graduated from high school in 1996.

"My Sweet Song" was featured near the end of the Boston Legal episode, "Desperately Seeking Shirley" while also featuring in the closing scene of the Bones episode, "The Maggots In The Meathead".

Lightman performed the opening theme to Fox Sports' coverage of the NASCAR racing season with a song titled "NASCAR Love (Let's Go Racing)".