Tara Blaise

A veteran of the Irish touring circuit, folk-pop singer Tara Blaise eventually found success after deciding to leave her fourth band and go solo. The eldest of six children, Blaise was born in London in but moved to County Wicklow in Ireland with her parents at the age of three. Thanks to her drama teacher mother, she was introduced to the world of performing at an early age. Whilst studying Speech & Drama at the Royal Irish Academy of Music, she formed a band, named Les Legumes, with her schoolfriends but it was her stint as a backing vocalist for the Wilde Oscars that got her noticed. She went on to front the short-lived Igloo, who released several well-received singles, and Kaydee signed to EMI but couldn't break through to the mainstream. After deciding to go solo, a friend introduced her to the Corrs' manager, John Hughes, who asked her to provide vocals for several songs on his Wild Ocean album. After completing a course in drama at Dublin's Gaiety School, Hughes offered her an album deal on his Spokes label and sent her to L.A. to work with the Corrs producer Olle Romo. Her debut album, Dancing on Tables Barefoot, was released in 2005 and featured the singles "Fool for Love" and "Paperback Cliché," a huge airplay hit in her native Ireland. The album's success led to her own headline tour, appearances at festivals across the U.K. including V, Oxegen and T in the Park, and a part in Jeff Wayne's musical version of War of the Worlds. In 2007, she supported Michael Ball and Brian Kennedy on their U.K. tours and appeared in a new BBC Radio 4 comedy show, The Tao of Bergerac. Her second album, Great Escape, featuring songs produced by Mutt Lange, was released in 2008. ~ Jon O'Brien, Rovi