Sara Beth Bareilles (/bəˈrɛlɪs/, bə-RELL-iss; born December 7, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, author, and producer. Bareilles released her debut studio album Careful Confessions in 2004. She received further recognition with the release of her second studio album Little Voice (2007). The album included the hit single "Love Song", which reached no. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earned her two Grammy Award nominations, including Song of the Year. In 2010, she released her third studio album Kaleidoscope Heart, with its lead single "King of Anything" earning a Grammy Award nomination. In 2011, Bareilles served as a judge in the third season of the NBC singing competition series The Sing-Off. In 2013, she released her fourth studio album The Blessed Unrest, which earned two Grammy Award nominations, including Album of the Year.
Bareilles composed music and wrote lyrics for the 2015 Broadway musical Waitress, for which she earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score and a Grammy Award nomination for Best Musical Theatre Album. She subsequently released the 2015 studio album What's Inside: Songs from Waitress, which is a recording of the musical's songs. For her work in the 2016 Broadway musical SpongeBob SquarePants, she earned a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Original Score. In 2018, Bareilles received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Mary Magdalene in the NBC musical television special Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, for which she earned nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie and the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album. Also in 2018, she co-hosted the 72nd Tony Awards, for which she was nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards. In 2019, she released her sixth studio album Amidst the Chaos, with the single "Saint Honesty" earning her the Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance. She currently stars as Dawn Solano in Peacock's musical comedy Girls5eva.
Bareilles has sold over one million albums and over nine million singles in the United States. She has earned nominations for eight Grammy Awards, with one win, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Tony Awards. In February 2012, VH1 placed Bareilles in the 80th spot of the Top 100 Greatest Women in Music. In 2015, she released her The New York Times-bestselling memoir, Sounds Like Me: My Life (So Far) in Song.