Colbie Caillat Pens the Perfect Wedding Song in 'I Do,' but Would Never Want a Traditional Ceremony

Wanting to collaborate with Common has been a longtime dream of yours. How did it finally happen?
We actually sang together for a Grammy-in-the-round thing at House of Blues in Hollywood over a year ago, and he was sitting next to me. They had him do 'The Light,' and he asked me to sing the chorus part. I was like, "Oh my god, you don't understand, I love you. This is my favorite song." So, in front of the whole audience I sang it with him and then after he's like, "Wow, I love your voice, we should totally do something together." It took about eight months to a year for anything to happen, but Ryan Tedder and I had a writing session, and I was like, "Can we bring Common in with us because I think it can be a cool mix?" So the three of us wrote together in LA, and we came up with a great song and it's worked out in the right time.

What's the song called?
It's called 'Favorite Songs.'

Is this a new favorite song of yours?
It is, not only that Common's on it, but Ryan Tedder. He and I have been friends since I was like 15. He and his band, One Republic first recorded with my producer and so we've known each other this whole time. Ryan's singing on the song, and he also produced it. It's young and fresh, and it's just one of my favorites, no pun intended.

And now 'I Do' already hit No. 1 on iTunes.
It did. It hit it the day I actually shot the video for it, so it's pretty exciting.

Tell me about the video.
The video I shot with Ethan Lader, he did Bruno Mars videos. It's a cool concept. People think the song is about getting married and saying "I do" at the wedding, but it's not. If you listen to the end I say, "I do love you," and it's about getting ready to tell that person you're in love with them. The video is me waking up in bed and singing the song. I'm thinking about that guy and then I'm going and doing stuff around the house, and everything in my house kind of portrays the way I'm feeling. There's an alarm clock that you see a smiley face on, and you see a hanger on the door and somehow the door knob and the hanger look like they're smiling. It's all these cool little things when I'm walking around my house. I play with my dog, I start singing to my dog because I'm so happy and giddy. It shows the real moments of when you're not with that person, when you're thinking about them and knowing that you're ready to tell them that you love them.

Listen to Colbie Caillat's 'I Do'

Have you had a lot of people project that it's a wedding song already?
Oh my god, yes, it's crazy. People say it's the 2011 wedding song, and they want to start promoting it on 'The Bachelor' and these wedding shows. I guess that's good because it gets it out there, but really that's not what the song is about, but I think it'll be great if people do it at their weddings because it's a memorable moment for them, so I'd be happy to be a part of that.

You're good friends with Jason Mraz, who has said he's waiting until gay marriage is legal to get married.
It's great that he and Tristan [Prettyman, fiancée] are waiting for that because it could be a huge impact. It's ridiculous that gay marriage is not allowed in California. It was for a year and then they took it away. It's just people need to not get in other people's business. It's about people loving each other, not the fact of their sexes. For Jason and Tristan to hold out for that it could be great, it could open up people's minds to wanting change.

Then you're OK with 'I Do' being played at any wedding, regardless of whether it's a gay marriage or not?
It wouldn't matter to me at all. No, I don't look at people or relationships like that. If they're good people and they're in love that's all that matters. The more the merrier.

What would be your wedding song?
I want to get married, but I don't really want a wedding or ceremony. For some reason, I just don't care for that. But my sister's wedding, I loved it because they had Bob Marley's 'High Tide and Low Tide' playing when they walked down the aisle. It's happy reggae music, always puts you in a good music, and the lyrics are, "In high tide or low tide/I'll be by your side." I thought that was great. If it happens, I would probably want to use that one like she did.

Is there a major theme to this album?
The theme is the ups and downs of relationships. The album is called 'All of You,' which is one of the songs on the record, one that my dad produced and I wrote with Jason Reeves. It's about wanting all of someone. I'm in a relationship that, like everyone's, has its ups and downs. A lot of the songs, like 'I Do' and 'Brighter Than the Sun,' are about being in love and so happy and thinking about future things with this guy. Then others, like 'Before I Let You Go' and 'All of You,' are when I was upset and frustrated and wanting more honesty and more openness. I write about that, and because it's all real situations I was going through, people are gonna be able to relate to it. It's just what happens to everyone.

Watch Behind-the-Scenes Footage from Colbie Caillat's 'All of You' Photo Shoot
So what does the guy think about the relationship being written in song?
He loves them. When I'd write the songs after we'd be in a fight or I'd be upset, I'd go record it and come home and play it to him. I would be nervous because I'd feel bad that I was venting about us and it's personal and it's going to be out there for people to hear and the other songwriter knows about it. But he is such a supportive man. He is so great, and he loves the songs and was very encouraging and proud of me for being able to write what I did and vent about it and get it out in a positive way. It made me feel better, where other people can understand what they're going through.

Are you a fan of 'Glee'?
I have to be honest, I've never watched it. But I hear the songs on TV and iTunes, and the singers are great. They're very talented.

The only reason I ask is because they were dominating the charts following the post-Super Bowl telecast. Did you ever feel like David versus Goliath as you climbed the charts?
Yeah, I saw 'I Do' rising, but I also saw how many songs 'Glee' had in there. They recorded it, they worked really hard to sound that way, so I figured it's amazing in this day and age songs like that from a TV show can be in the Top 10 on iTunes. I'm happy for them, but I was excited mine beat theirs at the end of it.

Now that you finally got Common, who's the next dream collaborator?
I love Lauryn Hill, and I've always just wanted to see her live and meet her. That would be a dream to have her sing with me on something or write a song together. That would just be something to top off everything if that happened someday.

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