Rachel Platten Biography

Rachel Ashley Platten (born May 20, 1981) is an American singer and songwriter. Having released independent albums and singles between 2003 and 2014, Platten signed with Columbia Records in early 2015.

She rose to fame in 2015 with the release of the single "Fight Song", which peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, topped the UK Singles Chart and reached the top 10 of multiple charts worldwide. Platten won an Emmy Award for the live performance of the song on Good Morning America. Her major-label debut album, Wildfire, was released in 2015 as well, being certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and producing another successful single, "Stand by You".

Early life

Platten was born on May 20, 1981, in New York City, but grew up in Newton Centre, Massachusetts and attended the Mason-Rice elementary school. She studied classical piano from the age of 5 and then took up guitar in high school. She attended Buckingham Browne and Nichols high school, where she sang in the school's singing group. At Trinity College, she was a member of the Trinitones, the college's all-female a cappella group.

As a part of a study abroad program, she went to Trinidad to do an internship at a diplomat's office and at a record label. While she was there, she sang backup for a friend's band in front of over 80,000 people at the International Soca Monarch finals in 2002. According to Platten, from that moment on she knew she had to pursue music full-time. Platten graduated from Trinity College with a degree in international relations in 2003. She then moved to New York City's Greenwich Village where she cut her teeth playing with Prince and Sly and the Family Stone cover band called Dayz of Wild. In 2012, she married Kevin Lazan. She performed her solo music around the Village and eventually began touring the country. She has worked with numerous charities, Musicians on Call (where she sings bedside to hospital patients) for 11 years and she is an ambassador for Music Unites. She also works with the Ryan Seacrest Foundation and was an ambassador for Live Below the Line (a call to end world poverty).

Career

2003-14: Trust in Me and Be Here

Platten released her debut studio album Trust in Me in 2003, which she has called "a collection of demos". Her second album, Be Here, was released from Rock Ridge Music in 2011. Her 2011 single "1,000 Ships" peaked at number 24 on the US Billboard Adult Top 40 chart, also playing at various radio stations. An earlier song, "Seven Weeks", was used for the film The Good Guy. The theme song for ABC Family's Jane by Design, "Work of Art" was performed by Platten on hire. Also, her song "Begin Again" was used in the hit ABC Family TV show Pretty Little Liars 100th episode "Miss Me x 100". Her song "Don't Care What Time It Is" was used in VH1's Basketball Wives. Her song "You're Safe" was used in MTV's Finding Carter in September 2014. On June 27, 2014, Platten debuted "Fight Song" on the music social network We Heart It as part of an artist spotlight.

2015-present: Wildfire and upcoming fourth studio album

She is now signed to Columbia Records, with an official Vevo account, and in the spring of 2015 released the single "Fight Song" (co-written by Platten and Dave Bassett) from Wildfire. The song is a midtempo anthemic pop song, a self-affirmation song whose music is stylistically in the vein of such top pop artists as Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, and Taylor Swift. The song was used in the Christmas episode of Pretty Little Liars fifth season and in promos for the fourth season of Revenge on the Seven Network in Australia. She released the news to her fans through a Facebook post that read, "To every single person that's ever believed in me, to every mile that I've driven across the country, you made this moment that much sweeter. Proud to have just signed to Columbia Records. Time to spread the love." In May 2015, the song was featured in the trailer for the then-upcoming CBS TV series Supergirl and is also being used in a commercial for Ford cars. It is also the official anthem of the presidential campaign of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

"Fight Song" climbed the chart and reached number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100.

It also reached number 2 on the Australian Singles Chart, number 6 in Ireland, number 8 in New Zealand, number 9 on the Billboard Canadian Hot 100 and number one on the UK Singles Chart. It has also reached double platinum sales in the US, selling over 2 million copies. Platten's 2015 Fight Song EP reached number 20 on the Billboard 200.

Platten served as a support act on Alex & Sierra and Andy Grammer's "The Good Guys & A Girl Tour" in early 2015. She then toured with Colbie Caillat and Christina Perri on their "Girls Night Out, Boys Can Come Too Tour" throughout the summer of 2015.

On September 11, 2015, Platten released second single named "Stand by You" from Wildfire, by Sony Music Entertainment.

Platten announced on the Today Show that proceeds from the new acoustic version of her "Fight Song"? will benefit the National Compassion Fund, working to support the needs of people impacted by the Orlando nightclub massacre.

Platten announced that she is already working on her next album she said: "Right now I"?m kind of more reflective and some of the stuff is a little bit darker [than "Fight Song"?] "? I hope to give them [fans] more sides of me. Although I love being empowering, I"?m human."?

Platten was selected to sing the National Anthem prior to Game 1 of the 2016 World Series between the Cleveland Indians and Chicago Cubs.

Discography

Studio albums

Title	Details	Peak chart positions								Certifications
		US	AUS	CAN	IRE	NZ	SWE	SWI	UK
Trust in Me	Released: 2003 Format: CD	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
Be Here	Released: April 26, 2011 Label: Rock Ridge Format: Digital download, CD	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
Wildfire	Released: January 1, 2016 Label: Columbia Format: Digital download, CD	5	12	6	84	37	29	85	35	RIAA: Gold
""?" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released.

Extended plays

Title	Details	Peak chart positions	Sales
		US
Fight Song	Released: May 12, 2015 Label: Columbia Format: Digital download, CD	20	US: 26,000

Singles

Single	Year	Peak chart positions										Certifications	Album
		US	AUS	AUT	CAN	GER	IRE	NZ	SWE	SWI	UK
"1,000 Ships"	2011	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?		Be Here
"Fight Song"	2015	6	2	13	5	76	6	8	56	38	1	RIAA: 3 Platinum ARIA: 2 Platinum BPI: Platinum MC: 3 Platinum RMNZ: Gold SWE: Gold	Wildfire
"Stand by You"		37	14	"?	42	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	RIAA: Platinum ARIA: Platinum MC: Gold
"Better Place"	2016	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?	"?
""?" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released.

Awards and nominations

Year	Ceremony	Award	Nominated work	Result	Ref.
2015	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Music: Breakout Artist	Herself	rowspan="2"
		Choice Summer Song	"Fight Song"
2016	iHeartRadio Music Awards	Best Lyrics	"Fight Song"
	Radio Disney Music Awards	Breakout Artist Of The Year	Herself
	Billboard Music Awards	Top Selling Song	"Fight Song"
	Daytime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Musical Performance in a Talk Show/Morning Program	Good Morning America
	American Music Awards	Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist	Herself