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Regina Spektor is one of the finest songwriters to emerge from the 2000s. Born in Moscow in 1980, Spektor learned to play the piano at a young age, and began writing songs when she moved from the turbulent Soviet Union to the Bronx in the early 1990s. She was exposed to rock music by her father, who had bootleg cassettes of band such as The Beatles and Queen. She also was influenced by classical artists, such as Chopin. When she was a teenager she also became influenced by hip-hop and punk as well. All of these elements mix together in her music almost effortlessly.

Spektor studied music in college, and around this time she began writing her own songs. She began performing in small clubs in New York City, such as the Knitting Factory and the Sidewalk Café. She self-released two albums (2001’s 11:11, and 2002’s Songs) before being signed to Sire Records in 2004. Her first album for the label, Soviet Kitsch, gained a modest amount of recognition, but her 2006 release Begin to Hope earned her a decent amount of mainstream success, and included the hit single “Fidelity.” Most recently, her song, “The Call,” was used prominently in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.