Even if the name Sarah McLachlan is not immediately recognized, chances are there will be an “aha” moment when one of her songs is played. She may not yet be a household name in the States but her music is prevalent throughout the movies and memories that mean the most to America.

Sarah McLachlan was discovered at the age of nineteen by Nettwerk Records. McLachlan had trained in classical piano, voice and guitar and was fronting for the band October Game. Her first album, Touch was released in Canada in 1988 and went Gold. Her second album, Solace released in 1991 and served to rocket her to stardom in Canada, certifying double platinum. In the United States the album went Gold.

Americans were drawn to the more serious subject matter of her hit singles “Hold On”, “Good Enough” and “Possession” but it was the release of Fumbling Towards Ecstasy in 1993 and an almost two year tour that brought McLachlan gradual widespread popularity in the United States. Her album Rarities, B-Sides and Other Stuff came out in 1996 consisting of various soundtrack compilations, remixes, and collaborative music with other artists.

Sarah McLachlan founded Lilith Fair a women only concert tour in 1997 with the intent of highlighting female artists. Her fifth album titled Surfacing coincided with the first Lilith Fair and earned Sarah McLachlan two Grammy Awards and four Juno Awards and certified 10x Platinum. Lilith Fair gained McLachlan a couple million fans and pulled in over $7 million dollars for charity from 1997 through 1999. Sarah’s track “Angel” was featured on the soundtrack to City of Angels which went 4X platinum in 1998.

The Lilith Fair tour in 1999 boosted popularity for McLachlan’s album entitled Mirrorball containing the track “I Will Remember You”. The song which had previously appeared in 1995 as a soundtrack to The Brothers McMullen catapulted into 14th in the U.S. Top 40 in 1999 and earned Sarah a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal. The movie Anywhere But Here starring Susan Sarandon and Natalie Portman featured her single Ice Cream from the Freedom Sessions as a soundtrack in 1999.

After an eleven year hiatus, Lilith Fair returned in 2010 along with McLachlan’s album release of Laws of Illusion. Although she released a holiday album, Wintersong in 2006 and Rarities, B-Sides and other Stuff Vol 2 and a celebratory career anthology Closer: The Best of Sarah McLachlan both in 2008 which was her fifth album to make Billboard Top 15, Laws of Illusion is her first of new work since her double platinum album Afterglow in 2003. Fans of Charmed and other TV series will have heard her music across multiple episodes beginning in 1998.

Sarah McLachlan sales are over 40 million across the globe, five of her albums hitting Billboard Top 15. She’s earned three Grammy Awards and eight Juno Awards (Canada). Every one of her live and studio albums has been RIAA certified over the last twenty years and there’s no telling where she’ll go next.