HOMETOWN: New York City
INFLUENCES: John Mayer, Nichole Nordeman, Stevie Wonder
ALBUM: Hundred More Years, out now
WEBSITE: francescamusic.com

When she wrote and recorded her debut album, 2008’s My Paper Heart, all New York native Francesca Battistelli had to worry about was the task at hand. When she went to work on the new follow-up, Hundred More Years, she had quite a bit more on her mind. “This time,” she says, “I remember thinking, ‘OK, if I can just get through these four things—being pregnant, writing and recording my album, moving to a new city and touring.’” Battistelli, who now lives in Nashville with her husband and infant son, is already a rising star in the Christian pop genre—but she’s determined not to just preach to the converted. “There are some very personal songs on this record, because what I tend to write naturally are songs from my life,” she says. “But this time I’m definitely focused more on thinking outside my own experience, looking at what other people are going through.”