After playing a few club dates of her own and opening some shows for Erykah Badu this summer, Costa is beginning to make waves on this side of the Atlantic, but she has long been a superstar elsewhere.

Thanks in part to her deeply rooted musical background (how many people could claim Frank Sinatra as their godfather?) Costa hit the stage at the tender age of five, singing with Don Ho on a Christmas tune produced by her father, Don Costa.

Her debut record three years later went platinum in Europe, Israel, and South and Central America. The same year, Costa opened for The Police in Chile in front of 300,000 people.

“I just knew that when I would sing, chaos would happen. It was surreal. I wouldn’t be able to walk down the street,” she told Pollstar in a recent interview.

It’s been a long road since her childhood start, including two “retirements” along the way, but Costa has finally conquered America. Her latest album, Everybody Got Their Something – the first she’s released in the States – has been well received by critics and fans alike.

Tour opener Richards was a model for a short time but found songwriting to be more gratifying. “As a model, you are a vehicle for someone else’s creativity,” she said.

A friend introduced her to Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett, and the meeting got Richards some guitar lessons and her first taste of the music business. It wasn’t long before she was writing and recording with The Brian Jonestown Massacre and pursuing a solo career.

Her debut, The Herethereafter, was released in August.