Jones is a multiple Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter of jazz-lite, country and soul-tinged tunes. Don't understand why she's so famous? Try asking your mom.

The daughter of sitar guru and Beatles buddy Ravi Shankar, Geethali Norah Jones Shankar was estranged from her father as a child (they reunited in the late '90s), and grew up with her mother in Texas. She was studying jazz piano at the University of North Texas when she moved to New York for the summer in 1999. Jones never returned to Texas (or college), paying the bills playing jazz covers in Italian restaurants and theater district boites. She soon struck up a partnership with musician Jesse Harris, who wrote her hit "Don't Know Why" and played with Jones on her first demo. In 2002 Jones became a household name and coffee shop background music mainstay with her debut album Come Away with Me.

Jones's debut album was a commercial goldmine, selling over 20 million copies worldwide. It also went over well with the critics, landing Jones all four of the most-coveted Grammy awards in 2003-Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best New Artist. Although Jones's star isn't quite as white-hot as it was during her 2002-03 heyday, the middle-aged listening public seems to still be smitten with Jones' breathy, piano-centric tunes. Jones also indulges her inner hipster by playing tiny, not-so-secret gigs with her country band the Little Willies and her rock outfit El Madmo. She also likes to pop up on recordings with legends like Ray Charles and Elvis Costello. [Image via Getty]