Sara Bareilles doesn’t want to be pigeonholed so she decided to change things up on her new EP. With a little help from fellow Sing-Off judge, Ben Folds, she took off for Nashville and never looked back.

“As an artist, I feel the need to continue to grow and evolve,” said Bareilles on her website. “And this EP felt like a stepping stone for me to learn how to do that with confidence.”

Out May 22, Once Upon Another Time is the result of the singer’s time in Tennessee as she experimented with her sound. The five-song EP has Bareilles expanding her vocal range and Folds, who produced the album, is crowning her “the real thing.”

“She opens her mouth in front of a mic and you’re done,” he said. “She’s one of our rare gems in modern pop music and she’s here to stay.”

Fans can pre-order the EP now. But if you just don’t know how you’ll make it through the month without a little Bareilles in your life, check out her recent guest spots on Greg Laswell’s “Come Back Down” off his recently released album, Landline, and Jon McLaughlin’s first single “Summer is Over” featured on his upcoming record Promising Promises.

Check out the video for “Summer is Over,” featuring a Bareilles cameo, below.

- Shannon Carlin, CBS Local