In our increasingly artificial world, Toby Lightman, winner of the 2025 SONA Emerging Songwriter Warrior Award presented by YouTube Songwriters, stands out for her soulful voice and fiercely relatable songwriting that cuts through the noise and connects deeply with listeners. Classically trained on the violin and self-taught on the guitar, Lightman didn’t realize her vocal gift until her high school graduation, when she performed her first solo. The crowd’s overwhelming response inspired her to buy her first guitar, which eventually led to a major record deal with Lava Records after college.

Her debut album Little Things landed on the Billboard Top 100 in its first week and earned comparisons to Lauryn Hill, Sheryl Crow, and Norah Jones. Lightman went on to receive praise from Rolling Stone, People, and Billboard; perform on Letterman, Carson Daly, Conan, and CBS Morning Show; and tour with artists including Rob Thomas, Jewel, Gavin DeGraw, Train, and Marc Cohn - even opening for her idol Prince in a career-defining moment.

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Following in Prince’s footsteps, Lightman self-produced her 2022 album AFTER ALL. “Over the years, I had only worked with male producers because I didn’t know of any women producing. I didn’t want to share songs about my journey through pregnancy, loss, and motherhood, so I decided to teach myself how to produce,” says Lightman. As one of the few women entering the production space, she is dedicated to encouraging others to do the same. Through organizations like She Is the Music, Women in Music, Women Who Rock, and Mamas in Music, Lightman champions women to take control of their creative process. “It’s extremely empowering to write a song from the depths of my soul, with feelings that are genuinely mine, and then bring that song to life without the help of a male producer who most likely won’t connect at all,” she explains. “The studio should be a safe place for women. Yet we make up only 5% of all producers in the music business, so it’s our job to empower women who want to take control of their creative destinies.”

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Lightman is also deeply passionate about advocating for her fellow songwriters through organizations like SONA and as a newly elected Governor of the Recording Academy’s New York Chapter, where she co-chairs the Songwriting & Composing Committee. With more than 100 placements across TV, film, and advertising, she has found great success not only with her own original recordings but also by composing and performing original music for broadcasts such as PBS’s Sesame Street and Donkey Hodie, American Girl, Hasbro’s My Little Pony and many more.

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Currently, Lightman is writing and producing her next album, due in early 2026. Its first single, “Higher,” recorded by American Idol finalist Breanna Nix, reached #1 on the iTunes Country Chart, iTunes Top Songs Chart, and Billboard’s Christian Digital Song Sales chart. She followed with “Somebody’s Someone,” a mantra of comfort that blossoms into an uplifting journey of hope, and most recently “Count on Me,” a heartfelt ode to true friendship and resilience.