When there's an Alaskan in the room, it's pretty hard not to ask what they think of Sarah Palin. So, when rising singer Kate Earl stopped by the Spinner offices, we couldn't help but bring up the now ex-governor. "She really trashed my state!" the Anchorage native told us. Once listeners hear her soulful voice, jazzy instrumentals and catchy hooks, though, Earl's music is bound to help her repair the image of the 49th state.

After she let us hear snippets from her self-titled debut album, which is out now, Earl gave us a live, acoustic taste of her music. She performed an intimate take of her song 'Nobody' then decided to pay her tribute to the recently-deceased King of Pop, though in an unconventional way. "When I first learned to play this song, I thought Michael Jackson wrote it," she said, referring to Smokey Robinson's 'Who's Lovin' You.' The song, famously covered by the Jackson 5, was a perfect showcase of Earl's talents: with the stripped down sounds of an acoustic guitar, her powerful voice took center stage, evoking the heartbreak of Robinson's lyrics and reminding us that there are big things in store for this Alaska native.