This article is about the British musician born Sarah McLaughlin. For the Canadian musician Sarah McLachlan, see Sarah McLachlan. Briggs was born in London to Scottish parents from Bishopbriggs, Scotland, which inspired her professional name. At age four, she moved to Tokyo with her parents. She sang in public for the first time at a Tokyo karaoke bar, and immediately realized she wanted to continue performing throughout her life. Growing up with the city's karaoke bar traditions and hearing music from Motown musicians to The Beatles at home also influenced her to pursue music. She started writing her own songs at age seven, which she would perform for her family. She moved to Hong Kong at age 10, where she lived until she was 18. After graduating from Hong Kong International School she moved to Los Angeles, California, and attended college at Musician's Institute