We’ve always had a soft spot in our hearts for Jewel (and to this day, she is our favorite interviewee on The Howard Stern Show). When Pieces of You flooded MTV in the 90s, our highly emotional adolescent brains ate up every word. “Shit, is this what life feels like as an adult?!” we wondered, singing along to “You Were Meant For Me.” Nah.
Jewel — who has always been wise beyond her years — was a teen when she wrote Pieces of You, but the lyrics seemed super mature (and sad) to us. Only after we revisited the album as adults were we able to appreciate the nostalgia and sadness. And we even found happiness weaved into the songs. It’s true: life does feel like a Jewel song.
Jewel has encountered as many tribulations as triumphs on her road to success — many of which she shares in her memoir Never Broken.
“I had a very abusive background and I was homeless, so the idea of having to be perfect was horrifying,” Jewel told Time. “The only thing that gave me comfort was if I could lead with my flaws and say, ‘Hey, let me keep myself off of any pedestal anybody ever might consider putting me on.’ That allowed me, at age 18, to never be considered a teenybopper act that had to transition into being an adult.”
Jewel’s humble roots may explain how the singer/songwriter is able to remain so modest during her successful career. (She was raised off the grid in Alaska on a family ranch and used an outhouse for God’s sake!)
“I didn’t buy yachts or private planes… And it took all the pressure off my music,” Jewel said in an interview with Lehigh Valey Music. “I never had to have another hit again a day in my life, and so I can honestly say I never made a single thinking ‘I have to do this ‘cause it’s a hit’ or ‘I need another hit.’ The music’s never had to be a prostitute for my lifestyle. So it gave me a tremendous amount of freedom.”
Jewel will be performing at the Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside on May 19 and at Humphrey’s in San Diego on May 21.
Here are some candid things Jewel has said in recent interviews. Quotation above via blogs.mcall.com.
—via time.com
—via time.com
—via time.com
—via blogs.mcall.com
