40 Fun Facts About Jewel

Where did Jewel live while playing small gigs around Southern California before her record deal?

In her car was home for Jewel as she travelled between street performances and coffeehouse sets. She could not afford to make a demo until a label paid for one.

Which razor brand built a $70 million advertising campaign around Jewel's 0304 single "Intuition"?

Schick was launching a razor called Intuition, the same name as the song. Critics pointed out the irony, because the song itself mocks consumer culture.

Which vocal skill did Jewel learn from her father while they performed in Alaskan roadhouses?

Yodeling came from her father, Atz Kilcher, who performed with her as a father-daughter duo. The two also sang at hotels in Anchorage.

At which 1998 event was Jewel criticised for lip-syncing the national anthem after missing her cue?

The Super Bowl audience saw her miss the opening words of a track taped in advance. Producers later admitted they try to have every anthem performer pre-record the vocals.

Which rock band's album kept Jewel's 0304 from debuting at number one on the Billboard 200?

Metallica held the top spot with St. Anger, leaving 0304 at number two. That was still the highest chart debut of Jewel's career.

Which music legend did Jewel play opposite Matt Ross in the 2013 Lifetime movie Ring of Fire?

June Carter Cash is the film's central figure, with Matt Ross as her husband Johnny. The movie earned four Primetime Emmy nominations.

Which Fox singing competition did Jewel win in December 2021?

The Masked Singer crowned her its sixth-season winner as the Queen of Hearts, ahead of Todrick Hall as the Bull. She later released an EP of the covers she sang on the show.

Which Jewel ballad began as a B-side before radio stations flipped the single and made it a hit?

Foolish Games was listed as the A-side once Billboard's chart rules caught up with what radio was playing. Jewel re-recorded a shorter version of it for the Batman & Robin film soundtrack.

What was the profession of Ty Murray, whom Jewel married in the Bahamas after a decade together?

Rodeo cowboy Ty Murray won nine world championships, seven of them as the all-around champion. He also appeared in the video for one of her 2008 singles.

Which Jewel single grew out of the day she nearly shoplifted a sundress, then put it back?

Hands came from that moment, when a $39.99 price tag made her ask why she doubted she could earn the money. She left the dress behind and started writing.

On which rock legend's California ranch did Jewel record the studio tracks of Pieces of You?

Neil Young lent both his Broken Arrow Ranch studio and his backing group, the Stray Gators. The rest of the album was taped live at a coffeehouse.

Which songwriter's invitation to open his tour finally won Pieces of You an audience for Jewel?

Bob Dylan asked Jewel to open for him after the album had failed to chart on release. It then climbed to number four, about two years after it came out.

Which hit did Jewel call the first song she ever wrote, during a teenage hitchhiking trip to Mexico?

Who Will Save Your Soul came to her at about sixteen, while she was travelling by train and thumb. It became her first hit, reaching number 11 on the Hot 100.

Which Jewel hit, co-written with her friend Steve Poltz, won Best Female Video at the 1997 MTV awards?

You Were Meant for Me also put Steve Poltz on screen, as the man she can never quite reach. The single spent 65 weeks on the Hot 100, a record at the time.

Which director gave Jewel her film debut in the 1999 Civil War Western Ride with the Devil?

Ang Lee cast her as Sue Lee Shelley opposite Tobey Maguire. Critic Roger Ebert praised her for playing the part as an actress, not a pop star trying out a hobby.

What kind of writing fills A Night Without Armor, Jewel's 1998 book that sold over a million copies?

Poetry made the book a New York Times best-seller, though its reviews were mixed. Another writer answered it the same year with a book-length response subtitled The Revenge.

Which actor began dating Jewel in 1995 after spotting her on Late Night with Conan O'Brien?

Sean Penn then invited her to compose a song for his film The Crossing Guard and followed her on tour.

Which pop star brought Jewel on stage at Madison Square Garden in 2024 for a duet of a 1990s hit?

Olivia Rodrigo welcomed Jewel as a guest at the last New York show of her Guts World Tour. They sang a single that first reached radio in 1996.

Which genre did Jewel adopt on Perfectly Clear, a 2008 album produced by John Rich of Big & Rich?

Country gave Jewel a number-one debut on Billboard's albums chart for the genre. The lead single, Stronger Woman, climbed to number 13 at radio.

Which touring festival founded by Sarah McLachlan counted Jewel among its main-stage acts in 1997?

Lilith Fair took its name from the legend of Adam's first wife, who refused to be subservient. McLachlan started it after promoters would not book two women in a row.

Which opening track of Jewel's 0304 became its second single and a number-one dance club hit?

Stand gave Jewel her third straight number one on Billboard's dance club chart, yet it missed the Hot 100 entirely.

Which 0304 single did Jewel re-record under a spelled-out title for her 2008 album Perfectly Clear?

2 Become 1 returned as Two Become One, with the numerals written out as words. John Rich produced the new version, five years after the original.

Which Jewel single from This Way topped the dance chart as a remix and inspired the sound of 0304?

Serve the Ego was the first Jewel single issued with a set of club remixes. Its surprise run to number one on the dance chart persuaded her to make a whole dance album.

Which producer, known for his work with Shakira, co-wrote and produced Jewel's 0304 single "Intuition"?

Lester Mendez worked with Jewel across the album, and she thanked him in its booklet for not treating her dance-folk idea as crazy. He had also produced Enrique Iglesias.

In the booklet for 0304, Jewel called the album a modern interpretation of which style of music?

Big band swing was her model, along with lyric-driven songwriting in the manner of Cole Porter. She added that it was the first of her albums she enjoyed listening to.

Which world event did Jewel say pushed her to make 0304 an upbeat record people could escape into?

The Iraq War was approaching as she wrote, and she reasoned that wartime listeners want music that lets them escape. People magazine called the result an extreme musical makeover.

What does the title of 0304 point to, on an album Jewel called a snapshot of America right now?

The years 2003 and 2004 gave the album its name because Jewel wanted a record about current events and her life at that moment. It reached shops in June of the first of them.

Which record label won a bidding war for Jewel and released her albums from Pieces of You to 0304?

Atlantic sent a representative to watch her at a coffeehouse and then paid for her demo. The label declined to renew her contract after one more album.

Which songwriter, best known as Robbie Williams's writing partner, co-wrote a ballad on Jewel's 0304?

Guy Chambers shared the writing credit on the album's third and final single, released that December. It reached number 33 on the adult pop chart.

Which instrument, rare in dance-pop, opens Jewel's 0304 single "Intuition" before the beats arrive?

Accordion in a French style starts the song, before synthesizers and dance beats take over. It was a long way from the simple acoustic guitar of her folk material.

Near which Alaskan town was Jewel raised on a family homestead that had no indoor plumbing?

Homer sits on Kachemak Bay, and the Kilcher homestead lies about 11 miles outside it. Jewel grew up there with a coal stove, an outhouse and food the family raised or caught.

Where did Jewel study operatic voice on a partial scholarship after leaving Alaska at fifteen?

Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan cost more than the scholarship covered, so businesses in her hometown donated items for an auction. It raised $11,000 towards her first year.

Which city's Inner Change coffeehouse made Jewel a local star and supplied live tracks for her debut?

San Diego gave Jewel an early prize, Best Acoustic at the city's music awards in 1994. A bootleg of her club sets aired on a local radio station before she had a record deal.

From which nation did Jewel's grandfather Yule Kilcher emigrate before homesteading in Alaska?

Switzerland was home until 1936, when Yule Kilcher moved north. He later sat in the state senate and joined the first crossing of the Harding Icefield.

Which toy brand's label released Jewel's 2009 album Lullaby and its follow-up The Merry Goes 'Round?

Fisher-Price issued both collections of children's songs. Lullaby was also Jewel's first independent release, and she said it was for adults as much as children.

Which Nashville label, the first home of Taylor Swift, signed Jewel to its Valory imprint in 2007?

Big Machine had been founded only two years earlier, with Taylor Swift as its first signing. Jewel's first album for the label entered the Billboard 200 at number eight.

Which singer beat Jewel, Garbage and No Doubt to the Best New Artist Grammy in 1997?

LeAnn Rimes became the youngest person to win the award, on the strength of her debut hit Blue.

In 1995 Jewel toured as the opening act for Peter Murphy, the frontman of which gothic rock band?

Bauhaus frontman Peter Murphy was touring North America behind his solo album Cascade. Jewel, then unknown, opened the shows to promote Pieces of You.

Which 2007 comedy features Jewel, Eddie Vedder and Ghostface Killah playing themselves?

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story stars John C. Reilly as a made-up music legend, in a send-up of the biopic genre. It was only Jewel's second film appearance.

Which network aired Alaska: The Last Frontier, the reality series about Jewel's father and his family?

Discovery Channel followed the Kilchers on their homestead from 2011 to 2022. Jewel herself appeared on the show alongside her father, Atz.