Jewel

There was something very innocently sweet about Jewel's debut, Pieces of You, in those pre-Lilith Fair days of 1995. Three songs from that album ("You Were Meant for Me," "Who Will Save Your Soul," and "Foolish Games") were released as singles, and all found purchase on the Adult Contemporary Singles chart, with the first landing at #1. "Good Day," from Goodbye Alice In Wonderland, is a return to her pre-0304 form, albeit with more sophisticated production.

When Jewel recorded 0304, she took a rather bold artistic step into the dance world, from which she has since retreated into more familiar folk-inflected pop. While Jewel's fans were of two minds about that detour, the songs "2 Become 1," "Yes U Can," and "Run 2 U," taken at face value, are quite appealing. "Ave Maria" has been recorded about 412,000 times, but Jewel's rather spare version is really charming.

Robobabe, poet, song thrush Jewel Kilcher was born in Payson, Utah, and because that wasn't far enough from the hind end of nowhere, her parents moved to Alaska. The Homer Spit on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula is a beautiful piece of land (coincidentally, it has a terrific bookstore, which no doubt contributed to Jewel's literary aspirations), and the young Ms. Kilcher started her career there at the age of six. During college, she began writing as well as performing. Following that, she moved into her van, performing wherever she could. After being the subject of a bidding war, she signed to Atlantic, where Neil Young cohort Ben Keith guided her to a Top 5 debut album. She's been massive ever since.