Jewel is the daughter of Nedra Carroll, an artist and personal manager, and Atz Kilcher, an elementary school music teacher, folk singer and social worker. Her mother of Irish descent and her father is of Swiss-German origin. She is the cousin of actress Q'Orianka Kilcher. She spent most of her young life in Homer, Alaska, United States, living with her father. The home she grew up in did not have indoor plumbing; it had a simple outhouse instead. She and her father sometimes earned a living by singing in bars and taverns. It was from these experiences she learned to yodel, a quality demonstrated in many of her songs. Her father was a Mormon, but they stopped attending the church shortly before she turned eight. Yule Kilcher, her grandfather, was a state senator involved in drafting Alaska's constitution for its admission into a state from a territory in 1959.
During high school, Jewel was known to spell her name "Jule" or "Juel," but she attributes this to simply playing with her name.
Jewel learned to play the guitar while at the Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan, United States where she majored in operatic voice. She started writing songs at the age of seventeen.
For a time, she was poverty-stricken and lived in her van while traveling about the country doing street performances and small gigs. She gained some recognition by singing at the Innerchange Coffeehouse and Java Joe's in San Diego, California, United States. Her friend Steve Poltz's band, The Rugburns, played at the same venues. Jewel later collaborated with Poltz on some of her songs, including "You Were Meant For Me" (He also appeared in the second, best-known, video for this song). The Rugburns opened for Jewel on her Tiny Lights tour in 1997. Poltz appeared in Jewel's band on the Spirit World Tour 1999 playing guitar.
In 1993, Michael Balzary (better known by the stage name – Flea) of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers met Jewel after he saw her perform at a local cafe. He went back to her van where she was living, where she sang a few of her songs to him. He described her singing voice as being "beautiful" and "breathtaking".
Jewel was discovered by Inga Vainshtein in August 1993, when a musician from a local San Diego band, Rust, whom Vainshtein was managing at the time, called to tell her about a girl surfer who sang at a local coffee shop on Thursdays. Vainshtein drove to Innerchange coffee shop with a rep from Atlantic Records, and after the show they called Danny Goldberg, the head of Atlantic Records west coast operations, and asked him to pay for Jewel's demo. Vainshtein eventually became Jewel's manager, and was instrumental in creating a major bidding war, which led to Jewel's deal with Atlantic Records. She cut her debut album, Pieces of You, when she was nineteen and it was released in 1995. Jewel recorded "Pieces of You" in a studio on Neil Young's ranch, and was backed by his band, The Stray Gators, who played on Neil Young's "Harvest" and "Harvest Moon" albums. Part of the album was cut live at the Innerchange Coffeehouse in San Diego where she had risen to local fame. The album stayed on the Billboard 200 for an impressive two years, reaching number four at its peak. The album spawned the Top 10 hits "You Were Meant for Me", "Who Will Save Your Soul" and "Foolish Games". The album was a huge success and eventually sold over 12 million copies in the United States. alone, more than all of her subsequent albums put together.
Due to her successes, she was chosen to sing the American national anthem at the opening of the Super Bowl in January 1998 in San Diego. She was introduced as "San Diego's own Jewel!" However, she was criticized for lip-syncing the anthem to a pre-recording. This was especially noticeable due to her missing her cue and not mouthing the first words.
In November 1998, Jewel released her second album, Spirit. The album peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 4 million copies in the United States. The songs "Hands" and "Down So Long" hit the Top 10. Other singles followed, a new version of "Jupiter (Swallow The Moon)", "What's Simple Is True", the theme song to her upcoming movie, and the charity single "Life Uncommon".
A year later, In November 1999, Jewel released Joy: A Holiday Collection. The album sold over a million copies and peaked at #32 on the Billboard 200. She released a cover of "Joy to the World" from the album.
In November 2001, the album This Way was released. The album peaked at #9 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 1 million copies in the United States, standing as her most critically acclaimed album to date. Jewel hit the Top 10 with the song "Standing Still" and the Top 40 with the song "Break Me". Other singles released were "This Way" and "Serve The Ego", the latter giving Jewel her first number one club hit.
In 2003, Jewel released the album 0304. She writes in the liner notes, "I wanted to make a record that was a modern interpretation of big band music. A record that was lyric driven, like Cole Porter, that also had a lot of swing. And a lot of it is thanks to Lester, because when I told him I wanted to make a record that combined dance, urban, and folk music, he didn't look at me like I was crazy." While some fans considered 0304 an innovative album that held to the tradition of her previous albums, others felt that it was too much of a departure from the style of her previous albums. Following the limited success of "Serve the Ego", Jewel moved to a more pop-oriented sound with the release of the single "Intuition". The song, which strays from her usual folk style with simple guitar instrumentation, starts off with a French accordion and experiments with pop beats using synthesizers. The song was successful, reaching #5 on the Billboard Adult Top 40. However, a number of Jewel's fans criticized her for abandoning her traditional folk style in exchange for a new pop sound. Accusations of "selling out" for personal gain, among other things, were made. Despite the different sound style, the song is lyrically similar to her previous work. It has a number of references to culture, including mentioning celebrities such as pop star Jennifer Lopez, model Kate Moss, magazines, film culture and commercialism.
On May 2, 2006, Jewel released her sixth album, Goodbye Alice In Wonderland. The album received mixed reviews, but still managed to debut at #8 on the Billboard Albums Chart. The album sold 82,000 copies in its first week out. The lead single "Again and Again" has had moderate success on Adult Top 40 Radio, peaking at #16. The second single, "Good Day", was released to radio in late June but failed to gain any traction on the radio airplay charts. Later, a video for "Stephenville, TX", her next single, has been seen on Yahoo! Launch.
As of December 2006, the album barely sold 270,000 copies. It is notable in that it is the only Jewel album not to achieve Gold certification, even though it has been hailed as arguably one of her best albums. As one music critic, Timothy Duggan, notes: "This album showcases Jewel's unique talent as a lyricist, alongside a definite growth in her musicianship. It is what 'Pieces of You' might have been had Jewel had the musical knowledge then that she has now. A very satisfying work, all in all". Rolling Stone however, called the album "overdone and undercooked" with a rating of 2 stars out of 5.
In early February 2007, Jewel recorded a duet with Jason Michael Carroll, "No Good in Goodbye (With Jewel)", that was featured on Carroll's debut CD, "Waitin' in the Country". She also made a promotional appearance on the T in Boston for the Verizon Yellow Pages, playing songs on a moving subway car and then doing an hour-long acoustic concert in South Station for a large crowd of adoring fans. In an interview with the Boston Globe, Jewel confirmed that she is no longer affiliated with a record label, confirming rumors that Atlantic Records failed to renew her contract after the lackluster sales of her then-latest album. She also hinted that she would like to do a country album next. She is working with John Rich of Big & Rich fame. He says that she is "probably one of the greatest American singer-songwriters we have had". He also said that "every label in Nashville" is talking to her now.
In November 2007, Jewel was signed to Valory Records, a newly formed division of the independent Big Machine Records label. Her first country album, Perfectly Clear, is currently scheduled for release on June 3, 2008; its lead single, Stronger Woman was released to country radio on January 17, 2008, and has entered the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. As of the April 26, 2008 country charts, the single was #13 on the charts, which is its peak position thus far.
She will tour with Brad Paisley, Chuck Wicks, and Julianne Hough on Paisley's 2008 tour.
Official site: www.jeweljk.com
2. Jewel is also japanese heavy metal band. Activity (1984-1989, 2000-2001).
3. Jewel is also a raw black metal band from Canada.
Jesus Loves You
Jewel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What about me?
They say that money breaks you
I still wanna see
They say you're only half alive
Till you give extra whitening a try
Well I wanna see, I wanna see
Showing ta-tas on the TV is OK
I wanna be OK,too
Having my picture in a magazine makes me special
How special are you?
They say if I donate, even I
Can buy a lot in heaven before I die
Well I wanna see, I wanna see
What can you do for me?
I want someone else to pack my lunch
Gonna get get someone else to pull the punch
Pay a psychic for romance
Gonna pay a priest for a,
Will you give me a second chance
Will you give me a second chance
They say abortion will send u straight to a fiery hell
That is if the fanatics don't beat Satan to the kill
It's not what I can do for anybody
It's what there body can do for me
Well I wanna see, I wanna see
What can u do for me?
They say that Jesus loves you
What about me?
The lyrics of Jewel's song Jesus Loves You talks about the human tendency to seek personal gain and benefit rather than focusing on something sanctified and good. The song portrays a parallel between the way people obsess over made-up material belongings and the way they cherish faith and religion. The opening lines question why Jesus loves people but not the singer, raising the observation that society often prioritizes religion over individuals, and the singer wants to feel significant and important just like a religious entity. The verse about money speaks to society's constant demands that money is the tool to success and happiness, and that without it, one cannot achieve the desired life. The pre-chorus mentions how everyone is chasing white teeth and trying to look perfect in pictures and on TV. The chorus encapsulates the song's theme, where the singer wants to see the value that faith can add to their life.
The second verse discusses an individual's desires and wants, which are deeply personal, and how people are willing to spend their money to make them come true. The society pushes the message that the people who achieve their goals are exceptional, making everyone else feel inferior. Religion is no different, and the idea of buying one's place in heaven through donation to the Church is the same. In Jewel's view, people prioritize their wants and desires over what is beneficial to humankind. The third verse gives an array of examples where people can outsource their problems to other external entities, from the daily hassle of making a sandwich to predicting their future through psychic or holy men. The song concludes with the same line going back to the first verse's premise, asking why society cares about religion more than an individual's wants and needs.
Line by Line Meaning
They say that Jesus loves you
Others claim that Jesus has affection for you
What about me?
What about my needs and desires?
They say that money breaks you
According to others, possessing excessive wealth can harm you
I still wanna see
I remain unconvinced and need evidence for myself
They say you're only half alive
Others suggest that you are not fully alive or complete
Till you give extra whitening a try
Unless you try a certain product to make your teeth whiter
Well I wanna see, I wanna see
I need to witness it in order to believe it
Showing ta-tas on the TV is OK
Revealing cleavage on television is deemed acceptable
I wanna be OK,too
I want to also be considered acceptable by society
Having my picture in a magazine makes me special
Being featured in a publication makes me unique or important
How special are you?
What makes you any more special than me?
They say if I donate, even I
Others claim that if I contribute to a specific cause
Can buy a lot in heaven before I die
I can earn myself a significant reward in the afterlife
I want someone else to pack my lunch
I desire for someone else to prepare my midday meal
Gonna get get someone else to pull the punch
I am planning to have another person throw the punch instead of me
Pay a psychic for romance
To gain affection or love, I may pay someone who claims to have supernatural abilities
Gonna pay a priest for a,
I am going to compensate a member of the clergy for a particular service
Will you give me a second chance
Are you willing to grant me another opportunity?
They say abortion will send u straight to a fiery hell
It is believed by some that having an abortion will immediately damn you to an infernal realm
That is if the fanatics don't beat Satan to the kill
Assuming religious extremists don't take action against you before Satan does
It's not what I can do for anybody
I am more concerned about what others can do for me
It's what there body can do for me
I value the physical capabilities of others over their character or personal qualities
Well I wanna see, I wanna see
I need visual proof to confirm the validity of something
What can u do for me?
What are you capable of doing to benefit me?
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: JEWEL KILCHER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Lora
He Loves You JEWEL!! We are All Special to JESUS!! We are All Beautiful in God's Eye's, We are His Children!! 💜🦋✝️
Kenneth B. Drinkard
I love this Womans music but Jesus is #1
Mountainman
Jesus loves us all and that’s a fact. You are so great!You are a gift to us all Jewel
DJ Ravien
He didn't love the children of the Jezebel, Which he threatened to murder because of her actions
Lora
Ditto, Mountain man!! 🎶💜🎶✝️🦋
The Rev. Dr. Dewnuttin Esq
I see what you did there.😋🥰
Lora
We are All God's Children!! That includes You JEWEL!! 🎶💜🎶✝️
Adventures in Life with Hugh Cook
Yahweh Luvs U Jewel. Noahide Faith too.
DJ Ravien
Love you're music Jewel, But Jesus threatened to murder a woman's children because of the things that she did. Revelations 2:23. Jesus does not love us.