“This Way,” the eagerly awaited new album from Atlantic recording artist Jewel, arrives in stores across North America today, November 13th. The new collection is Jewel’s fourth album and her first set of all-new, self-penned material since 1998’s RIAA quadruple-platinum “SPIRIT.” “This Way” was produced by Dann Huff and Jewel, marking her first work as a producer.
“This Way” is already reaping critical praise, highlighted by Rolling Stone’s recent 3 1/2-star rave review. “The apparent simplicity of folk presents wondrously complex and sexy possibilities for Jewel. She’s one of the most richly idiomatic female pop singers of her generation,” writes critic James Hunter in the magazine’s November 22nd issue. “With ‘This Way,’ Jewel continues on – elegant, earthy, engaged.”
The album has also just been acclaimed by Billboard: “‘THIS WAY’ is the 27-year-old singer/songwriter’s most ambitious effort yet, illustrating her desire to take on the world’s societal and political ills and color them with a variety of stylistic hues,” states Chuck Taylor in the magazine’s November 17th issue.
The album’s first single, “Standing Still” – with lyrics by Jewel and music by Jewel and Rick Nowels – is rapidly climbing the charts at multiple radio formats. As reported by BDS, the track is currently #8 at Adult Top 40, #12 at Modern Adult, and has bulleted into the Top 40 on the national pop chart.
The “Standing Still” companion video – directed by Darren Grant (Craig David, Destiny’s Child) – is now in rotation at VH1, where it is one of the top five most-played clips, as well at MTV, VH1, Much USA, and Nickelodeon. On Thursday, November 15th, Jewel will perform the song live on MTV’s Total Request Live.
Jewel – who sang the National Anthem at the opening game of the 2001 World Series, and has recently been seen on CBS-TV’s Late Show With David Letterman, PBS’ Life 360, and CNN’s Larry King Live – is slated for a number of high-profile television appearances coinciding with the release of the new album. On Tuesday, November 13th, she will start the day in Los Angeles alongside Sean “P. Diddy” Combs as they announce the nominees for the 29th annual American Music Awards. Later that evening Jewel will celebrate the release of “THIS WAY” with a performance on NBC-TV’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
On Saturday, November 17th, Jewel will appear on NBC-TV’s Weekend Today, followed that night with a performance of the National Anthem at the World Heavyweight Title rematch between Hasim “The Rock” Rahman and Lennox Lewis in Las Vegas, set to air live on HBO Pay-Per-View at 9 PM EST. On Friday, November 23rd, Jewel will head back to New York City for an appearance on NBC-TV’s Late Night With Conan O’Brien.
Jewel will make further TV performances in December, including The Rosie O’Donnell Show on Wednesday, December 5th, CBS-TV’s The Saturday Early Show on December 15th, a return visit to CNN’s Larry King Live on Friday, December 21st, and a special Christmas Morning appearance on NBC-TV’s Today on Tuesday, December 25th. In addition, she will perform at the annual My VH1 Music Awards ’01 ceremonies, airing live on VH1 from Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium on December 2nd. Jewel is also among the poets featured on the upcoming HBO special, Def Poetry Jam, set to premiere on Friday, December 14th.
On November 14th, Jewel will perform at New York City’s Irving Plaza as part of the New York Civil Liberties Union’s 50th Anniversary celebration. Among those being honored at the event is director Ang Lee, who helmed Jewel’s 1999 big-screen acting debut, Ride With The Devil). The next evening, November 15th, she will be among the honorees at the Sixth Annual Do Something Gala celebrating America’s top young community leaders. The event – being held at New York City’s Manhattan Center – will see Jewel receiving the 2001 Rolling Stone Do Something Award, alongside fellow award recipients Russell Simmons and Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY).
Jewel – who can currently be seen on the cover of Vanity Fair’s annual Music issue – will also make a series of radio-sponsored holiday concert appearances throughout December, including Q-95.5’s Jingle Ball at Detroit’s State Theatre on December 11th, Z100’s Jingle Ball at New York City’s Madison Square Garden on December 13th, Y-100’s Jingle Ball at Miami’s American Airlines Arena, the 95.7 KISSmas Freedom Bash at Denver’s Pepsi Center on December 20th, and others to be announced.
In September, AOL Music and Atlantic teamed for a major promotional campaign to launch “Standing Still” and to herald the November 13th release of “THIS WAY.” The campaign covered all AOL Music properties, including AOL Music, ICQ, Netscape, Winamp, Spinner, and AIM Today. Jewel was named AOL’s “Artist of the Month” for October, which included an exclusive interview and live performance, streaming video, a download of “Standing Still,” and AOL Music’s first-ever “Celebrity Radio” station, featuring tracks personally chosen by Jewel.
November 13th will also see two of Jewel’s other projects hitting the shelves, including the paperback edition of her best-selling second book, Chasing Down The Dawn (HarperCollins). This striking chronicle of an artist’s turbulent life on the road – written primarily during the 1999 “SPIRIT” World Tour – includes photos taken by Jewel, images and poignant vignettes from her childhood in Alaska, and tales of challenges faced as a daughter, sister, young woman, and creative artist. In addition, Jewel’s 1999 full-length home video, titled Jewel: A Life Uncommon, will be released on DVD and digitally remastered VHS. The autobiographical documentary features an hour of archival footage of the artist’s life, both on and off the road, as well as revealing interviews and exclusive live performances.
“THIS WAY” finds Jewel exploring the rich musical tapestry of Americana – from pop and folk to blues, country, and rock ‘n’ roll. At turns poignant and passionate, mischievous and high-spirited, political and private, the album is the artist’s richest, most ambitious work to date. From the boisterous “Everybody Needs Someone Sometime” to the soaring “Break Me,” this exceptionally gifted singer and songwriter displays the many different sides of her talent and her personality. In addition to the album’s 12 studio tracks, “THIS WAY” includes two new bonus live performances, recorded earlier this year. The album was produced by Dann Huff and Jewel Kilcher, with Lenedra Carroll and Ron Shapiro serving as Executive Producers.
Jewel’s three previous albums – “PIECES OF YOU” (1995), “SPIRIT” (1998), and “JOY: A HOLIDAY COLLECTION” (1999) – have together sold over 23 million copies worldwide. “PIECES OF YOU” earned the prestigious Diamond Award from the RIAA for U.S. sales of 10 million units, and has passed the 11 million mark in America alone.
