CMT Blog: Archive

Fans are delighted with Jewel's latest album, Sweet and Wild, and the videos for "Stay Here Forever," "Satisfied" and "No Good in Goodbye." Through her "Posted" page at CMT.com, she took the time to answer their questions submitted via Twitter. Here's what she had to say.

@Biebersmusic: Who's your favorite singer? Tough question! I taught myself to sing by listening to so many great singers. I considered each of them like a beautiful color I wanted to acquire, so I could paint my own stories one day. I learned agility and to listen to the band from Ella Fitzgerald. I learned passion and anger from Nina Simone. I learned a wry irony from Nanci Griffith. I learned bright notes from Joni Mitchell. I learned round, warm tones, almost like a cello, from Sarah Vaughan. I learned a full buttery approach from Patsy Cline. I learned phrasing from many jazz greats, and an earnest, straightforward, truth-telling approach from Loretta Lynn. I tried to take parts of each of these singers and combine them so I could use each thing like a tool when I sing. I vary and change my tone and vibrato depending on what I want to help the lyric and story and emotion of the song get across.

@KaileeMH: What is your advice for someone who wants to be a singer-songwriter? My advice to a new singer is to practice. I know that sounds silly, but it's amazing how many kids are more worried about getting famous than being the best they can be. Talent trumps everything. If you stand out, then you will get noticed in your community. Sing out a lot as well. Play as many gigs as you can, even for free, so you can learn how to work a crowd and command their attention. My advice is also to consider going your own way before you look at signing with a label. Be your own label. Learn the business. Make your own CD for cheap and sell it, and work online to develop a fan base. Living room tours are a great way to make money with low overhead. Find hosts to put you up at their place and they invite friends. You collect a door fee and stay the night for free, and drive to the next town and host house the next day. The most important thing is take the bull by the horns. Don't wait for anyone else to make your dreams come true. There is no magic label and no magic recipe -- talent and some old-fashioned hustle and elbow grease go a long way. Your career is all in your own hands, and after all, whose would you want it to be in?!

@Lake_Dave: Which place do you enjoy living at the most and where do you like spending your free time? I love where we live in the hill country of Texas. I grew up on a ranch outdoors, and having open space around me is definitely my preference. I miss the ocean and the mountains of my home state, so when we travel for fun, we like to get to the Bahamas on a boat, or ride our motorcycles to Colorado and hang out in the mountains. That's actually where we are right now! We are on a two-month motorcycle trip, just escaping the Texas heat and exploring the great country.

@NinaParton: What made you wanna go to the country genre? I believe country radio is the best home for my songwriting style. I have not changed how or what I write. I have always written personal and authentic songs that tell a story. When I got "discovered," no one knew what to call my style of music. It was a mix of country and folk, and still is. My label had no relationship with country radio, and so they amazingly broke me at pop -- which I was grateful for. I was happy to be played anywhere! I grew up idolizing Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton, John Prine, Gram Parsons and so many country/pop/folk musicians that I really wanted my stuff played on country radio as well. My label was unable to help me with that.

As the climate of radio formats changed over the years, I felt if I was to have a future at radio, it would need to be at country.

Pop became very urban and beat-and-track driven, and country has opened up to once again accept more singer-songwriters. I love the country format because I can be myself and talk about being raised with an outhouse and hunting for our food as a kid, and no one laughs at me or makes fun of me for it. It's a format based in authenticity and with a love for lyrics. How I have produced my music is different for country radio, and that's the only thing I have changed. I don't have to shy away from steel guitar or fiddle -- but other than that, my approach is the same. I try to tell the truth and write good songs. And hopefully fans continue to accept me for what I am.

@ChrisKellieFan: What country songs are your favorites and why? So many great songs -- it's hard to choose! I love Loretta Lynn a lot. "The Pill" is one of my all time favorites. Merle Haggard is a big hero, and I was honored he asked to sing with me on his album of No. 1s. I got to sing "Silver Wings" with him. And the Lefty Frizzell song, "That's the Way Love Goes." Lefty was a big influence on Merle, and Merle turned me on to a lot of great Lefty songs I had never heard. Townes Van Zandt wrote a lot of songs I like, like "Pancho and Lefty." ... John Prine wrote a lot of songs I wish I wrote like "Sam Stone" and "Hello in There." The song Don Williams made famous, "I Believe In You," is a great one. There are a lot of famous songs I love too -- "Murder on Music Row," "A Country Boy Can Survive." And for new songs, I like "The House That Built Me" an awful lot. I could go on and on. There are just so many great songs written in country music. It's a real craft.