Also its this and Vitamin C's "Friends Forever (Graduation)" that equate to your graduation ceremonies here. Even 'graduating' from seventh grade they'd play the two songs.
You KNOW she looks better than that! But homegirl in the pic is serving a Clarkson tea.
You know, Sarah really was IT in the late 90s. Not as overwrought as Alanis, more artistically credible than Sheryl, not as twitchy as Fiona - really, the people's choice.
Jewel Klicher. Jewel if you're nasty. Jewel, of the unique teeth and overflowing bosom. Jewel, who made her down from Alaska, ****ed a married Sean Penn and eventually became a 'worldwide superstar.'
Who Will Save Your Soul, indeed?
No lie, Pieces of You was one of the first albums I ever owned. I wasn't alone, as eight million people in the US purchased it! Taken great inspiration from Joni Mitchell vocally, if not lyrically (not as good!!), Who Will Save You Soul boiled down to a Biblical rule - judge not, lest ye be judged. It resonated deeply with a bordering on agnostic Generation X and a questioning sea of future Millenials, and went top twenty.
Her big hits, though, came with her next two singles: You Were Meant for Me and Foolish Games.
I began to imagine that the latter's some snide comment about the weather was directed at Kurt Loder, who notably lambasted her in a MTV interview over the grammatical and sensical inaccuracies of her poetry. GOOD TIMES.
Born in the BRONX, and raised in YONKERS, Mary J dealt with a family history of neglect and drug addiction. Sadly, her father went missing, and she started to act out as a teenager. Music, in essence, really did save her life. In a MALL in WHITE PLAINS, she recorded a cover of Anita Baker's 'Caught Up in the Rapture;' it was given to Mary's mother's boyfriend, who gave it to Jeff Redd (a BLACK artist), who gave it to Andre Harrell - the head of Uptown Records. He signed Mary and sent her to work with upcoming producers - namely, a certain Sean Combs.
The result? What's The 411? You Remind Me was the first official single, but, come on - it all really started with Real Love.
Mary was a peculiar case, as she could not have been any more different than the other women around - she was ROUGH. While others wowed with their technical proficiency, Mary sounded as if she didn't know what key she was in - or as if she had ever seen an instrument before.
WE LOVED IT. Real Love smashed, going to number one on both BLACK charts, and reaching the top ten of the pop charts.
Will there be some love for the less successful girls of the time like Me'shell NdegeOcello, Paula Cole, Meredith Brooks, Natalie Imbruglia, Des'ree, etc.?
And I'm pulling for some good stuff for Toni, Annie, and Erykah
Ugh, if only the "Buffalo Stance" had been released in the '90s, I would've totally demanded Neneh Cherry being on this