Is Jewel a fictional character?

[501beautyqueen]

I've been listening/following Jewel's music since the 90's. There have been so many influences she speaks of throughout her career. Sometimes I question how authentic she is because many of her melodies and song lyrics are impersonations or are plagiarized. I love Jewel's music, but wonder if she's a phony. Especially now that she's become this mindfulness guru/entrepreneur brand of- the next Brene Brown?

I do still have trouble believing her story- Granddaughter of an Alaskan Senator- Graduated from Interlochen on scholarship- this school is EXPENSIVE! (The same school Bob Dylan attended) and she just happened to cross paths with him? Her story sounds embellished. Was she really homeless or did her car get stolen for a day and she had to wash her hair in a Denny's bathroom once. I question because she tells the same story over and over again. If you are homeless/struggling- especially for a year- wouldn't you have more stories to share- like how did you buy a VW bus and a Taylor guitar while "homeless" and who was this Dr. that approached you in a hospital parking lot that happened to have "free" antibiotics so you wouldn't die? A bit dramatic. I think she's a good storyteller. I have trouble believing it though.

Thoughts?

[Jessica]

Did you ever see this article?

http://www.cracked.com/article_16989_6-inspiring-rags-to-riches-stories-that-are-bullshit.html

[Jessica]

And I really hate all this self-help stuff. Not sure if I'm alone in that, but I've always hated that stuff. Everyone's path is different and what works for me won't work the same for you.

[501beautyqueen]

I do think her self-help route is another way of branding who she is as a celebrity. Her experience with mindfulness is just that- what she experienced. It doesn't make her an expert or therapist. She didn't invent these mindful exercises- she once again borrowed from someone else to promote and build a brand for her business.

Am I way off here? It's so apparent.

[Jessica]

Idk much about the midfulness exercises (lolwut?) But I can say that a few years ago, when she was doing that corporate tour, she spoke a ton about branding and using that brand to promote other products for a fee. Said there was no dough in records and this was the best way to make cash. She said it was analogous to TV chefs who have restaurants that aren't particularly profitable  but get rich doing the TV stuff. I wish I still had the old board thread.  Bit weird to think this is what artists have to do to maintain their standard of living, but I get it.

[501beautyqueen]

Fiction?

Did Jewel's boss proposition her to have sex or was that another way to promote her "homelessness" and rise to fame?

This is from an article in People Magazine:

After graduating from high school, Jewel moved to the warmer climate of San Diego, where her mother had relocated in 1991. Working as a waitress and answering phones, she had little time for her music and songwriting. It was her free-spirited mother who suggested that they move out of the apartment they shared and live in their VW vans in order to save rent money while Jewel tried to launch her music career. In 1993 Jewel, whose mom sometimes parked her van next to her daughter’s, signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records. “When I first got signed,” says Jewel, “I got $100,000. I put it in the bank and did not touch it. My mom was like, ‘Jewel, we need groceries.’ It was hard for me to get a grip on the fact that this wasn’t the only money I would ever make and that I wouldn’t have to go back to my van.”

[Jessica]

I'm not comfortable questioning the veracity of any woman's claim of sexual harassment,  to be honest - even a celebrity's.  It's  way too common and we all know it.

[Jessica]

Seriously nearly every woman in the world has been through some version of Jewel's Boss story at the computer place. If you haven't,  you're remarkably lucky.

I believe every bit of that story - including  the part where she bails on her last paycheck. That is totally what I would have done in that situation at that age.

[501beautyqueen]

Yes, her claims are probably true, but I don't think that drove her to being homeless.

[MattHas]

I can believe some of it is embellished, for sure. But similarly, people who are truly living paycheck to paycheck can easily get screwed out of being able to pay rent due to bad timing.

As far as telling the same stories time and time again - Sure, it's annoying for us freaks who have heard them a million times, but if she's doing interviews and shows it's not realistic to tell a different facet of the big story every time. When I drag my friends to Jewel shows, they love hearing the monologues of stuff I'm bored of. It's meant to entertain most people - and it certainly entertained us when we first got into Jewel. I'd bet she basically just figured out which stories got the best reactions 20 years ago and just mastered telling them, without straying from that comfort zone. On stage she's only going to tell the same general stories each tour, just like she plays the same backbone of 6 -10 songs and takes a handful "requests" any given night. As for interviews, most shows hardly care to delve into any details aside from the same-old anyway. Her second Howard Stern interview had some unique stories, but there's no way a 4 minute segment on Kimmel is gonna get anywhere interesting.

[Donna Sue]

Seriously nearly every woman in the world has been through some version of Jewel's Boss story at the computer place. If you haven't,  you're remarkably lucky.

I'm happy to be one of the lucky ones!! lol. Or maybe it's more because I've had primarily females bosses. Actually I've had one male boss.... who turned out to be gay. So there you have it. 

As far as telling the same stories time and time again - Sure, it's annoying for us freaks who have heard them a million times, but if she's doing interviews and shows it's not realistic to tell a different facet of the big story every time. When I drag my friends to Jewel shows, they love hearing the monologues of stuff I'm bored of. It's meant to entertain most people - and it certainly entertained us when we first got into Jewel. I'd bet she basically just figured out which stories got the best reactions 20 years ago and just mastered telling them, without straying from that comfort zone. On stage she's only going to tell the same general stories each tour, just like she plays the same backbone of 6 -10 songs and takes a handful "requests" any given night. As for interviews, most shows hardly care to delve into any details aside from the same-old anyway. Her second Howard Stern interview had some unique stories, but there's no way a 4 minute segment on Kimmel is gonna get anywhere interesting.

Agree 100%