Alaskan native Jewel Kilcher shot to fame in the mid-1990s on the strength of her single Who Will Save Your Soul. She had a catchy tune, a decent voice, a pretty face and a good rags-to-riches story. She had lived in a camper van with her mother while doing the rounds as an aspiring singer-songwriter. It was all good, Behind The Music stuff, and the same wave that swept Fiona Apple and others of her ilk to fame caught Jewel too.

Even in the early days of her ascent to fame, Jewel was not averse to playing the celebrity game. While she often appeared on stage in casual clothes, she was not against wearing tight vests and miniskirts when the mood took her. She also made some glamorous red carpet appearances that moved her into the superstar leagues that even Fiona Apple seemed reluctant to fully enter.

By the time of her third album, many fans were somewhat confused by her stance of having one foot in the credible folk songwriter camp, and one in the glitzy pop star camp. Boiling point came with the video for her single SSSS, featuring a glamorous Jewel in satirical adverts for invented products. Or were they satirical? Soon afterwards, the products appeared on shelves endorsed by Jewel herself.

Jewel's fans were left to work this out for themselves. Sell-out? Bold post-modern statement about art in the commercial space? 21st century shill? Pile of crap? It became something of a moot point, as her music was not shifting the kinds of figures enjoyed by her debut. For an artist to embrace the world of commerce and ignore the bottom line is folly, and soon Jewel was relegated to the lower ranks in favour of the next pop star. Was it Brittney Spears? Who can remember... the wheels turn fast in the chart world. But the lesson was clear: live by the sword - die by the sword.

Jewel herself continued on in the well established way: the move to acting; duets with other singers (Beyonce); red carpet appearances in progressively skimpier dresses. But as for the music? Many of us can still hum the chorus to Who Will Save Your Soul, but few of us can remember any of her recent singles. But we live in hope of a return to form.

Jewel Kilcher performs on stage:
   

Jewel appears on a chatshow:


Red carpet appearances:
 

Live performance:

• Euroeros On Stage feature
• Euroeros Red Carpet feature
• Euroeros Chat Show feature
• Official Site
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