Why isn't Jewel releasing pop hits anymore? Did she stop playing music altogether? And
did her acting career ever take off? Keep watching to find out.
In many ways, Jewel is probably still as busy as she was at the
zenith of her '90s-era success. But the reason you don't hear about her
as much anymore was a somewhat conscious decision on the part of the musician.
In 2011, Jewel and her then-husband, Ty Murray, a champion professional rodeo rider, welcomed their
first son into the world, Kase. Kase appears to be following in his mother's footsteps,
and in 2018, played the ukulele in front of an audience of thousands.
Jewel and Murray have since amicably divorced. Nevertheless,
life as a single parent has kept Jewel plenty occupied and out of the headlines.
Still, she's just as creatively active as she ever was before. Even though Jewel is busy
co-parenting Kase, she never, in fact, stopped playing music, releasing albums, or touring.
These days, however, it's far less likely you'll hear a song of hers on pop radio.
As for why, she simply switched genres. After scoring several pop hits early in her career,
Jewel returned to her country music roots, releasing "Perfectly Clear" in 2008. The album
debuted in the top spot on the Billboard country charts, and the album's first single, "Stronger
Woman," also did well for the singer, climbing to the top twenty on Billboard's country chart.
Jewel's most recent album, "Picking Up the Pieces," came out in 2015.
Outside the studio, she also continued performing music in front of audiences,
touring with her family on "Jewel's Handmade Holiday Tour," featuring her father Atz Kilcher,
with whom she once had a tense relationship, though the two have since reconciled. In 2018,
a Cirque du Soleil show about Jewel's life in which she also appeared
premiered in Vegas. Jewel's recent creative endeavors aren't just limited to music,
however. She's also built a solid career as an actor on screens both big and small.
Since her peak popularity in the '90s, Jewel has been involved in numerous acting projects. She
began her acting career in Ang Lee's "Ride with the Devil." Her first leading role was
well-suited for the musician, as she played June Carter Cash in the made-for-TV movie
"Ring of Fire." But where Jewel has really found her home as an actor is on the Hallmark Channel,
starring in "The Fixer Upper Mystery Movies" series. She's also been in several well-known
theatrical feature films like "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," and "Return to Me."
Aside from acting, in 2015, the multi-talented artist released a memoir
exploring her troubled upbringing called "Never Broken: Songs Are Only Half the Story."
She's also released two children's books and a collection of poetry.
Since her heyday in the '90s, Jewel has also lent her hand
as a humanitarian. The singer speaks openly about her unconventional upbringing
and early days of experiencing homelessness in San Diego before her big break. Since then,
she's taken up the cause, working for homeless populations and speaking on their behalf. Plus,
in 2017, she revealed to CNN that her father had been an abusive alcoholic.
She took this mission to improve the lives of unhoused individuals to the 2017
SALT Conference, revealing that she used to steal while living on the streets.
"When I was homeless, I realized I'd become a statistic, which is exactly
what I set out not to do when I left home at 15."
Continuing to spread her positive message, Jewel founded the mindfulness website Never Broken,
equipping visitors with the skills they need for self-reflection, mindfulness,
and other forms of self-improvement. In 2017, she applied these teachings to corporate culture,
teaching mindfulness and similar values in the context of business and employee relations.
Outside Jewel's self-improvement and humanitarian work, she also founded a jewelry company with
designer Christopher Beaver. Songlines is filled with pendant necklaces, earrings, and rings,
fashioned from sterling silver and gold fill,
and adorned with stones like small diamonds. In 2018, she told Forbes,
"We just wanted to test out the idea and see what the response was."
"I have been fascinated with this stone since I was really young."
And since then, the business has grown on a direct-to-consumer basis, with two
exclusive outlets in New York and Nashville. And in December 2021,
Jewel won Season 6 of "The Masked Singer" when she was unmasked as the Queen of Hearts.
This just goes to show Jewel never really slowed down. Even though she keeps a somewhat lower
profile, Jewel's just as productive as she ever was during her "Pieces of You" phase.
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