2005 marks the tenth anniversary of the release of Jewel’s debut album, “PIECES OF YOU.” Over the past decade, she has continued to explore fresh musical avenues, branching out from her folk roots to incorporate rock, pop, country, blues, jazz, and classical influences into her work. Each successive album has found Jewel widening her artistic scope, while retaining her unique personal style and authenticity.

Jewel’s five albums to date have sold over 25 million copies worldwide, and she enjoys a career longevity rare among her generation of artists. Her most recent release, 2003′s “0304,” premiered at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart, marking both the highest-debuting and highest-charting album of Jewel’s career to date. It was also her fourth album to hit the top ten on the national charts, a testament not only to her ongoing growth as an artist, but to her enduring stature as one of the most admired and accomplished young women of our time.

“0304″ found Jewel once again expanding her musical universe, this time by incorporating modern dance beats and textures. And while some may have found the album to be a major departure, for Jewel it represented an organic evolution of her work as a lyricist, composer, vocalist, and musician. “It was really a natural extension for me,” she says. “I began writing songs when I was 16, and I heard all kinds of stuff in my head. But I didn’t have the skill to do it on guitar, so my first record was what I was able to get out of my head through my hands. Over the years, I’ve learned more about the craft… more about how to write, more about playing, more about music, and more about lyrics. I’m finally able to further embellish the ideas I started with a long time ago.”

For Jewel, the overriding goal is to remain honest and authentic, while refusing to be pigeonholed. “I made a promise to myself at quite a young age that I would be honest in my writing,” she explains, “because it’s very, very dangerous to be famous and have to maintain a myth about yourself. You’re going to spend your entire life trying to support this carefully crafted, false image of yourself. And the truth will come out, because you live in the public eye, and that’s just the way it is. I’ve just tried to be honest about the good and the bad, so it’s already out there. And as I develop, the story will change, because I’m constantly evolving.”

Whether alone with just her guitar or fronting a band of ace musicians, Jewel has always been a charismatic live performer. Along the way, she has earned the respect of the likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Young, both of whom invited her to open their shows. She has forged a powerful, intimate bond with concertgoers around the globe. Jewel’s extraordinary voice and engaging stage presence have earned her acclaim throughout North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe – where the Times of London hailed her as “the most sparkling female singer-songwriter since Joni Mitchell.”

The final track on “0304″ is a song entitled “Becoming.” It is a powerful, personal mission statement that applies to Jewel’s remarkable journey over the past decade. “It says that I have an ideal for who I’d like to become, that I have a standard I’m striving for,” she notes. “And that having a standard is a lonely thing, because it’s nobody’s task but yours, a standard that you have to try to rise to constantly.”

Among Jewel’s many accolades are three Grammy Award nominations, an American Music Award, and an MTV Video Music Award. In 1999, Jewel was presented with the prestigious Governor’s Award from the Los Angeles chapter of The Recording Academy (NARAS). The award recognizes those “whose creative talents and accomplishments have crossed all musical boundaries and have been recognized as an asset to our music community.”

Jewel’s considerable musical achievements represent just one area of her creative life. Her debut poetry collection, A Night Without Armor, was published in 1998, and quickly became a mainstay of The New York Times best-seller list, with 29 printings and a remarkable million-plus copies sold. The audiobook release of A Night Without Armor received the 1999 Audie Award from the Audio Publishers Association.

2000 saw the publication of Jewel’s second book, the intimate journal entitled Chasing Down The Dawn. A striking chronicle of an artist’s life on the road – written primarily during the 1999 “SPIRIT” World Tour – the book also includes photos taken by Jewel, images from her childhood in Alaska, along with vignettes, observations, and stories.

In 1999, Jewel released her first full-length home video, Jewel: A Life Uncommon. The autobiographical documentary features live performances, archival footage of the artist’s life, both on and off the road, as well as revealing interviews with those closest to her.

Jewel made her acclaimed acting debut in director Ang Lee’s Civil War film, Ride With The Devil (1999). In 2003, she made a special guest star appearance on the NBC-TV drama The Lyon’s Den, where she played a lawyer opposite series star Rob Lowe.

2004 saw the release of “Live At Humphrey’s By The Bay,” Jewel’s first live DVD. Shot in 2001 in San Diego, the DVD showcases Jewel’s charismatic, boundary-crossing style in an intimate concert setting. Alongside live performances of well-known songs and rare fan favorites, the DVD includes a behind-the-scenes “On The Road” video, interview, photo gallery, and discography.

Among Jewel’s past accomplishments, she established The ClearWater Project, developing community projects to bring safe drinking water to thousands of people in countries around the world. Jewel also created Soul City Café™, a multi-faceted program to expose, encourage, and develop new talent in a variety of artistic media. The project included Soul City Café ArtBeat™, a showcase for emerging musical and spoken word artists who performed with Jewel on her ’02 tour.

Jewel is currently in the studio working on her sixth album, due out in the fall of 2005. In anticipation of the album’s release, Jewel recently relaunched her online fan club, “Unedited,” which offers members exclusive access to music, videos, Jewel’s journal, Jewel Q&A, presale concert tickets, early access to VIP ticket packages, and more. “Unedited” is available at www.jeweljk.com, also home to her newly remodeled website.

“I’m just trying to be better every day,” she says, “trying not to be embarrassed by myself, trying to be healthy, trying to be less tortured. I’m trying to put some levity in it – you know, not being so serious isn’t such a serious thing after all. I just don’t want to get to the end of my life and say, ‘I missed the point.’”

This biography came from Jewel’s Official Website