Alanis Morissette
singer-songwriter, actress | born 1974
BornJune 1, 1974 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Biographyby Mark Medley
When alternative rock came to the fore in the 1990s, its female face belonged to one woman: Alanis Morissette. Embracing irony, anger, and angst with confident lyrics and a powerful singing voice, Morissette put out one of the era’s most commercially successful and zeitgeist-defining albums, 1995’s chart-scorcher, Jagged Little Pill. It went on to become one of the bestselling records of the 1990s (and, in some countries, of all time), selling more than 33 million copies around the world. An impressive six singles, including “You Oughta Know” (figuring out the identity of the song’s titular “you” became a national pastime), “Hand In My Pocket,” “You Learn,” and her signature song “Ironic,” came out of that sole LP. Perfectly suited to the climate in which it was released, Jagged Little Pill won a Grammy for Album of the Year, and a Broadway musical based on the record is currently in production.
IN DEPTH
A one-time regional pop starlet who became a worldwide phenomenon after reinventing herself as an abrasive, self-assured singer-songwriter, Alanis Morissette was the leading female voice in the alt-rock movement of the 1990s. Morissette, who grew up in a strict Roman Catholic household in Ottawa, Ont., was famous before she was famous, starring on the influential children’s TV show You Can’t Do That On Television from the age of 10.
She used the money she earned to finance her first single, “Fate Stay with Me,” in 1987, which came to the attention of record executives. Her first two albums were collections of dance and bubblegum pop, but Morissette went platinum in Canada before she could vote. While still a teen she moved to Los Angeles, hooked-up with super-producer Glen Ballard, and, recorded Jagged Little Pill, a surprisingly mature, emotionally naked collection of a dozen songs (plus one hidden track), each of which was written and recorded in a single day.
The songs represented a bold departure from anything she’d released before, tackling subjects like love, infidelity, depression, religion, and learning to live in an often-difficult world. The album was nominated for nine Grammy Awards (she won five), she won 5 JUNO Awards and her brand of accessible angst—the lyrics were raw, but the production was slick—led to a parade of imitators. From Meredith Brooks to Chantal Kreviazuk, Natalie Imbruglia, Pink and, eventually, to Avril Lavigne, Morissette’s influence loomed large. Over subsequent albums Morissette slowly grew out of the angry young woman persona she’d cultivated on Jagged Little Pill, maintaining a respectable career as a pop radio mainstay yet never achieving the popularity she enjoyed with that iconic 1995 album.
When alternative rock came to the fore in the 1990s, its female face belonged to one woman: Alanis Morissette. Embracing irony, anger, and angst with confident lyrics and a powerful singing voice, Morissette put out one of the era’s most commercially successful and zeitgeist-defining albums, 1995’s chart-scorcher, Jagged Little Pill. It went on to become one of the bestselling records of the 1990s (and, in some countries, of all time), selling more than 33 million copies around the world. An impressive six singles, including “You Oughta Know” (figuring out the identity of the song’s titular “you” became a national pastime), “Hand In My Pocket,” “You Learn,” and her signature song “Ironic,” came out of that sole LP. Perfectly suited to the climate in which it was released, Jagged Little Pill won a Grammy for Album of the Year, and a Broadway musical based on the record is currently in production.
IN DEPTH
A one-time regional pop starlet who became a worldwide phenomenon after reinventing herself as an abrasive, self-assured singer-songwriter, Alanis Morissette was the leading female voice in the alt-rock movement of the 1990s. Morissette, who grew up in a strict Roman Catholic household in Ottawa, Ont., was famous before she was famous, starring on the influential children’s TV show You Can’t Do That On Television from the age of 10.
She used the money she earned to finance her first single, “Fate Stay with Me,” in 1987, which came to the attention of record executives. Her first two albums were collections of dance and bubblegum pop, but Morissette went platinum in Canada before she could vote. While still a teen she moved to Los Angeles, hooked-up with super-producer Glen Ballard, and, recorded Jagged Little Pill, a surprisingly mature, emotionally naked collection of a dozen songs (plus one hidden track), each of which was written and recorded in a single day.
The songs represented a bold departure from anything she’d released before, tackling subjects like love, infidelity, depression, religion, and learning to live in an often-difficult world. The album was nominated for nine Grammy Awards (she won five), she won 5 JUNO Awards and her brand of accessible angst—the lyrics were raw, but the production was slick—led to a parade of imitators. From Meredith Brooks to Chantal Kreviazuk, Natalie Imbruglia, Pink and, eventually, to Avril Lavigne, Morissette’s influence loomed large. Over subsequent albums Morissette slowly grew out of the angry young woman persona she’d cultivated on Jagged Little Pill, maintaining a respectable career as a pop radio mainstay yet never achieving the popularity she enjoyed with that iconic 1995 album.
Contemporary Country Singer-Songwriter | born 1961
artist, singer-songwriter | 1950 - 1996
