Jewel photo courtesy of the Valory Music Co.

Hard work and heartfelt songwriting, not to mention an exquisitely expressive voice, paid off. After a year on the road, "Who Will Save Your Soul" became a major hit. And, with the release of two other hit singles, "You Were Meant for Me" and "Foolish Games," album sales went through the roof, as Blender magazine writes: "With considerably less fuss, [Pieces of You] went on to exceed the sales of Nirvana's Nevermind, moving a phenomenal 11 million units."

Hailed by The Times of London as the most sparkling female singer-songwriter since Joni Mitchell, Jewel's subsequent albums steadily built her reputation and fan base. In November 1998 came Spirit, a collection of inspirational ballads aided by sparse, supportive instrumentation. The next November she offered up Joy: A Holiday Collection, blending well-loved Christmas carols with traditional spirituals and other songs, followed in Fall 2001 by the best-selling album This Way. In June 2003, her fifth work, 0304, premiered at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart, marking both the highest-debuting and highest-charting album of her career to date. Describing it as a modern take on '40s dance hall music, Jewel brought dance beats, synthesizer flavors and layered vocal overdubs to the album, which included the Top Five hit single "Intuition."

Touring remains part of Jewel's essence and, through her U.S. and world tours, she has forged a powerful, intimate bond with audiences around the globe. Her extraordinary voice and engaging stage presence have earned her acclaim throughout North America, Asia, Australia and Europe.

Among her many accolades are three Grammy Award nominations, an American Music Award and an MTV Video Music Award. In 1999, she was presented the prestigious Governors Award from the Los Angeles chapter of the Recording Academy (NARAS). The award, now known as the "Recording Academy Honors" award, recognizes those whose creative talents and accomplishments have crossed all musical boundaries and have been recognized as an asset to our music community.

Her debut poetry collection in 1998, A Night Without Armor, quickly became a mainstay of The New York Times bestseller list, with 29 printings and a remarkable million-plus copies sold and is the best-selling poetry book of all time. The audiobook version received the 1999 Audie Award from the Audio Publishers Association. The following year saw the publication of her second book, the intimate journal Chasing Down The Dawn, a revealing chronicle of an artist's life on the road.

Jewel's full-length home video, Jewel: A Life Uncommon, offered an autobiographical documentary rife with live performances, archival footage of her upbringing and interviews with the people closest to her. In 2004 came her first live DVD, Live At Humphreys, shot three years previously in San Diego, showcasing her boundary-crossing style in an intimate concert setting.

Her songs and ethereal voice have also accompanied several motion pictures including "Clueless," "Batman & Robin," "Phenomenon," "Life or Something Like It," "Sweet Home Alabama" (theme song) and Ang Lee's independent civil war drama "Ride With the Devil," where she earned critical praise for her acting debut alongside stars Tobey Maguire and Skeet Ulrich. Becoming a staple on television, from talk shows to "Saturday Night Live" and "Mad TV," Jewel also guest starred on the NBC drama "The Lyons Den," playing a lawyer opposite series star Rob Lowe.

With the wisdom that deeds mean as much as words, Jewel founded Project Clean Water, an organization that organizes teams of scientists and engineers to bring safe, clean drinking water to impoverished communities worldwide: from Mexico to Africa, India to Tibet. As an ambassador to Virgin Unite, Jewel has teamed up with Richard Branson's charity to bring more awareness and funding to Project Clean Water, as well as many other notable causes such as youth homelessness.