Jewel Says Yes to Country Album
By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
Jan 30, 2007
Three-time Grammy nominee Jewel reports she's gearing up to record her first country CD -- but it's not a matter of simply capitalizing on her current exposure as the co-host of the USA Network's "Nashville Star" talent show this season. "I've been writing a country record since I was 16," says the multi-platinum singer/songwriter who's sold over 27 million albums worldwide.
"I'm a free agent now, so I'm going to start to make some records I've been wanting to do for a while." She adds she already has "some 20 to 30 songs together," and the new album will "run the gamut like any of my records. Some of it will be socially conscious, some of it totally personal."
Meanwhile, Jewel says she's having a blast co-hosting "Nashville Star" with Cowboy Troy. "They came to me about being a permanent judge, but the job allows you only about 15 seconds to help the contestants," she says. "I decided to host because I wanted to do the mentoring thing. I have two-hour sessions with each of them at several different times, and I can really help them. It's been fun."
However, she's put her acting career on hold. "I was really lucky in my early twenties to do an Ang Lee film," says the songstress, who made her acting debut in Lee's Civil War drama "Ride with the Devil" opposite Skeet Ulrich and Tobey Maguire and most recently played a lawyer in the Rob Lowe/NBC series, "The Lyon's Den." "I really loved acting, but when I realized what it would take to have a full second career, I really backed off of it. If something comes up, I do it, but I don't work hard at it."She adds, "Creatively I find acting really fulfilling, and I'd love to do more, but I see how so many people in that position (juggling two careers) become estranged from their family and loved ones. They have great careers but suffering personal lives. I'm not somebody to put my life on hold. I really enjoy my life."
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