Singer Jewel Growing Happier With Life

Sept. 28, 2003 — -- Jewel seemed to burst onto the music scene from nowhere, a young woman with one name and a folk-pop sound. Before long, she was mega-platinum and famous.

Then she dropped out of sight, recently reemerging with a slicker sound and a hot new look that had her fans and critics shocked. Jewel's new facet was very polished, very sexy — and, said critics of her video for the song "Intuition," very Britney.

Jewel told ABCNEWS Primetime's Cynthia McFadden she finds the comparison to teen idol Britney Spears "funny."

"It doesn't annoy me," she said. "They just didn't get the joke on the video. You know, that video was done with such tongue in cheek. You can't take it serious. I'd be amazed if any critic genuinely took it seriously."

But some did, calling the video a "rip-off," "a fake," and a "swaggering departure," designed just to sell records in a crumbling industry, furious that the country girl had dared engineer such a radical change.

"The video gets more and more ridiculous, more and more over the top to where, hopefully, you know it has to be a joke," Jewel said. "By the time I get to the fireman scene — I'm being hosed down — you realize it's just a pastiche on music videos and what happens in music videos."

‘Sexy and Smart’

Jewel is particularly proud of her latest video, "Stand," just released this month.

"I feel like my career's in a place where I understand it, where I love music and I love to be able to be able to play it," she said. "But, you know, it doesn't consume my constant, every thought. So, like, I can kind of have a balanced life. … I feel better in my body. I feel sexier than I've ever felt."

On the brink of 30, Jewel said she loves her evolution, going against the grain and playing against type.

"I really do challenge the idea that you can't be sexy and smart at the same time," she said.

Poor in Alaska

Discovered at a coffeehouse 10 years ago, Jewel rocketed to fame, a new breed of folk-pop singer-songwriter. She was 19, with an amazing voice and an amazing story.