Breaking Through: Alanis Morissette : biography

Alanis Morissette was born June 1, 1974 in Ottawa, Canada. By the time Alanis was 23, she had become a popular dance singer in her homeland, a teen member of a child's television series, and a world-wide superstar with the release of her first serious collection of music called Jagged Little Pill. With such diverse achievements so soon in life, even Alanis has said she's hard to categorize: "People have always said I was an old soul. They said I was always a little more intense and introspective than everyone was used to seeing girls to be, so they didn't know where to categorize me."

In her early youth, Alanis's family moved around a lot, including a stay in West Germany and attending a Roman Catholic school. Alanis learned ballet, jazz dancing, and the piano by the age of 7 and writing songs for the fun of it by age 9. With idols such as Olivia Newton-John and George Michael, Alanis began her showbiz career as a child actress, appearing on the Nickelodeon TV show, You Can't Do That On Television at age 11. She also appeared in the 1993 film, Just One Of The Girls.

The acting eventually led to a successful singing career in Canada as a young dance and pop diva. When Alanis was 11, she released her first single in Canada, "Fate Stay With Me." Although the single was not successful, within 2 years Alanis was signed with MCA. In 1991, Alanis released her first LP in Canada, Alanis. The dance and pop LP sold over 100,000 copies in her native land and won her a Juno Award (Canada's equivalent of a Grammy Award) for Most Promising Female Artist. In 1992, Alanis released Now Is The Time which also went platinum in Canada. Although the first 2 recordings Alanis released may be thought of as an embarrassment for an up-and-coming alternative rebellious singer, Alanis has few regrets: "...I'm not scared people might hear these records. I never did Playboy centerfolds. There's nothing I regret. Maybe people will just understand my lyrics a little more if they hear those records. It validates this record [Jagged Little Pill]."

After moving to Los Angeles in 1994, Alanis met up with her eventual producer, Glen Ballard. After meeting with several songwriters that didn't click with what Alanis wanted, Ballard was a welcome surprise. Ballad has said of Alanis: "What struck me about Alanis was that she was so incredibly self-possessed. I just connected with her as a person... She was so intelligent and ready to take a chance on doing something that might have no commercial application. Although there was some questions about what she wanted to do musically, she knew what she didn't want to do, which was anything that wasn't authentic and from the heart."

Alanis released Jagged Little Pill in June, 1995, on Madonna's Maverick Records label. The lead-off single, "You Oughta Know" grew in popularity on rock and alternative stations with its gritty lyrics and frantic video. "Most of the songs are in a roundabout way actually addressed to myself... there's a certain aspect of the songs that's very confessional, very unadulterated. I wrote some of the songs and woke up the next day not even remembering I'd done them... almost like a stream of consciousness.

It was a very unfettered, spiritual experience."

Eventually, pop radio began playing the track and Alanis found her audiences expand. "Hand In My Pocket" continued Alanis's success and her Top 10 LP soon starting spending a number of weeks at #1. Alanis had transformed herself from dance music diva to a stripped-down in-your-face performer. She stated: "I've been told a few times now that I don't look like my songs. People expect me to have purple hair and a pierced nose and boobs. Then they meet me, and I'm just... me. I hate to let anyone down but I'm not the cleavage sort of aesthetic babe. I've been down that road before, and that's not what I'm about."

The strength of Jagged Little Pill continued into 1996 with 3 Number 1 hits: "Ironic," "Head Over Feet," and "You Learn." Alanis maintained her rock and alternative fan-base, but now had included pop radio listeners and even adult contemporary fans. Madonna said of Alanis: "She reminds me of me when I started out... slightly awkward but extremely self-possessed and straightforward. There's a sense of excitement and giddiness in the air around her... like anything's possible and the sky's the limit."

Also in 1996, Alanis was nominated for 6 Grammy Awards. She ended up walking away with the honors of Album of the Year, Best Rock Album, Best Female Rock Vocal Performance for "You Oughta Know," and Best Rock Song. The amount of nominations had not surprised many, but the winning of the major awards was very unexpected - not because the LP didn't deserve the recognition, but many critics felt the Grammys were "too soft" for alternative music and raw rock. Alanis also won 2 American Music Awards (Favorite Female Artist and Favorite Pop/Rock Album); 2 Billboard Music Video Awards (Pop/Rock Clip of the Year and Pop/Rock New Artist Clip), 2 Billboard Awards (Artist of the Year and Album of the Year), a Brit Award for Best International Newcomer, 3 MTV Video Music Awards (Best New Artist, Best Female Video for "Ironic," and Best Editing), a Best Female MTV Europe Music Award, and 5 Juno Awards. By the end of 1996, Jagged Little Pill was the best-selling LP of the year with 7.4 million copies sold in the U.S.

Jagged Little Pill went on to sell over 15 million copies in the U.S. and is one of the best-selling LPs of all-time. Alanis considers Jagged Little Pill her "real" debut LP, and in the U.S., it is considered the biggest-selling female debut LP of all-time.

In January, Alanis took home 2 American Music Awards for Favorite Female Artist - Pop/Rock for "Ironic" and Favorite Album - Pop/Rock for Jagged Little Pill. Throughout Alanis's rise to super-stardom, she has toured constantly. The results of her tour can be seen in a video released in 1997: Jagged Little Pill, Live. In 1997, Alanis won a Juno Award for International Achievement.

In 1998, Alanis won another Grammy Award for her Best Music Video Long Form (see below). In March, radio and the Internet once again got a jump start on new anticipated music when a new Alanis song was leaked several weeks before an official release. The new song "Uninvited" will appear on the soundtrack to City Of Angels to be released in the U.S. on March 31st. Alanis can also be heard on the Dave Matthews Band's new LP Before These Crowded Streets on 2 tracks, "Spoon" and "Don't Drink The Water."

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