Alanis Morisette - singer, songwriter, producer, actress, activist (born June 1, 1974 in Ottawa, Ontario). Alanis Morissette is one of the most recognized and internationally renowned singer-songwriters in the world.
She established herself as a winning teenage pop star in Canada before adopting an edgy alternative rock sound and exploding on the global stage with her record-breaking international debut album, Jagged Little Pill (1995).
With over 16 million sold in the United States and 33 million worldwide, it is the best-selling debut album in the US and the highest-selling debut album in the world. It is also the biggest selling album of the 1990s.
Described by Rolling Stone magazine as "the undisputed queen of alt rock", Morissette has received 13 Juno awards and seven Grammy awards. She has sold 60 million albums worldwide, including Alleged Former Hobby (1998), Under Rug Swept (2002) and Flavors of Entanglement (2008).
Early life and career of Alanis Morissette
From childhood, Morissette began to study piano, ballet and jazz dance, and at the age of nine she began to write songs. At the age of 11, she began to sing and develop in music. At age 12, she starred in the seasonal Nickelodeon television series You Can't Do It On Television.
With a modest grant from FACTOR (Fund for Canadian Talent), as well as mentoring and production assistance from musician Lindsay Morgan and The Stampeders' Rich Dodson, she self-released her first dance single, "Fate Stay with Me" (1987).
The recording was broadcast on Ottawa radio and helped the young musician gain local fame. She later created a promotional deal with Stefan Klovan and a musical partnership with Leslie Howe, also from Ottawa and a member of One To One.
Alanis Morissette (1991) and Now is the Time (1992)
After Morissette was signed with John Alexander (of the Ottawa band Octavian) to a publishing deal with MCA Publishing (MCA Records Canada), they began targeting and writing music for the dance audience - Alanis (1991).
The hit singles "Too Hot" and "Feel Your Love" catapulted the album to platinum status in Canada and established Morissette as a teenage pop star, referred to by many as the "Debbie Gibson of Canada". She opened for Vanilla Ice in 1991 and won the 1992 Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist.
Her second album, Now Is the Time (1992), also used an energetic dance sound and was more introspective than Alanis, but was not as commercially successful as its predecessor.
In search of new developments as a songwriter, Morissette moved to Toronto, where she took part in Songworks, a songwriting program hosted by Peer Music.
In 1994, she briefly returned to television and to Ottawa to host the CBC Music Works television program. The show introduced alternative rock musicians and opened up a new artistic development for the young Morissette.
Jagged Little Pill (1995)
Freed from her Canadian record deal but retaining her ties to MCA, Morissette took the advice of her new manager, Scott Welch, and moved to Los Angeles. There, she was introduced to producer and Quincy Jones student Glen Ballard and the head of MCA.
Her first album for Maverick was Jagged Little Pill (1995), an exclusively personal collection of alternative rock songs set to what would become her signature unique vocal delivery - determined, irritated and bold.
Jagged Little Pill spawned a string of international hit singles - "You Oughta Know", "Hand in My Pocket", "Ironic", "You Learn" and "Head Over Feet" - and became a phenomenal success. The album, and especially the furious and confessional You Oughta Know, established Morissette as the intellectual and empowered voice of a generation.
Jagged Little Pill spent 12 weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Albums Chart and became the artist's best-selling debut album in the US.
It was certified platinum and reached number one on the album chart in 13 countries, selling over 30 million copies worldwide. It also became the first album by a Canadian artist to be certified double diamond in Canada, with sales of over two million copies.
Jagged Little Pill won a Grammy in 1996, opening up new possibilities for Morissette. In addition to being the youngest female artist of the era to ever win a Grammy for Album of the Year, she also won home awards for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Album.
After the release of Jagged Little Pill, Morissette embarked on a year and a half tour in which she moved from small clubs to sold-out arenas and performed 252 shows in 28 countries. Jagged Little Pill was later named #45 on Rolling Stone's Top 100 Albums of the 1990s list. By some accounts, it is the 12th best-selling album of all time in the world.
Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998)
After a two-year hiatus during which Morissette traveled to India with family and friends, became increasingly spiritual and competed in several triathlons, she teamed up again with Glenn Ballard to record the introspective "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie" (1998).
The 17-track album, which features the eight precepts of Buddhism printed on the cover, debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Albums Chart with the highest first week sales of 469 copies in the US and 055 million copies worldwide.
The first single "Thank U" became Morissette's fifth single (after "Hand in My Pocket", "Ironic", "You Learn" and "Head Over Feet") and went to number one in Canada, where the album was certified XNUMXx platinum.
Allegedly, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie has sold over seven million copies worldwide, received two Grammy nominations, and won 2000 Juno Awards for Best Album and Best Video ("So Pure").
Also in 1998, Morissette provided vocals for two tracks on "In front of these crowded streets" by Dave Matthews (1998) and three songs for "Vertical Guy" by Ringo Starra (1998). Her song "Uninvited", written for the film City of Angels, was nominated for a Golden Globe and won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Song and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance.
After performing at Woodstock '99 and touring with Tori Amos in the summer of 1999, Morissette released an album taken from the MTV Unplugged series, which included her version of "King of Pain" from The Police.
In 1999, Morissette allowed fans to download a free, unreleased song called "Your Home" from her website. The song was in digital code, which will be destroyed 30 days after the download.
Under Rug Swept (2002)
After a dispute with her record label that eventually led to a contract renewal, Morissette released her fifth studio album Under Rug Swept (2002) in February 2002. A self-produced record, the first for which she was also the sole songwriter.
The album debuted at number 1 on the album charts in Canada and the US and was certified platinum in Canada. It included the number one hit "Hands Clean", which earned her a Juno Award for Producer of the Year. In late 2002, Morissette released the Feast On Scraps DVD/CD combo package, consisting of eight unreleased tracks from the Under Rug Swept recording sessions.
So Called Chaos (2004)
In 2004, Alanis Morissette hosted the Juno Awards in Edmonton, during which she made her debut performance of "All", the single from her sixth studio album, Chaos. Created by Morissette, John Shanks and Tim Thorney, this album's recording draws on the songwriting techniques featured on her previous albums. An upbeat entry reflecting a state of romantic contentment - thanks to her relationship with actor Ryan Reynolds.
However, sales quickly declined and reviews were decidedly mixed. Alanis Morissette spent the summer of 2004 headlining a 22 date North American tour with the Barenaked Ladies. The singer released two albums in 2005: Jagged Little Pill Acoustic and Alanis Morissette: The Collection.
In 2006, she received a Golden Globe nomination for "Prodigy", a song she wrote and recorded over the course of two days for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005). In 2007, she earned a new level of credibility when she recorded a parody version of the Black Eyed Peas single "My Humps". The video of Morissette's song has been viewed over 15 million times on YouTube.
Flavors of Entanglement (2008) and Havoc and Bright Lights (2012)
Her seventh studio album Flavors of Entanglement (2008) was largely inspired by her breakup with fiancé actor Ryan Reynolds. The album received mostly positive reviews. It reached No. 3 on the albums chart in Canada and No. 8 in the US.
It has sold over half a million copies worldwide and won the Juno Award for Pop Album of the Year. It was also the last recording of Morissette's contract with Maverick Records.
In 2012 Alanis released her first album Havoc and Bright Lights with the record label Collective Sounds. Produced by Sigsworth and Joe Ciccarelli (U2, Beck, Tori Amos), it received decidedly mixed reviews but debuted at No. 5 on the US Albums Chart and peaked at No. 1 in Canada.
Morissette then performed in concert at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in July 2012.
In preparation for the 20th anniversary of her breakthrough album, Morissette announced in 2013 that she would be adapting Jagged Little Pill into a Broadway musical in collaboration with Tom Kitt and Vivek Tiwari, who produced the Broadway version of American Day Idiot Green Day.
Personal life of Alanis Morissette
Morissette has been open about battling anorexia and bulimia as a teenager after a male executive told her she needed to lose weight if she wanted to be successful.
She said the experience left her "hidden, lonely and isolated". She also said that as a teenager, she tried to protect herself from "men who used their power in the wrong place.
This is the theme that inspired some of her songs, notably "You Oughta Know" is reportedly about her relationship with Full House star Dave Coulier, and "Hands Clean" is about a years-long romance with a senior artist that started when she was 14 years old.
Morissette became a US citizen in 2005, retaining her Canadian citizenship. She became an ordained minister in Universal Life Church in 2004 and was engaged to actor Ryan Reynolds in June of that year.
They called off their engagement in February 2007, which was the inspiration for the Flavors of Entanglement songs. She was married to rapper MC Souleye (real name Mario Treadway) on May 22, 2010. On December 25, 2010, she gave birth to a son, Ever Imre Morissette-Treadway, after which she spoke openly about her experience of postpartum depression.
Alanis Morissette in 2020-2021
In 2020, the singer's discography was replenished with the disc Such Pretty Forks in the Road. The album is topped by 11 incredibly powerful pieces of music from one of the best singers in the world.
In 2021, Alanis pleased the fans of her work with the release of a new single. The composition was called Rest. Morissette urged the inhabitants of the planet to think about their mental health and allow themselves to relax.
