ALANIS MORISSETTE

Along with counterparts Jewel and Fiona Apple, Alanis Morissette was one of the most successful singer/songwriters to ride in on the second wave of grrrl rock in the mid-'90s.

Born on June 1, 1974, Alanis Nadine Morissette and her two brothers were raised in Ottawa, Canada by French-Canadian and Hungarian parents. By the age of 10, the precocious Morissette had landed a role on the hit TV show You Can't Do That on Television and recorded her first single, Fate Stay With Me. She spent most of her pre-pubescent years performing throughout Canada, singing O Canada at sporting events and even making the de rigueur appearance on Star Search.

The hard work paid off and at 14 Morissette was offered a recording contract with MCA/Canada. Her debut, Alanis, a collection of dance-pop songs, was released in 1991 and went platinum in Canada. That year, Morissette won the Juno award (Canada's Grammy) for Most Promising Female Vocalist.

Her sophomore effort, 1992's Now Is the Time, was recorded and released before Morissette graduated from high school. However, this album - another collection of teeny bop dance tunes - sold only half as well as her debut, and at age 17 it looked as if Morissette's career was on the wane.

After high school, Morissette moved to Los Angeles where she had the good fortune to hook up with songwriter/producer Glen Ballard, known for his work with Michael Jackson, Paula Abdul and Wilson Phillips. The creative chemistry between Ballard and Morissette was evident from the beginning. Ballard pushed Morissette to pursue darker, edgier themes in her music, venturing away from the cutesy teenager and toward the introspective young woman.

"Most of the songs are, in a roundabout way, actually addressed to myself," says Morissette of her work with Ballard at this time. "There's a certain aspect of the songs that's very confessional, very unadulterated... It was a very unfettered, spiritual experience."

The resulting demo tape was shopped around to the major labels and Madonna's Maverick imprint eventually signed Morissette. Jagged Little Pill was released in the summer of 1995. On the strength of the break-out single You Oughta Know, the album reached platinum status and the Top 10. Follow-up singles Hand in My Pocket, All I Really Want and Ironic kept Jagged Little Pill on the album charts the next two years, ultimately selling 15 million copies.

Morissette was showered with industry awards for Jagged Little Pill, including Grammys for Album of the Year, Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Album.

After contributing the track, Uninvited, to the City of Angels soundtrack, Alanis released her much-anticipated follow-up, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, in November 1998. While the album received favorable reviews, it inevitably did not live up to her previous success, a fact that might have adversely affected most other young artists. Alanis, however, seemed unconcerned with commercial success and more interested in voicing her opinion and maintaining her integrity.

One year later Alanis Unplugged, an acoustic set recorded for the MTV Unplugged series, was released on Warner Bros, but then Alanis retreated from the spotlight for a few years and continued her transformation from angry riot girl to spiritual soul searcher. On 2002's Under Rug Swept, Alanis ditched her old producer Glen Ballard and took complete creative control of the record. The result was a musically mature, introspective yet aggressive collection that was thoroughly provocative, proving Alanis could be impossibly articulate and still rock the house.

SITO UFFICIALE ---- www.alanis.com

Here you have all the awards that Alanis won since 1995.

Grammy Awards
1995 - Album Of The Year (Jagged Little Pill)
1995 - Best Rock Song (You Oughta Know)
1995 - Best Rock Album (Jagged Little Pill)
1995 - Best Female Rock Vocal Performance (You Oughta Know)
1997 - Best Long Form Music Video (Jagged Little Pill, Live)
1998 - Best Female Rock Vocal Performance (Uninvited)
1998 - Best Rock Song (Uninvited)

Juno Awards
1992 - Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year
1996 - Best Rock Album
1996 - Female Vocalist of the Year
1996 - Songwriter of the Year
1996 - Album of the Year
1996 - Single of the Year
1997 - Single of the Year
1997 - Songwriter of the Year
1997 - International Achievement Award
2000 - Best Female Artist
2000 - Best Song-writer
2000 - Best pop/adult album
2000 - Best Album
2000 - Best Video

Channel V Awards
1997 - Best International Female Artist

British Awards
1996 - Best International Newcomer Award
1999 - Best Solo

Golden Globe
1999 - Best Original song (Uninvited)

The German Echo Awards
1996 - Best International Newcomer

American Music Awards
1996 - Favorite Female Artist
1996 - Favorite Pop / Rock Album

Billboard Music Video Awards
1996 - Pop / Rock Clip of the Year
1996 - Pop / Rock New Artist Clip

Billboard Awards
1996 - Artist of the Year
1996 - Album of the Year
1996 - Female Artist Of The Year

MTV Video Music Awards
1996 - Best New Artist
1996 - Best Female Video (Ironic)
1996 - Best Editing (Ironic)

Much music Awards
1996 - Best International
1996 - Best Female
1996 - Best Video

MTV Europe Music Awards
1996 - Best Female

Altri premi
1995 - Club Act of the Year
2002 - Woman of the Year per la rivista Glamour


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latest updating of this page: march 2003