From owner-jewel-news@smoe.org Tue May 31 08:48:08 2011 Received: from smoe.org (ident-user@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by smoe.org (8.13.8/8.13.8) with ESMTP id p4VCm8wR013559 for ; Tue, 31 May 2011 08:48:08 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by smoe.org (8.13.8/8.12.10/Submit) id p4VCm8i1013558 for jewel-news-outgoing; Tue, 31 May 2011 08:48:08 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <201105311248.p4VCm8i1013558@smoe.org> X-Authentication-Warning: smoe.org: majordom set sender to owner-jewel-news@smoe.org using -f Date: Tue, 31 May 2011 08:29:23 -0400 To: jewel@smoe.org From: Mike Connell Subject: Jewel-News: Jewel dishes on new reality show 'Platinum Hit' Sender: owner-jewel-news@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-Greylist: Sender IP whitelisted, not delayed by milter-greylist-2.0 (smoe.org [127.0.0.1]); Tue, 31 May 2011 08:48:08 -0400 (EDT) This premiered last night. Totally forgot about it. Some repeats air this week. - Mike ------------------------------------------------------------------- Jewel dishes on new reality show 'Platinum Hit' Jewel is having a summer of firsts. In the next few weeks, the singer will become a mother to a baby boy, her first child with husband Ty Murray. And on Monday (10 p.m. ET/PT), she steps into the expertly lit world of reality television, hosting Bravo's new show Platinum Hit. The competition show challenges an eclectic group of songwriters to create hits, relying on Bravo's winning formula, first honed in fashion (Project Runway), then food (Top Chef), then hair (Shear Genius). "I really care a lot about songwriting," says Jewel, who judges the show with former American Idol judge Kara DioGaurdi. "It's a craft that I've always spent a lot of my life trying to be good at, and it's a very obscure world." In each episode, mini-challenges (writing hooks) are followed by major ones: delivering full songs. A smattering of guest hosts filter in, including Jermaine Dupri, Donna Summer and Leona Lewis. The big prize? $100,000, a publishing deal with Sony and BMI Songwriters, and a recording deal with RCA/Jive. But Jewel, 37, says that's all small potatoes compared with the real payoff. A top 10 song can earn a songwriter "several million dollars easily" from radio airplay and album sales, says the four-time Grammy nominee. "It can buy you a house, or several houses. Just off of one hit." With 27 million albums sold, including multi-platinum 1995 debut Pieces of You and 2008's country album Perfectly Clear, she would know. "She's a critical thinker," says Andy Cohen, executive vice president of Bravo's original programming, who cast Jewel after watching her sing at last year's Emmy Awards. He was impressed by Jewel's "very direct, very honest" judging style. "She's sincere, she's natural, and she knows exactly what she's talking about. I think that made it easy for her." The first episode challenges Platinum's 12 contestants to write a song about Los Angeles in just a few hours. Jewel says it's the same amount of time that pros have to churn out a hit for pop stars. And there's a sharp difference between this show and Idol or The Voice (she watches both): Platinum is not looking for singers. "I think it took our contestants a little while, even, to get that we really are not looking for artists," says Jewel, who advises the young group to write hits, not singer/songwriter-style songs. "John Mayer doesn't need you to pitch him a John Mayer song. Beyonci needs a hit and Carrie Underwood needs a hit. They start to get it." Jewel keeps her legendary cool by staying out of the spotlight, opting to live in Texas with Murray, a world-champion bull rider. But with all her success, she acknowledges it will be a challenge to keep her baby boy grounded through the years. "That's something we both think a lot about. The good thing is we live on a giant ranch in Texas in a really small community that's not flashy.  It's definitely very different from how Ty and I were raised." The only craving that Jewel experienced was music. Her pregnancy inspired her to write The Merry Goes Round, an album of children's songs due this fall. It serves as a natural follow-up to Lullaby, which she wrote while she was trying to conceive. "It's neat that my son got to hear me writing and recording and singing an album my whole pregnancy, and he'll get to hear it when he's out of my tummy," she says with a laugh. "We're really excited," says Jewel, whose nursery is still coming together while she finishes up home renovations. "I think I'll be the stricter one, oddly. You'd think being the singer/songwriter I'd be the sort of fluffy one, but I think Ty's going to be a bit of a pushover." From owner-jewel-news@smoe.org Tue May 31 22:09:48 2011 Received: from smoe.org (ident-user@localhost [127.0.0.1]) by smoe.org (8.13.8/8.13.8) with ESMTP id p5129lO6020063 for ; Tue, 31 May 2011 22:09:47 -0400 (EDT) Received: (from majordom@localhost) by smoe.org (8.13.8/8.12.10/Submit) id p5129laY020062 for jewel-news-outgoing; Tue, 31 May 2011 22:09:47 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <201106010209.p5129laY020062@smoe.org> X-Authentication-Warning: smoe.org: majordom set sender to owner-jewel-news@smoe.org using -f From: "Larry S. Greenfield" Date: Tue, 31 May 2011 17:05:00 -0700 Subject: Jewel-News: Jewel Ready To Be A First-Time, Multi-Tasking Mom: Associated Press To: ""@smoe.org Sender: owner-jewel-news@smoe.org Precedence: bulk X-Greylist: Sender IP whitelisted, not delayed by milter-greylist-2.0 (smoe.org [127.0.0.1]); Tue, 31 May 2011 22:09:48 -0400 (EDT) Jewel Ready To Be A First-Time, Multi-Tasking Mom Posted on Pollstar.com on Monday May 30, 2011 at 10:01 AM -- Associated Press Jewel is gearing up for motherhood, and she's already learned to multi-task. At age 37, the singer-songwriter expecting her first child - a boy - in July. She's hosting and judging the new Bravo TV show, "Platinum Hit," which premieres Monday, and she's releasing a new children's album in the fall. Jewel married world champion bull rider Ty Murray in August 2008 after dating for about 10 years. The couple initially said they wanted to start a family right away, but ended up waiting a while. "We were both real careful and kind of cautious about it. I think it sort of scared both of us," Jewel told The Associated Press in a recent interview. Jewel said they also wanted to make sure they both were at a point in their careers where they could step back and dedicate time to raising a child. "We feel like it's great timing, even though we're a little older," said Jewel, who wrote and recorded a soothing album called Lullaby at her Stephenville, Texas, home while trying to get pregnant. Her pregnancy in turn has inspired her to produce another children's album, The Merry Goes 'Round, due out in the fall. "I wanted it to work on a lot of levels where infants would like it, and they could just bounce to the rhythm of a song, and then as they get older they could get into the storytelling aspect, and hopefully have them be well-crafted pop songs that a parent would like," she said. Jewel knows how to create musical gems; she shot to fame in 1996 with her self-penned breakout hit, "Who Will Save Your Soul," and has had success in both the pop and country genres. Jewel will now impart her knowledge to budding songwriters with Bravo's "Platinum Hit" along with head judge Kara DioGuardi. The show features 12 diverse up-and-comers who are forced to compose everything from dance tracks to love ballads in high-pressure challenges. The winner gets $100,000, a publishing deal and a major-label contract. "They're hit makers," said Jewel. "It's a very competitive field. One day they might be writing for Ke$ha. The next day they might be writing for Carrie Underwood. So you have to be able to be really versatile and really competitive on the radio format." Jewel said the show, and its intensity, mimics real life, where writers often pair up to create songs for other artists. "You have an A&R agent that comes to you and says you have until tomorrow to write a song for Britney Spears, and they tell 20 of the top writers that. So you have about two hours with your co-writer to try and get that done," she said. Jewel, who is also partnering with canned food brand Libby's in a contest to help fans rewrite its jingle, actually wishes "Platinum Hit" had been around when she was starting out. "I would've loved to compete on this show when I was young. Had I known you could be just a songwriter, didn't have to be a celebrity, I might have really thought about it," she said. --Associated Press