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For more on Jewel, her latest CD and upcoming appearances, please visit www.jeweljk.com

Judge

Multi-Platinum singer-songwriter and three-time Grammy nominee Jewel, who hosted Nashville Star last season, continues her commitment to the show, making time in her busy tour schedule to once again join the search for the next great music artist. With her success as a mainstream rock/folk artist as well as her recent crossover into the country genre, Jewel will provide a unique insight into the music industry and will be an experienced mentor to the competing musicians.

Jewel belonged to a musical family, touring with her parents and brothers through the native villages of Alaska, making local records and traveling to remote places via dogsled. At the age of eight, her parents divorced, yet Jewel continued to tour with her father as part of a duet. At 15, she performed solo for the first time and earned a vocal scholarship to Interlochen, a private arts school in Michigan. It was there that she learned to play guitar and began writing songs. "Who Will Save Your Soul," which would later become the first single from her first album, was written during a spring break trip to Mexico where Jewel performed on the street to make money.

After school, Jewel moved to San Diego where her first regular gig at a coffee house in Pacific Beach earned her a cult following and a record deal. After touring for a year and opening for the likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Young, she recorded her debut record, which initially sold 3000 copies and went on to sell over 11 million units. Jewel's debut album, along with her subsequent albums, has earned her many accolades such as three Grammy nominations, an American Music Award and an MTV Video Music Award. In 1999, she was presented the prestigious Governors Award from the Los Angeles chapter of the Recording Academy (NARAS). The award, now known as the "Recording Academy Honors Award," recognizes those whose creative talents and accomplishments have crossed all musical boundaries and have been recognized as an asset to the music community.

From the remote tundra of her Alaskan youth to the triumph of international stardom, Jewel has traveled a singular road as an acclaimed singer, songwriter, poet, actress and painter. The three-time Grammy nominee, hailed by The Times of London as "the most sparkling female singer-songwriter since Joni Mitchell," continues to explore new musical avenues from the simplicity of acoustic-driven folk to the embrace of rock, pop, country, blues, jazz and classical influences.

To date, Jewel has sold over 27 million albums worldwide, enjoying career longevity rare among her generation of artists. Jewel's personal odyssey, partly chronicled on her twelve-times RIAA platinum debut album "Pieces of You" came to full flower with her last album "Goodbye Alice in Wonderland." Her first country album, " Perfectly Clear," will be released on June 3, with her current single "Stronger Woman" already climbing the country music charts.

In addition to her music, and with the wisdom that deeds mean as much as words, Jewel founded Project Clean Water, an organization that organizes teams of scientists and engineers to bring safe, clean drinking water to impoverished communities worldwide: from Mexico to Africa, India to Tibet. She has remained at the helm of the self-funded project for over 10 years.

She currently lives on a ranch in Stephenville, Texas.