Jill Sobule

Singer/songwriter Jill Sobule rose to fame on the strength of her 1995 hit single I Kissed a Girl, a tongue-in-cheek nod to the medias fascination with lesbian chic. Born in Denver, Colorado in 1961, Sobule grew enamored of rock music at a young age, but did not seriously consider a career as a performer until she spent her junior year of college abroad in Spain. Upon her return to the U.S., she dropped out of school to devote her full energies to music, but her work found little success, and she battled with depression and anorexia. In 1990, Sobule finally made her debut with Things Here Are Different, recorded with producer Todd Rundgren. The album vanished from sight upon its release, however, and she was dropped by her label, MCA; disheartened and destitute, Sobule moved to Los Angeles and took a job as an assistant to a wedding photographer. Sobules fortunes turned when her lawyer played her demo tape for an Atlantic Records executive, who was so impressed by the contrast her winsome, folk-flavored pop offered in comparison to the then-current chart dominance of grunge that he quickly signed her to a contract. After the 1995 release of Jill Sobule and I Kissed a Girl, she scored another hit with the satirical Supermodel, featured prominently in Amy Heckerlings comedy smash Clueless. The LP Happy Town followed in 1997, impressing critics with a new level of depth and maturity; unfortunately, it didnt match Sobules level of commercial success, and Atlantic dropped her from its roster. She took some time off from her solo recording career to regroup, and joined Lloyd Coles new backing band the Negatives as a guitarist in 1999. After landing a new recording contract with Beyond, in 2000 Sobule returned with a new album, Pink Pearl. In the years that followed, Sobule dabbled in off-Broadway musicals, made an appearance on NBCs West Wing, composed songs for a Nickelodeon series called Unfabulous and played a busking musician in the indie film Mind the Gap, a movie that featured songs included on 2004s Underdog Victorious.