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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 media's 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.
Sobule's 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 Heckerling's comedy smash Clueless. The LP Happy
Town followed in 1997, impressing critics with a new level of depth and maturity;
unfortunately, it didn't match Sobule's 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 Cole's 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
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