Alanis Nadine Morissette (born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, Morissette began her career in Canada in the early 1990s.
Morissette was born at Riverside Hospital in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada to teacher Georgia Mary Ann (née Feuerstein) of Hungarian descent and high-school principal and French teacher Alan Richard Morissette. She has two brothers: older brother Chad is a business entrepreneur, and twin brother Wade Morissette is a musician. Her father is of French and Irish descent, whereas her mother has Hungarian and Jewish ancestry. Her parents were teachers in a military school and due to their work often had to move. When she was six years old, she returned to Ottawa and started to play the piano.
Let's delve into her journey, from her early days in Canada to her rise to international fame.
Early Career in Canada
Morissette began her music career in Canada in the early 1990s with two dance-pop albums, Alanis (1991) and Now Is the Time (1992). In 1991, MCA Records Canada released Morissette's debut album, Alanis, in Canada only. She co-wrote every track on the album with its producer, Leslie Howe.
The dance-pop album went platinum, and its first single, "Too Hot", reached the top 20 on the RPM singles chart. Subsequent singles "Walk Away" and "Feel Your Love" reached the top 40. Morissette's popularity, style of music and appearance, particularly that of her hair, led her to become known as the Debbie Gibson of Canada, and comparisons to Tiffany were also common.
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In 1992, she released her second album, Now Is the Time, a ballad-driven record that featured less glitzy production than Alanis and contained more thoughtful lyrics. She wrote the songs with the album's producer, Leslie Howe, and Serge Côté. As with Alanis (1991), Now Is the Time (1992) was released only in Canada and produced three top 40 singles-"An Emotion Away", the minor adult contemporary hit "No Apologies" as well as "(Change Is) Never a Waste of Time".
After graduating from high school, Morissette moved from Ottawa to Toronto. In 1993, Morissette's publisher Leeds Levy at MCA Music Publishing introduced her to the manager Scott Welch. Welch told HitQuarters he was impressed by her "spectacular" voice, her character and her lyrics. At the time she was still living with her parents. Together they decided it would be best for her career to move to Toronto and start writing with other people. Her publisher funded part of her development and she spent her time there composing and rehearsing with a number of other musicians, looking to find a songwriting partner for her next album.
The Move to Los Angeles and Jagged Little Pill
After relocating to Los Angeles, she released the alternative rock album Jagged Little Pill (1995), which became one of the best-selling albums of all time and has appeared on several all-time lists. After Morissette moved to Los Angeles, she met the producer and songwriter Glen Ballard, who believed in her talent enough to let her use his studio. They wrote songs together, with him supporting her sound rather than trying to shape or mold it to his own tastes. In her newfound freeness of creative spirit, they wrote and recorded Morissette's first internationally released album, Jagged Little Pill, and in 1995 she signed a deal with Maverick Records.
Maverick Records released Jagged Little Pill internationally in June 1995. It was expected only to sell enough for Morissette to make a follow-up, but the situation improved quickly when KROQ-FM, an influential Los Angeles modern rock radio station, began playing "You Oughta Know", the first single, featuring Flea and Dave Navarro from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The song instantly garnered attention for its scathing, explicit lyrics, and a subsequent music video went into heavy rotation on MTV and MuchMusic. After the success of "You Oughta Know", the album's other hits helped send Jagged Little Pill to the top of the charts. single, "Ironic", became Morissette's biggest hit. "You Learn" and "Head over Feet", the fifth and sixth singles, kept Jagged Little Pill (1995) in the top 20 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for more than a year.
Morissette's popularity grew significantly in Canada, where the album was certified twelve times platinum and produced four RPM chart-toppers: "Hand in My Pocket", "Ironic", "You Learn", and "Head over Feet". Morissette's success with Jagged Little Pill (1995) was credited with opening doors for female singers such as Meredith Brooks, Tracy Bonham and Patti Rothberg, and later Avril Lavigne and Pink.
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Morissette and the album won six Juno Awards in 1996: Album of the Year, Single of the Year ("You Oughta Know"), Female Vocalist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year and Best Rock Album. At the 16th Brit Awards she won Brit Award for International Breakthrough Act.
Morissette embarked on an 18-month world tour in support of Jagged Little Pill, beginning in small clubs and ending in large venues. Taylor Hawkins, who later joined the Foo Fighters, was the tour's drummer. Following the tour, Morissette began practicing Iyengar Yoga for balance.
Jagged Little Pill - Behind the Scenes
Continued Success and Creative Control
She won five Grammy Awards for the record including Album of the Year, becoming the youngest winner of the category at the time. She continued this success with her next album Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (1998), which saw her adapt an experimental sound and was highly anticipated. Beginning in 2002, Morissette took on further creative control and production duties as the sole producer of her fifth album, Under Rug Swept, which won her the Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award.
Morissette was featured as a guest vocalist on Ringo Starr's cover of "Drift Away" on his 1998 album, Vertical Man, and on the songs "Don't Drink the Water" and "Spoon" on the Dave Matthews Band album Before These Crowded Streets. She recorded the song "Uninvited" for the soundtrack to the 1998 film City of Angels. In November 1998, Morissette released her fourth album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, which she wrote and co-produced with Glen Ballard.
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Morissette contributed vocals to four tracks on Jonathan Elias's project The Prayer Cycle, which was released in 1999, where she paid homage to her roots by singing in Hungarian on "Mercy" and in French on "Hope" and "Innocence". The same year, she released the live acoustic album Alanis Unplugged, which was recorded during her appearance on the television show MTV Unplugged. It featured tracks from her previous two albums alongside four new songs, including "King of Pain" (a cover of The Police song) and "No Pressure over Cappuccino", which Morissette wrote with her main guitar player, Nick Lashley.
In 2001, Morissette was featured with Stephanie McKay on the Tricky song "Excess", which is on his album Blowback. She released her fifth studio album, Under Rug Swept, in February 2002. For the first time in her career, she took on the role of sole writer and producer of an album. Later in 2002, Morissette released the combination package Feast on Scraps, which includes a DVD of live concert and backstage documentary footage directed by her and a CD containing eight previously unreleased songs from the Under Rug Swept recording sessions.
Later Albums and Career Diversification
Her 2005 song "Wunderkind" for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe netted her a second nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Original Song.
She released her sixth studio album, So-Called Chaos, in May 2004. She wrote the songs on her own again, and co-produced the album with Tim Thorney and pop music producer John Shanks. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of Jagged Little Pill (1995), Morissette released a studio acoustic version, Jagged Little Pill Acoustic, in June 2005. The album was released exclusively through Starbucks' Hear Music retail concept through their coffee shops for a six-week run.
Morissette released the greatest hits album Alanis Morissette: The Collection in late 2005. A limited edition of The Collection features a DVD including a documentary with videos of two unreleased songs from Morissette's 1996 Can't Not Tour: "King of Intimidation" and "Can't Not". On April 1, 2007, Morissette released a tongue-in-cheek cover of The Black Eyed Peas's selection "My Humps", which she recorded in a slow, mournful voice, accompanied only by a piano.
Her seventh studio album, Flavors of Entanglement, which was produced by Guy Sigsworth, was released in mid-2008. She has said that the album was created out of her grief after her breakup with Ryan Reynolds, saying "it was cathartic." In April 2010, she released the song "I Remain", which she wrote for the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time soundtrack. In 2012, she release Havoc and Bright Lights. Her latest album, Such Pretty Forks in the Road, was released in 2020.
Acting Career
In 1986, Morissette had her first stint as an actress in five episodes of the children's television sketch comedy series You Can't Do That on Television. In 1999, Morissette delved into acting again, for the first time since 1993, appearing as God in the Kevin Smith comedy Dogma and contributing the song "Still" to its soundtrack.
Morissette has appeared in eight episodes of Weeds, playing Dr. Audra Kitson, a "no-nonsense obstetrician" who treats pregnant main character Nancy Botwin. Her first episode aired in July 2009. In early 2010, Morissette returned to the stage, performing a one-night engagement in An Oak Tree, an experimental play in Los Angeles.
Legacy
Morissette holds the record for the most number ones on the weekly Billboard Alternative Songs chart among female soloists, group leaders, or duo members. Her first three internationally released studio albums topped the Billboard 200 albums chart, and her next four albums peaked within the top 20. Her singles "You Oughta Know", "Hand in My Pocket", "Ironic", "You Learn", "Head Over Feet", "Uninvited", "Thank U", and "Hands Clean", reached top 40 in major charts around the world.
Morissette continues to be an influential figure in the music industry. To celebrate her impact, here is a table summarizing her studio albums:
| Album Title | Year Released | Notable Achievements |
|---|---|---|
| Alanis | 1991 | Debut album, platinum certification in Canada |
| Now Is the Time | 1992 | Released only in Canada, produced three top 40 singles |
| Jagged Little Pill | 1995 | International breakthrough, multiple Grammy Awards |
| Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie | 1998 | Experimental sound, highly anticipated |
| Under Rug Swept | 2002 | Morissette as sole writer and producer |
| So-Called Chaos | 2004 | Co-produced with Tim Thorney and John Shanks |
| Flavors of Entanglement | 2008 | Produced by Guy Sigsworth |
| Havoc and Bright Lights | 2012 | European tour |
| Such Pretty Forks in the Road | 2020 | Produced by Alex Hope and Catherine Marks |
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