Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette Introduction

Alanis Morissette (born June 1, 1974) is known for her multi-platinum, record-breaking album, Jagged Little Pill, and her angst-ridden songs of anger, heartbreak and eventual triumph. And boy did she ever triumph. The success of her debut US album Jagged Little Pill was unprecedented by a female artist, and though men will usually cringe at the lyrics of her songs, we take it all in stride and use Alanis' music as an insight into what women feel when they are hurt.

Early life

Alanis was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, the daughter of Georgia Mary Ann (née Feuerstein), a teacher of Hungarian descent, and Alan Richard Morissette, a French-Canadian high school principal. She has a twin brother Wade Morissette (also a musician) who was born 12 minutes after her. Alanis's parents were devout Catholics. She attended Glebe Collegiate Institute (Ottawa, Canada) for high school.

1990–92: Alanis and Now Is the Time

In 1991 MCA Records Canada released Alanis's debut album, Alanis, in Canada only. Morissette co-wrote every track on the album with its producer, Leslie Howe. By the time it was released, she had dropped her stage name and was credited simply as Alanis. The dance-pop album went platinum, as its first single, "Too Hot", reached the top twenty 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; comparisons to Tiffany were also common. During the same period, she was a concert opening act for rapper Vanilla Ice. Alanis was nominated for three 1992 Juno Awards: Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year (which she won), Single of the Year and Best Dance Recording (both for "Too Hot").

In 1992, Alanis 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. Alanis said of the album, "People could go, 'boo, hiss, hiss, this girl's like another Tiffany or whatever.' But the way I look at it ... people will like your next album if it's a suck-ass one." As with Alanis, Now Is the Time was released only in Canada and produced three top 40 singles—"An Emotion Away", the minor adult contemporary hit "No Apologies" and "(Change Is) Never a Waste of Time". It was a commercial failure, however, selling only a little more than half the copies of her first album. With her two-album deal with MCA Records Canada complete, Morissette was left without a major label contract.

Jagged Little Pill (1995)

In 1993, Alanis's publisher MCA Music Publishing introduced her to manager Scott Welch. Welch told HitQuarters he was impressed by her "spectacular voice", her character and her lyrics. At the time, Alanis was still living at home with her parents. Together they decided it would be best for her career to move to Toronto and start writing with other people. After graduating from high school, she moved from Ottawa to Toronto. Her publisher funded part of her development and when she met producer and songwriter Glen Ballard, he believed in her talent enough to let her use his studio. The two wrote and recorded Morissette's first internationally released album, Jagged Little Pill, and by the spring of 1995, she had signed a deal with Maverick Records. According to manager Welch every label they had approached had passed on Morissette apart from Maverick.

Maverick Records released Jagged Little Pill internationally in 1995. The album was expected only to sell enough for Morissette to make a follow-up, but the situation changed quickly when KROQ-FM, an influential Los Angeles modern rock radio station, began playing "You Oughta Know", the album's first single. 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 hit singles helped send Jagged Little Pill to the top of the charts. "All I Really Want" and "Hand In My Pocket" followed, but the fourth U.S. single, "Ironic", became Morissette's biggest hit. "You Learn" and "Head over Feet", the fifth and sixth singles, respectively, kept Jagged Little Pill in the top twenty on the Billboard 200 albums chart for more than a year. According to the RIAA, Jagged Little Pill sold more than 16 million copies in the U.S.; it sold 33 million worldwide,[19] making it the second biggest selling album by a female artist (behind Shania Twain's Come On Over). Alanis'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". The album was also a bestseller in Australia and the United Kingdom.

Alanis Morissette Personal life, relationships

Alanis once dated actor and comedian Dave Coulier of ABC's Full House TV show fame, 15 years her senior, for a short time in the early 1990s. In a 2008 interview with the Calgary Herald, Coulier claimed to be the ex-boyfriend who inspired Morissette's song "You Oughta Know". Alanis, however, has maintained her silence on the subject of the song.

Alanis then met Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds at Drew Barrymore's birthday party in 2002, and the couple began dating soon after. They announced their engagement in June 2004.

Alanis then met Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds at Drew Barrymore's birthday party in 2002, and the couple began dating soon after. They announced their engagement in June 2004. In February 2007, representatives for her and Reynolds announced they had mutually decided to end their engagement. Alanis has publicly stated that her album Flavors of Entanglement was created out of her grief after the break-up, saying that "it was cathartic".

On May 22, 2010, Alanis married rapper Mario “MC Souleye” Treadway (born May 3, 1980 in Boston, Massachusetts) in a private ceremony at their Los Angeles home. Their first child, Ever Imre Morissette-Treadway, was born on December 25, 2010.