Jewel Reveals How Olivia Rodrigo Duet Happened & Why Their Meetup Made Her Cry

Ashley Iasimone
·3 min read
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Olivia Rodrigo invited Jewel to her stage in New York City earlier this week for a live performance of “You Were Meant for Me,” Jewel’s 1995 hit from her debut album, Pieces of You. On Saturday (April 13), Jewel explained exactly how that happened, and why linking up with the young Guts singer was so emotional for her.

“Her team reached out a little bit before [the show],” Jewel told fans about her Madison Square Garden appearance in a video uploaded to Instagram Saturday afternoon. “And I was excited because I was a fan of Olivia. I’ve been watching her career.”

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She continued, “I became aware of her I think during ‘Drivers License.’ I liked her ’90s aesthetic. It’s a little edgy but very approachable — and she’s writing. She’s writing these songs, and I love them. So I was excited to go out, I was excited to meet her.”

At Rodrigo’s April 9 concert, the last of four Sour Tour shows at the New York venue, the pop star introduced Jewel to her fans by sharing that she would listen to Pieces of You before she went to sleep when she first started getting into songwriting herself.

In Saturday’s video, Jewel referenced her own experience in the music industry, noting, “Something a lot of people don’t realize or talk about in this industry is just how toxic it is. I’m very lucky, we’re all very lucky to get to do our job, but nobody talks about how toxic it is. This industry is like interacting with a poison. You have to have a plan. People will care if you’re famous, people will care if you’re making money … But nobody cares if you’re a good person. Nobody cares if you’re happy.”

The singer-songwriter got teary-eyed as she shared her first impression of Rodrigo after meeting her at Madison Square Garden.

“She’s a good person. She’s grounded and she’s heartfelt,” Jewel said, adding that “it really made me want to meet her parents.”

Fortunately for her, Rodrigo’s mom was there — and Jewel said meeting her turned out to be “the thing that I loved the most.”

Jewel says that some of her favorite songs by Rodrigo include Sour hit “Deja Vu” and Guts‘ “Vampire.”

On her post, she added the following caption: “Yes. I cry musing about @oliviarodrigo. I can’t help it. I care so deeply about how women evolve in this industry. I love supporting women in this biz- lord knows we need all the support we can get. Esp learning how to navigate an industry that often chews folks up – that’s why I’m so proud of her and why I loved meeting her mom … her mom cried she met me… it was such s full circle moment … my music touched her mom when she was young, and she raised Olivia on my music, and then there we all were backstage tearing up about how wild life is.”

See Jewel’s vlog and photos from the show on Instagram.

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