Jewel “Foolish Games” hit the Hot 100

Foolish Games Jewel

Writer(s): Jewel Kilcher (see lyrics here) Released: July 8, 1997 First Charted: July 19, 1997 Peak: 7 BB, 13 BA, 13 GR, 14 RR, 4 AC, 15 A40, 2 CN, 12 AU, 19 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 1.0 US Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 52.76 video, 71.29 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Jewel finally broke through in mid-1996 with “Who Will Save Your Soul?”, the first single from Pieces of You, her debut album which had been released more than a year before. Once Jewel arrived, however, she left her mark. The album climbed to #4 and sold fifteen million copies worldwide and the strength of that single and its next two. “Foolish Games”was released as the third single on July 8, 1997. It was also featured on the soundtrack for the Batman and Robin film. However, the song was actually released nearly a year earlier as a B-side to Jewel’s single “You Were Meant for Me.” This made for some chart-breaking history. When the song made its debut on the Billboard Hot 100 the week of September 13, 1997, it was listed with “You Were Meant for Me.” That song had already logged 41 weeks on the chart, reached #2, and gone platinum. However, by pairing the songs together on the chart, “You Were Meant for Me” climbed back into the top ten and, before its chart run was finished, ended up with a then record-breaking 65 weeks on the charts. Billboard’s Chuck Taylor said, “the vocally sweeping ballad offers the richest arrangement among her hits, with lyrics that affectingly express the emotional descent of a woman whose love is unappreciated, perhaps even unseen, by her object of affection.” BB He called it the “quintessential musical moment” from the Pieces of You album. BB Slant magazine’s Sal Cinquemani called it “one of the great pop songs of the ‘90s.” SM “Foolish Games” received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Resources: BB Billboard (6/21/1997). “Jewel of a Single from ‘Pieces of You’.” by Chuck Taylor. Page 78. SM SlantMagazine.com (2/16/2013). “Review: Jewel, Greatest Hits” by Sal Cinquemani WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/14/2025.

 

Jewel “Who Will Save Your Soul?” charted

Who Will Save Your Soul? Jewel

Writer(s): Jewel Kilcher (see lyrics here) Released: April 23, 1996 First Charted: May 4, 1996 Peak: 11 BB, 4 BA, 7 CB, 2 GR, 3 RR, 29 AC, 5 A40, 11 AA, 4 MR, 52 UK, 7 CN, 27 AU, 8 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 38.17 video, 58.12 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Jewel Kilcher was born in 1974 in Utah but raised in Alaska where she sang and yodeled with her father, Atz Kilcher. She got a partial scholarship to the Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan when she was fifteen. She studied operatic voice and started writing and performing at clubs and coffeehouses in San Diego, California, after she graduated. She lived in her car for a time.” W-J In 1993, Jewel was discovered by Inga Vainshtein, a Vice President of Productions at Paramount. Inga became Jewel’s manager and launched a bidding war that ended up in a deal with Atlantic Records. Jewel released her first album, Pieces of You, in 1995 when she was 21 years old. Some of the songs were recorded at the Innerchange, a coffeehouse in San Diego where Jewel performed., while others were recorded at Neil Young’s Broken Arrow Ranch studio in Redwood City, California. W-P Some of the songs, such as “Who Will Save Your Soul?,” were re-recorded for radio release. In fact, the original version never appeared on Pieces of You. The song was released as a single more than a year after the album dropped. It finally broke the door open for Jewel. She wrote “Soul” when she was sixteen and busking during a hitchhiking trip in Mexico. She saw numerous people who appeared as if they were waiting to be saved and the idea for the song was born. SF Billboard’s Larry Flick said, “Amid a spare setting of strumming guitars, twinkling piano lines, and playful percussion, she comes off a tad like Joan Osborne, but with less earthy grit and more girlish glee.” BB The Song was nominated for a Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Resources: BB Billboard (5/4/1996). “Reviews & Previews: Singles” by Larry Flick. Page 43. CB Cash Box (3/18/1995). “Pop Albums” by Steve Baltin. Page 9. SF Songfacts W-J Wikipedia page on Jewel W-P Wikipedia page on Pieces of You Related Links: First posted 1/14/2025.