Alanis Morissette

About Alanis Morissette

The Canadian singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette had one of the best selling debut records of all time with the angst-filled rocker Jagged Little Pill. Morissette had previously been known to TV viewers for her re-occurring roll on the Nickelodeon teen comedy You Can't Do That On Television. She saved her earnings from the show and used them to finance the recording of her first single, "Fate Stay With Me". Morissette was under tremendous pressure at the time. She has since candidly discussed her battle with anorexia and bulimia, in the hopes she can help other girls suffering from the same condition. She released two full length albums in Canada, Alanis and Now Is the Time. She won a Canadian Juno award in 1992 for Best Female Performer. It wasn't until 1993, when she moved to LA to record an album with hit songwriter Glen Ballard, that the world South of the Canadian border heard about Alanis Morissette. Morissette has since explained that the soul-baring Jagged Little Pill was her way of dealing with complex emotions stemming from a mugging incident that occurred in L.A. Following the mugging, Morissette suffered from uncontrollable panic attacks. Singles like Ironic, You Oughta Know and Hand In My Pocket became inescapable radio hits and suddenly Alanis was everywhere. During the high-pressure tour for the album, Morissette converted to Buddhism. Once the tour was over, she dropped out of the public eye to go study in India. Her follow-up albums, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie and Under Rug Swept have both explored Alanis Morissette's spiritual journey instead of the slick pop productions from her hit record.