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ALANIS MORISSETTE BIOGRAPHY |
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The daughter of Alan and Georgia Morissette, Alanis, an Ottawa
native, was one of three children in the family (she has an
older brother named Chad and a twin brother named Wade). Alanis
loved dancing and acting when she was young. She started
learning ballet and jazz dancing at the age of 7. She has also
done a lot of stage and theatre work, including a part on the
highly popular kids television show "You Can't Do That on
Television" when she was 11. Alanis also appeared in the TV
movie "Just One of the Girls" in 1993, which starred Corey Haim.
Alanis also seem to be quite fond of teaching, as she once
suggested that she might have been an English or Drama teacher
if she hadn't been involved in show business. She has been
writing songs for fun since 9. Alanis admired the music and
character of Olivia Newton John (from "Grease") tremendously
when she was young, which is the main reason why she was so
interested in music. She also loved the writing style of George
Micheal. With the help of a friend of the family who was in the
music business, Alanis released her first ever single at the
young age of eleven. The song was called "Fate Stay With Me",
and it was independently produced with money coming out of her
own pocket. The song was not a hit by any means, but it got some
airplay on Canadian radio stations.
At age 13, Alanis met Leslie Howe (who did the group One-to-One),
and they started writing together. Eventually, she was signed to
MCA, and she recorded her first album, "ALANIS", in 1990.
Released in 1991, the music on this album is mostly pop and
dance, along the lines of Paula Abdul. This recording proved to
be a big hit in her homeland, as "ALANIS" went platinum in
Canada. She was labelled as a teenager pop/dance sensation. Her
success won her a JUNO Award (Canada's version of the America's
Grammys) as the most promising new female vocalist. Her
sophomore album "NOW IS THE TIME" was released by MCA in late
1992. "NOW IS THE TIME" is also a pop album, but this recording
as a whole seems to be more mature than her first album. It has
more ballards and sounds less like a dance album. Not as
successful as "ALANIS", "NOW IS THE TIME" nevertheless went
platinum in Canada.
Despite being relatively well-known in Canada, Alanis was a
virtual stranger in the United States. Her biggest gigs so far
were singing the national anthem at the first Ottawa Senator's
game and singing her song "Too Hot" on the 1992 NHL Awards. This
may all change after Alanis was signed to Madonna's Maverick
Label. After trying to co-write with hundreds of people and
being disappointed each time, Alanis finally met Glen Ballard
through MCA publishing, and immediately two enjoyed each other's
writing style. Her third release "JAGGED LITTLE PILL" showed a
very different Alanis than in the previous two albums. Alanis
believed that the catalyst for her change in attitude and
character was her move from Canada to Los Angeles, where she
learned to live independently in a big city. Alanis said she is
now mature enough to tap into an honesty that she wasn't ready
to deal with when she was younger. Most of the songs on "JAGGED
LITTLE PILL" are in one way or another autobiographical. And
people are loving her work, as her album is now a big hit across
the United States. |
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