2024-03-26 03:16:52
Norah Jones he just wants to have fun. In fact, he uses the word “fun” 28 times throughout our interview (yes, I counted). And who can blame her? One believes that if anyone in music has earned the right to relax and enjoy what he does, it’s Jones. The 44-year-old singer and songwriter and velvet-smooth voice became an industry veteran more than 20 years ago, after bursting onto the scene in 2002 with her hit debut album Come Away with Me. The album was certified diamond. It sold more than 27 million copies worldwide and earned him five Grammy Awards.. He also catapulted Jones, then just 22, from a relatively unknown musician to a household name. “They were some very crazy years, a very strange time,” he reflects, in what somehow seems not to fully reflect the time. “I wasn’t really prepared.”
Jones was at the forefront of a cohort of easy-listening new century solo artists, who were launched into the stratosphere by incredibly popular debuts. It was a period dominated by O by Damien Rice, Call Off the Search the Katie Melua, No Angel of Dido, Back to Bedlam by James Blunt. Those records marked an era: they were the musical score for an entire decade of dinners, and the sound backdrop for all the iconic films and television series.
Jones’ songs appear on all types of films -although with a certain little word always repeated in its title-, since Dream of love until I really love and Love at second sight. The gentle twang of guitar, drums and acoustic bass on “Don’t Know Why,” along with Jones’ intimate vocals and jazz-tinged piano, continue to evoke wistful nostalgia 22 years later. For the artists who starred in this whirlwind of sudden fame, It was almost impossible to maintain such peculiarly sudden stardom. “I feel like I never reached that level of success again,” she says. “But it seemed fine to me. It was too stressful.”
What has it done since its unprecedented peak? Come Away with Me was followed by three consecutive platinum albums in the next seven years –Feels Like Home, Not Too Late y The Fall-, while the 2010s brought another three. These later albums were admired by critics, but none lived up to her previous successes, although she has made peace with that (after all, there are only so many romantic comedy soundtracks to be involved with).
The fact that the spotlight shone so blindingly on her at such a young age also shaped Jones’ relationship with fame (although it ran in the family thanks to his late father, sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar). You get the impression that he finds her uncomfortable, even unpleasant. “You have to work hard to be very famous and stay that way,” he says. “I don’t think that’s nice for me. I lead a pretty simple life. And I appreciate it; I wouldn’t like it to be more exposed. “That would be weird.”
When Jones rose to fame, it was a time when pop stars like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera were relentlessly hounded by paparazzi, and their every move and outfit was trashed by the press. Perhaps this has also warped the idea of his celebrity? “It would have been horrible,” she says of being subjected to that level of scrutiny. “It’s so damaging to people; I’m glad I wasn’t in that… what do you say? mainstream?”
Jones says that she felt “protected” and “supported” by the team that surrounded her at the peak of her career, installed “in a small corner of the music industry that was more to my liking.” However, one cannot help but think that being surrounded by stories of women artists who were not so lucky led her to be extremely cautious when it came to opening up.
“I stopped trying to achieve the same success” he says. “Even though I worked hard and was proud of the music, the stars aligned in a way that made it Come Away with Me became crazy. I didn’t know how to recreate that, so I wasn’t going to try.” For Jones, the concept of success is “strange”: 500 years ago it was defined as “finding food.” Nowadays, it’s your songs that most people listen to. English-speaking world: “It’s something so strange, strange and modern, that maybe it’s a little unnatural.”
Your private life is sacred and largely off limits; although Jones mentions in passing the two children, ages 10 and 7, that she has with her husband, keyboardist Pete Remm, I instinctively know not to ask him for more details. (As I’ve been told beforehand not to ask about her family or personal life, I’m staying clear of her previous long-term relationship with bassist Lee Alexander at the height of her fame, as well as her reconciliation with her father after a long period of dating. distancing).
An example: During our Zoom chat, Jones keeps the camera firmly off. Although I enjoy listening to the soft timbre of his voice, pleasant to the ear even when he is simply speaking, I regret the fact that I cannot see his facial expressions or those big brown dove eyes that light up when he talks about the new album. he, Visions. But I understand why she feels so protected. At the peak of her success, she lost the joy of making music.
“There was a time when we were very busy doing interviews and I wasn’t having fun playing music., because when I came to the show I was too tired,” she recalls. “And I remember a moment where I said to myself, ‘Well, what am I doing if this role is not fun? What’s happening here?’ I definitely kept that as a marker: make it fun. “Music should be fun.”
Although Jones likes to “have fun,” I wonder if he has fun talking to me. Although he never refuses to answer a question, his responses would best be described as “cautious.” When I ask him which artist he would like to work with, he says that “there are a lot of people,” but refuses to name names; When I ask him what career he would have liked if he hadn’t dedicated himself to music, he replies “no idea.”
That’s why, for a long time, Jones felt reluctant to use social media: “It’s not natural for me to go online, and post my thoughts about the day or what’s happening; that’s not how I feel comfortable being out there.” in the world,” he says. However, during the pandemic she found a way to make it work for her and feel natural, performing for an online audience through livestreams. “I felt like I had finally found my way on social media,” she says. “It made a lot of sense to me. Making music, playing songs for people, it’s my way in.”
Although she claims to have not experienced the dark side of being online – “I felt very positive, I didn’t have a ton of negativity” – she admits that part of this goes back to that self-protective instinct that seems to have dictated the conversation so far. “I don’t pay much attention to the comments, because it scares me. You don’t want that to get into your head. I think it’s very harmful to people.”
It is evident that one of Jones’ main passions is collaboration. Speaking of his latest album, inspired by the ideas that arise in that mystical time between sleep and wakefulness, he speaks enthusiastically of his collaboration with the music producer and composer Leon Michels, with whom he had already worked on a Christmas album. “This record was very different for me because we got to work for a few hours here and there every few weeks. We didn’t block out a period of time, it was kind of a work in progress for a year and a half. And it was a lot of fun.”
That word again: talking about making music with Michels is when it is used the most, I realize. “It was a different way of working. And it was nice, because there was no imminent pressure other than to have fun playing music and we had a lot of fun playing music together. Every time we got together, it was a lot of fun, you know?”
This infectious enthusiasm is perhaps the best demonstration of why Jones has been so prolific when it comes to collaborating with other artists: you would be hard pressed to find a top musician she hasn’t worked with over the past two decades, from Keith Richards a Foo Fighters o Ray Charles. Who is your favorite? “I think everyone I worked with helped shape my path; you’re always inspired by your experiences and the people who come into your life, even if it’s just for a short time. Musically, it’s no different.” But if I had to choose, with a gun to my head…? “I made a song with Dolly Parton for the Country Music Awards. I mean, that’s definitely an A+ – it was amazing! I have a lot of love and respect for her as an artist and as a person. As a songwriter she is crazy, a crazy unicorn that we all adore.”
While telling this story, Jones reveals that her children do not fully understand the importance of their mother. “Yesterday we were listening to Dolly and I didn’t tell them that I had performed with her because I was embarrassed. I didn’t want to surprise them too much.” On a couple of occasions she found them listening to her old songs on the iPad, but it’s rare. “I think it’s out of curiosity, but not too much. Sometimes they’ll hear it if I’m reviewing a mix, and they’ll comment, ‘I like this one, Mom, she’s pretty.'”
Her love of collaboration also led her to make a podcast, Norah Jones Is Playing Along, in which he sits with artists among whom they have been Rufus Wainwright, The National y Dave Grohl, for a musical improvisation and conversation session. Leaning into that group dynamic was instrumental in freeing her as a songwriter: “I feel more inspired to write than ever,” she says. “Now it doesn’t matter how vulnerable it is, because at the end of the day it’s a work of art. And I think showing emotions… It doesn’t scare me anymore.”
Although these days Jones may be happier with a quieter, simpler life, she is thrilled to see the new crop of powerful women currently dominating the music industry. History was made at the 2024 Grammy Awards when all five nominees for best pop solo performance were women. At the recent edition of the Brit Awards, soloist Raye swept the show and won six awards, a record. “Women are dominating,” Jones says. “They’re really doing it right now.” But there is no hint of jealousy in her voice, not the slightest hint that she wants to be as successful again. When I ask her about her big goals or dreams, she doesn’t even mention music.
“The things I really want to do in the future have to do with vacations I’ve never taken,” he says. “I would love to go to a surf camp in Costa Rica. I like outdoor physical activities. I think it would be fun.” That word again. And she adds another: happy. “I just want to be happy. That’s really the definition of what I want. I want my family to be happy, I want to be happy, I want to laugh and enjoy my day. And if I can play music, then I’m very happy.” It seems fun.
* Of The Independent From great britain. Special for Page 12.