Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette

Alanis Morissette is a Canadian-American singer, musician and songwriter from Ottawa, Canada. Born in 1974, she is associated with alternative rock, dance-pop, new jack swing, pop, pop rock and post-grunge. Her voice is noted as a mezzo-soprano, and her writing is known for its confessional style.

Career

Morissette begins her recording career in Canada in the early 1990s with the dance-pop albums Alanis and Now Is the Time. After moving to Los Angeles, she releases Jagged Little Pill in 1995, an alternative rock album that becomes one of the best-selling albums of all time. It earns five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, and makes her the youngest winner of that category at the time.

Her 1998 album Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie features a more experimental sound. It includes “Uninvited,” recorded for the film City of Angels, which wins two Grammy Awards and receives a Golden Globe nomination for Best Original Song.

From 2002, Morissette takes full production responsibility for Under Rug Swept, which earns her the Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award. She continues with So-Called Chaos (2004), Flavors of Entanglement (2008), Havoc and Bright Lights (2012), Such Pretty Forks in the Road (2020) and The Storm Before the Calm (2022).

Recognition

Morissette sells over 60 million records worldwide. She receives a Brit Award, seven Grammy Awards and fourteen Juno Awards, and is nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and a Tony Award. She also holds the record for the most number-one singles on the weekly Billboard Alternative Songs chart by a female soloist, group leader or duo member. Her first three internationally released studio albums top the Billboard 200, and her next four albums reach the top 20.

Among her better-known singles are “You Oughta Know,” “Hand in My Pocket,” “Ironic,” “You Learn,” “Head Over Feet,” “Uninvited,” “Thank U” and “Hands Clean.” VH1 ranks her as the 53rd-greatest woman in rock and roll, and she is inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame in 2005.

Selected works and labels

Morissette’s studio albums are released through labels including Maverick and RCA Deutschland. Her work spans mainstream pop and rock as well as more experimental material, and it includes music written for film, with “Uninvited” and “Wunderkind” both drawing award recognition.