Latest news with #HappyTown
Time of India
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
When Jill Sobule said she isn't interested in following 'trends' and what truly means as a success
Jill Sobule , the ' I Kissed A Girl ' singer, passed away in an unfortunate house fire in Minneapolis. The ground-breaking artist opened the doors for the LGBTQ+ voices in the 1990s, and normalized the fluidity in human attraction. Sobule might've had different perceptions of success or the musical artform, but surely she made an impact by charting the lists. Why will Jill Sobule always be an icon? In a throwback interview, Sobule was asked about the reason for the nostalgic songs from the '90s ageing like a fine wine. She stated, 'I didn't follow any trends. Just whatever came out, I wanted to have that," according to Double J. While her eponymous album (debut) was a success, Jill did not adhere to the formula; instead, she dived deep into the dark and created a diverse follow-up, 'Happy Town.' 'I just wanted to make a reaction to the last record. I wanted to make a strange, darker record. I really love that record, but I don't think the label saw it as something that they could sell,' she said. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Get Intel Laptops With Exclusive Student Perks Intel Laptops | Search Ads Learn More Undo The diverse songs by Jill Sobule It is highly likely that you could listen to her songs and not determine the year of the release. She continued, 'But, in the long run, I listen to those records and I'm still really like 'Yeah! These do not sound dated. This sounds really fresh!' Jill, the icon, did not care about album sales; she only cared about ART. 'There was always a conflict between art and commerce for me. And art always seemed to win. I didn't have that kind of naked raw ambition, I just wanted to make good music. I just wanted to be an artist,' according to Double J. What is success according to Jill Sobule? Jill Sobule used to get a fan letter or comment almost everyday stating, 'Thank you for that song. That meant a lot to me when I was a kid,' she said to Ohio newspaper, Toledo Blade. In her perception of 'what is success?', being on top felt meaningless. 'Like, if LeBron James is the greatest of all time, that somehow means Michael Jordan is now a loser. Like, what are you talking about? Does it mean that I'm a loser if I'm not playing Madison Square Garden or if I'm not even selling out the Bowery?' she stated, according to The Creative Independent. 'I always get people coming up to me and saying things like, 'Oh, I loved you! Why aren't you bigger? Why aren't you more famous?' I know they mean well and that they mean that as a compliment, but damn. It's hard to hear things like that over and over. Like, yeah, why aren't I? I don't know.' Jill added. However, Sobule reminded herself of what truly meant for success. 'I played a show at someone's house and I was singing, 'I Kissed A Girl' in between Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner, who were singing along with me at a party that I was hired to play. In that moment I'm like, you know what? I'm a f**king success,' she affirmed. The iconic singer is survived her brother and sister-in-law, James and Mary Ellen Sobule, and her nephews, Ian Matthew and Robert and Robert's wife Irina, according to Y! Entertainment.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jill Sobule Dies In House Fire: LGBTQ Artist Behind 'I Kissed A Girl' & 'Supermodel' Was 66
Jill Sobule, the pop artist best known for songs including 'I Kissed a Girl' and 'Supermodel,' has died in a house fire. She was 66. According to local news reports, firefighters in responded to call at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday at a house in Woodbury, Minnesota, which was fully engulfed in flames upon arrival. The cause of the fire is under investigation. More from Deadline 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries Mike Peters Dies: The Alarm's Frontman Was 66 Andrew Karpen Dies: Bleecker Street Media Founder And CEO Was 59 'Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture,' her manager John Porter said in a statement shared with our sister publication Rolling Stone. 'I was having so much fun working with her. I lost a client and a friend today. I hope her music, memory and legacy continue to live on and inspire others.' Born Jan. 16, 1959, in Denver, Sobule released her Todd Rundgren-produced debut album Things Here Are Different in 1990. Other albums include Happy Town (1997), Pink Pearl (2000), Underdog Victorious (2004), California Years (2009), Dottie's Charm (2014) and Nostalgia Kills (2018). Singer-songwriter and guitarist Sobule became popular for her self-titled second album in 1995, which featured the lesbian anthem 'I Kissed a Girl,' the first gay-themed song to make the Top 20 on Billboard's Modern Rock, and the bop 'Supermodel,' which appeared that year in the seminal teen film Clueless. Watch her quirky video for 'I Kissed a Girl,' a different song from Katy Perry's debut hit of the same name: Composing music for film and television, Sobule's work appeared in Nickelodeon's Unfabulous, and she acted and performed her music in the 2004 film Mind the Gap. She also appeared as herself in a 2003 episode of The West Wing and had roles in the features Mind the Gap and Grace of My Heart and on Oddville, MTV. RELATED: Sobule's death comes ahead of the June 6 release of the original cast recording for her 2023 Off-Broadway musical memoir F*ck7thGrade, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of her self-titled album. Explaining that she's 'been known to do topical and political songs' in her career, Sobule said while touring with The Fixx last month: 'I'm certainly not used to tiptoeing around. So it's interesting and even wonderful to figure out what you can get away with and how you can still relate to people who disagree with you.' DEADLINE RELATED VIDEO: Best of Deadline Brad Pitt's Apple 'F1' Movie: Everything We Know So Far Everything We Know About 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 So Far 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Jill Sobule Dies In House Fire: LGBTQ Artist Behind ‘I Kissed A Girl' & ‘Supermodel' Was 66
Jill Sobule, the pop artist best known for 'I Kissed a Girl' and other songs including 'Supermodel,' has died in a house fire. She was 66. According to local news reports, firefighters in responded to call at about 5:30 a.m. Thursday at a house in Woodbury, Minnesota, which was fully engulfed in flames upon arrival. The cause of the fire is under investigation. More from Deadline 2025 Deaths Photo Gallery: Hollywood & Media Obituaries Andrew Karpen Dies: Bleecker Street Media Founder And CEO Was 59 'On Swift Horses' Director Explains How Jacob Elordi & Daisy Edgar-Jones' Dynamic "Transcends Sexuality" 'Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture,' her manager John Porter said in a statement shared with our sister publication Rolling Stone. 'I was having so much fun working with her. I lost a client and a friend today. I hope her music, memory and legacy continue to live on and inspire others.' Born Jan. 16, 1959, in Denver, Sobule released her Todd Rundgren-produced debut album Things Here Are Different in 1990. Other albums include Happy Town (1997), Pink Pearl (2000), Underdog Victorious (2004), California Years (2009), Dottie's Charm (2014) and Nostalgia Kills (2018). Singer-songwriter and guitarist Sobule became popular for her self-titled second album in 1995, which featured the lesbian anthem 'I Kissed a Girl,' the first gay-themed song to make the Top 20 on Billboard's Modern Rock, and the bop 'Supermodel,' which appeared that year in the seminal teen film Clueless. Watch the video for 'I Kissed a Girl' here: Composing music for film and television, Sobule's work appeared in Nickelodeon's Unfabulous, and she acted and performed her music in the 2004 film Mind the Gap. Sobule's death comes ahead of the June 6 release of the original cast recording for her 2023 Off-Broadway musical memoir F*ck7thGrade, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of her self-titled album. Explaining that she's 'been known to do topical and political songs' in her career, Sobule said while touring with The Fixx last month, 'I'm certainly not used to tiptoeing around. So it's interesting and even wonderful to figure out what you can get away with and how you can still relate to people who disagree with you.' Best of Deadline Brad Pitt's Apple 'F1' Movie: Everything We Know So Far Everything We Know About 'Nine Perfect Strangers' Season 2 So Far 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
