‘I’m not afraid any extra’: Norah Jones talks overnight fame, getting susceptible, and singing with Dolly Parton

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Norah Jones simply needs to have enjoyable. In reality, she makes use of the phrase “fun” 28 occasions over the course of our interview (sure, I counted). And actually, who can blame her?

One feels that, if anybody in music has earned the precise to sit back and take pleasure in what they do, it’s Jones. The 44-year-old singer/songwriter with the butter-smooth voice achieved industry-veteran standing greater than 20 years in the past, having first exploded onto the scene in 2002 with her phenomenally profitable debut album, Come Away with Me. It was licensed diamond, promoting over 27 million copies worldwide, and earned her 5 Grammy awards. It additionally propelled Jones – aged simply 22 on the time – from a comparatively unknown musician to a family identify.

“It was a crazy few years; it was a strange, strange time,” she muses, in what seems like one thing of an understatement. “I wasn’t really prepared.”

Jones was on the vanguard of a Noughties cohort of easy-listening solo artists who had been launched into the stratosphere by insanely widespread debuts. It was a interval dominated by Damien Rice’s O, Katie Melua’s Call Off the Search, Dido’s No Angel, James Blunt’s Back to Bedlam. These albums had been era-defining – the musical rating that underpinned a whole decade of dinner events, and the sonic backdrop to each iconic movie and TV collection.

Jones’s songs featured on the whole lot from Maid in Manhattan to Love Actually to Two Weeks Notice. The light guitar twang, brushed drums and acoustic bass of “Don’t Know Why”, alongside Jones’s intimate vocals and jazz-infused piano-playing, nonetheless evoke a wistful nostalgia 22 years on. For the artists on the centre of this whirlwind of overnight fame, it was virtually inconceivable to maintain such peculiarly sudden stardom.

“I feel like I never reached that level of success again,” says Jones. “But I was fine with that. That was too stressful!”

So what has she been doing since her unparalleled heyday? Come Away with Me was adopted up by three consecutive albums that went platinum over the following seven years – Feels Like Home, Not Too Late and The Fall– whereas the 2010s introduced one other three albums. These later choices had been critically admired, however none got here near matching her earlier successes, although she’s made her peace with that (there are solely so many romcom soundtracks to characteristic on, in spite of everything).

“I let go of trying to reach the same success,” says Jones. “Although I worked hard and I was proud of the music, the stars aligned in a way that just made [Come Away with Me] go insane. I didn’t know how to recreate that, so I wasn’t going to try.”

The complete idea of success is “weird”, to Jones’s mind-set – 500 years in the past, it was outlined as, in her phrases, “finding food”. Nowadays, it’s your songs being heard by the vast majority of the English-speaking world: “It’s such a weird, strange, modern thing, that is maybe a little unnatural.”

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Having the highlight shine so blindingly on her at such a younger age has additionally formed Jones’s relationship with fame (even if it ran within the household because of her late father, sitar virtuoso Ravi Shankar). You get the impression that she finds it uncomfortable – distasteful, even. “It takes a lot of work to be very famous and stay very famous,” she says. “I don’t think that would be enjoyable for me. I live a pretty simple life. And I appreciate that – I wouldn’t want it to be more exposed. That would be weird.”

When Jones hit the large time, it was an period wherein popstars like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera had been relentlessly stalked by paparazzi, their each transfer and outfit torn to shreds by the press. Perhaps this, too, has warped her concept of celeb? “I mean, that would have been awful,” she says of being topic to that stage of scrutiny. “That’s just so damaging to people; I’m glad I wasn’t in that… what do you call it? Stream?”

Jones says she felt “protected” and “sheltered” by the workforce round her on the pinnacle of her profession, ensconced “in a little corner of the music industry that was more my speed”. Still, you may’t assist however really feel that being surrounded by the very seen cautionary tales of feminine artists who weren’t so fortunate has led her to grow to be extraordinarily cautious of opening up.

While Jones likes “fun”, is she having enjoyable speaking to me, I ponder? Though she by no means refuses to reply a query, her responses can be greatest described as “guarded”. When I ask who’d be her dream artist to work with, she says “there’s tons of people” however refuses to be drawn on names; after I ask what profession would have appealed had she not gone into music, she responds that she has “no idea”.

Her personal life is sacred and largely off limits; whereas Jones mentions in passing the two kids, aged 10 and seven, that she has with keyboardist husband Pete Remm, I instinctively know not to push for extra particulars. (Having been instructed prematurely not to ask about her household or private life, I keep away from her earlier long-term relationship with bassist Lee Alexander on the apex of her fame, plus the reconciliation with her father following a protracted interval of estrangement.)

Case in level: throughout our chat over Zoom, Jones retains her digital camera firmly switched off. While I take pleasure in listening to the light burr of her voice, pleasing to the ear even when merely talking, I lament the truth that I can’t see her facial expressions or these large, brown, doe-like eyes gentle up as she talks about her new album, Visions. Then once more, I actually can perceive why she feels protecting. At the peak of her success, she misplaced the enjoyment in making music someplace alongside the way in which.

“There was a time when we” – a tellingly depersonalised “we” – “were so busy doing interviews and I wasn’t having fun playing music, because by the time I got to the show, I was just too tired,” she remembers. “And I remember a moment where I was like, ‘OK, what am I doing if this part isn’t fun? What’s wrong here?’ I definitely kept that as my marker: let’s keep it fun. The music should be fun.”

It’s why, for a very long time, Jones felt cautious of utilizing social media: “I don’t naturally go online and post my thoughts on the day or what’s happening – that’s not how I feel comfortable being out there in the world,” she says. But throughout the pandemic, she discovered a technique to make it work for her that felt pure, performing for a web based viewers through live-streams. “I felt like I finally found my way into social media,” she agrees. “It made a lot of sense for me. Doing music, actually playing songs for people, is my way in.”

Though she claims not to have skilled the darkish facet of being on-line – “It felt very positive, I haven’t had a ton of negativity” – she admits that a part of this comes again to that self-protective intuition that appears to have dictated our dialog so far. “I don’t look very deeply into the comments, because I’m afraid of that. You don’t want that to mess with your head. I think it’s really damaging to people.”

It’s apparent that considered one of Jones’s overriding passions is collaboration. Speaking about her newest album, broadly impressed by the concepts that are available that mystical nether-time between sleeping and waking, she raves about working with music producer and songwriter Leon Michels, with whom she’d beforehand labored on a Christmas album. “This album was really different for me, because we went in and just did a few hours here and there every few weeks. It wasn’t like we blocked out a period of time – it was sort of a work in progress for about a year and a half. And it was really fun!”

There’s that phrase once more – speaking about making music with Michels is when it’s deployed most ceaselessly, I discover. “It was a different way to work. And it was nice, because there was no looming pressure other than to just have fun playing music – and we had so much fun playing music together. Every time we got together, it was just really fun. You know?”

This infectious enthusiasm maybe greatest demonstrates why Jones has been so prolific in the case of partnering with different artists – you’d be hard-pressed to seek out an A-list musician she hasn’t labored with over the past twenty years, from Keith Richards to Foo Fighters to Ray Charles. Who was her favorite? “I feel like everyone I’ve worked with has helped shape where I go; you’re always gathering inspiration by your experiences and the people who come into your life, even if it’s really brief. Musically, that’s no different.”

But if she needed to choose, gun to her head…? “I did a song with Dolly Parton for the Country Music Awards. I mean, that’s definitely a standout – it was amazing! I have so much love and respect for her as an artist and as a human. I mean, as a songwriter she’s just insane – an insane unicorn we all love.”

As she’s telling me this story, Jones reveals that her children don’t fairly grasp what a giant deal their mom is. “We were listening to Dolly yesterday – and, you know, I didn’t tell them that I’ve performed with her, because that feels braggy or embarrassing. I didn’t want to blow their minds too hard!” She’s caught them on a few events listening to her previous stuff on the iPad – nevertheless it’s uncommon. “I think it’s just because they’re curious, but not much. They hear it if I’m checking a mix sometimes, and they’ll chime in: ‘I like this one, Mommy. It’s nice.’”

Her love for collaborating has additionally led Jones to make a podcast, Norah Jones Is Playing Along, the place she sits down with artists who’ve beforehand included Rufus Wainwright, The National and Dave Grohl, for a session of musical improvisation and dialog. Leaning into that group dynamic has been instrumental in liberating her up as a songwriter: “I feel more inspired to write than I ever have,” she tells me. “It doesn’t matter how vulnerable it gets now, because in the end, it’s a piece of art. And I think showing emotions… I’m not afraid about that any more.”

While Jones could also be happier with a quieter, less complicated life lately, she’s happy to see the brand new batch of powerhouse females who’re presently dominating the music {industry}. At the 2024 Grammy Awards, historical past was made when all 5 Best Pop Solo Performance nominees had been girls. At the latest Brit Awards, solo feminine artist Raye swept the board, selecting up a record-breaking six awards. “I mean, women are ruling,” says Jones. “They really, really, really are right now.” But there’s no glimmer of jealousy in her voice, nor the merest trace that she would need that very same success once more. When I ask her about any remaining large objectives or goals, music isn’t even talked about.

“The things I really want to do in the future all involve vacations that I’ve never taken,” she says. “I would love to go to a surf camp in Costa Rica; I like stuff like that. I like physical activities that are outside. I think it’d be fun.” There’s that phrase once more. And she throws one other one in for good measure: completely satisfied. “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 get to play music – well, then I’m really happy.” Sounds like enjoyable.

‘Visions’ is out now