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by Lauren Gitlin
Before she ever performed her version of Paul McCartney's
"Maybe I'm Amazed" on the Season One finale
of "The OC," Jem was a hard working artist
well on her way to indie success. While touring with
the Dave Matthews Band, her original tune "Just
a Ride" was used in two "O.C." episodes
earlier in the season as well. But it was her live appearance
that was the real eye opener for the Welsh trip-hop
goddess.
"I didn't know, until after we shot the scene and
the series wrapped, quite how big ‘The OC' was,"
she reveals. In fact, it wasn't until the season finale
party that she realized the extent of the show's popularity.
"I was like ‘holy s@#t,' it seemed like every
paparazzi in the world was there."
Jem's pop culture cluelessness stems from the fact that
she was in the United Kingdom when the show began, so
"by the time I came to the States, the last four
episodes were airing," she says, before adding
with a laugh, "Now, I'm gonna have to watch it
backwards!"
Since her "O.C." appearance, the Wales-born
songstress (born Jem Griffiths) has been burning up
the airwaves. VH1 aired a special focusing on her album,
"Finally Woken" and the video for her song,
"They." More recently, she appeared on the
Jimmy Kimmel show and MTV where she talked about signing
to Dave Matthews' label ATO Records and hearing Madonna
sing her song, "Nothing Fails" (on the American
Life album).
"I like to write about personal experiences,"
she says, "as well as emotions and situations I
observe around me. I'm totally in love with music and
how it can move people." And how has her rising
career moved her? "It's been really exciting,"
she replies. "I always knew I'd be a singer, but
I never thought of myself as a songwriter. But now after
my first U.S. tour, my first video and my television
debut on ‘The O.C.,' I'm writing loads more music
and loving every second of it." |
