Jewel is maintaining her country roots as she returns to the format with her sophomore follow-up album, Sweet and Wild. The album, written and produced by Jewel, will be released on June 11th. The first single, "Stay Here Forever," has been embraced by critics and the video is a success on CMT and GAC. "The theme of this album is finding what's true about you and your life, and defending it and valuing it above all else," said Jewel. "My newest country album will share so many of my personal feelings of love and happiness that I have written into the songs," said Jewel, who married her longtime boyfriend Ty Murray in the summer of 2008. Jewel will also embark on a tour sponsored by Country Financial to support Sweet and Wild.
Also near and dear to Jewel's heart is her charitable initiative, Project Cleanwater, which she continues to support, unwaveringly. Jewel founded Project Clean Water in 1997. Having experienced homelessness as a teenager, Jewel became ill and couldn't afford to buy the bottled water she needed for her sick kidneys. She then realized it was difficult to obtain clean water in the United States, and discovered it was a huge problem globally. She has been relentless in her efforts to bring safe water to those in need and create awareness of clean water shortages around the world.
Project Clean Water has recently partnered with Virgin Unite and the Voss Foundation to create the "Give A Drop" campaign. Donations of $5.00 can be made by texting the message "DROP" to phone number 85944. Money raised through text donations will benefit the partnership, which is currently working in Pel in the Dogon region of Mali, where 40 water retention structures were recently completed. This spring, work will also begin to help rural villages in southeast Ethiopia expand their access to clean water.
Jewel currently lives on a working ranch in Stephenville, Texas with her husband, World Champion bull-riding superstar, Ty Murray.
