Alanis Morissette

Alanis Nadine Morissette (born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian singer who was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Her parents are Alan and Georgia Morissette; her two brothers are Chad (older) and Wade (twin).

Morissette initially came to fame as a member of the Canadian children's television program You Can't Do That on Television, at the age of 12. Credited simply as Alanis (to avoid possible confusion with fellow Canadian singer Alannah Myles[?]), Morissette's first album, Alanis, was issued in 1991, and her first single, "Too Hot", reached the Top 10 on the Canadian charts. Morissette was nominated for three Juno Awards: Single of the Year, Best Dance Record, and Most Promising Female Vocalist (which she won). Her second album, Now Is the Time, marked an attempt to move away from a teen dance-party sound toward a much more serious sound, but it was not quite as well received. Her first international album Jagged Little Pill (Lyrics (http://www.angelfire.com/mi/wojtkiewicz/jagged.html)), with its hit single "You Oughta Know", propelled her to fame at the age of 20, and she garnered six Grammy Award nominations (she won for Album of the Year, Best Female Vocal Performance for "You Oughta Know", and Best Rock Album). In 1998, she released Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie (Lyrics (http://www.angelfire.com/mi/wojtkiewicz/supposed.html)) and in 1999 the live album Alanis Morissette - mtv unplugged. In the year 2001 she released Under Rug Swept which spawned the top ten hit "Hands Clean". In December 2002 she released a dual DVD/CD combination package, feast on scraps, which includes live footage from a Rotterdam concert of that same year, 8 new songs, and other features.

In 1999 she appeared in the Kevin Smith film Dogma in the role of God, though she has publicly called the Bible "patriarchal and sexist". She also contributed to the soundtrack of that film, as well as to the soundtrack of City of Angels in 1998. In South Park her music video was parodied with a quick shot of a fictional album cover entitled Alanis: Naked and Crying.

One of Alanis Morissette's most famous songs is "Ironic", whose lyrics list events and circumstances and describe them as ironic. The song has frequently been criticised on the grounds that many of the listed circumstances are not ironic at all, although some have noted the irony inherent in a song called "Ironic" that isn't.

Alanis Morissette has an official website (http://www.alanis.com/) and message board (http://forums.prospero.com/wm-alanis).