For her latest album, Jewel just wanted to hit the dance floor.
"Things are hard enough in life that you don't always want to be brought down with everything on the news," the singer told the New York Daily News. "I just want to have fun."
Jewel's fifth album, "0304," was produced with Lester Mendez, who helped Colombian singer Shakira break through on American radio. The result is a far cry from Jewel's folk roots, including her first single, "Who Will Save Your Soul."
"It wasn't some marketing strategy. It's just what I was drawn to, and that's always how I've gone about music," the 29-year-old said. "But when I told people I wanted to make a dance-hip-hop-folk record, they were all like, 'Ugh, Jewel. She's losing her mind.' "
Nevertheless, Jewel insists she hasn't abandoned her more profound side.
"If you want to take it deeper and listen to the record 30 times, hopefully you'll get something different out of the lyrics each time. But if you just want to have fun and dance, you can do that with this record."