The story of singer-songwriter Jewel is fairly well known: She was living in a van on the streets of San Diego before she found success as an artist.
A little less known is how she ended up in that situation in the first place.
"I became homeless after I got fired from my job because I wouldn't (be "romantic" with my boss," she explains. "I almost died from blood poisoning because I had bad kidneys. I fell into this bad poverty cycle, and I couldn't get out."
That makes her success as an artist all the more impressive. Most performers move to a music town such as Nashville or Los Angeles with a dream of getting a record deal. She just wanted to survive.
"It wasn't like I was an artist trying to make my dream work," she said. "I started writing songs and performing because that would give me money so I could live. Then a radio station put a bootleg recording of mine on the radio and my first label heard it."
These days, her home is a little more impressive than the van. She lives on a ranch she shares with rodeo pro Ty Murray, though she spends a lot of time on the road. She’s currently touring with Brad Paisley on the Paisley Party Tour, which also features Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough. Not to mention working on her own country music and being a judge/mentor on Nashville Star!!!!