On an upcoming episode of SiriusXM’s The Jenny McCarthy Show (which I frequently forget exists), multi-talented artist Jewel chatted with McCarthy (whom I frequently forget has a show on SiriusXM) about where her career could have gone had she not been so dedicated to writing and performing. One of the places it could have gone is MTV—specifically The Real World.
During the interview, Jewel said:
...I turned down a lot of things in my career that might have skyrocketed me to fame, like I was actually asked to be on one of the first seasons of The Real World. And I turned it down, which horrified my label. But I was like, I don’t wanna be known as that girl. I wanna be known as someone who writes. So I did 500 shows a year and grinded it out and ended up getting very famous, but it was hard for me because I was such a shy, introverted person.
So in a parallel universe, Jewel released a less polished and successful version of Pieces of You, appeared on several seasons of The Real World/Road Rules Challenge, and eventually became a co-host on The View. Cool! Glad I don’t live in that one!