Norah Jones struggled with the “scrutiny” and “stress of “overthinking” during the height of her career.
The 44-year-old jazz star is back with her new album, ‘Visions’, and she has reflected on the pressure she was under when she released her 2002 debut album ‘Come Away With Me’, which peaked at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and received Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album.
She told Reader’s Digest: “It was definitely a crazy time. I look back on it and some of it was really fun, some of it wasn’t and some of it was just confusing. Playing music all over the world and travelling—that was really fun.
But there was a lot of stress, a lot of scrutiny and a lot of overthinking of something that was supposed to just be fun and from the heart.”
The nine-time Grammy winner is “glad” she’s not starting out now as it’s harder to sell albums.
Asked if she feels “free” to make the music she wants to make, she replied: “Yeah, I’ve always felt really free in that way and I’ve always felt really excited to try different things and collaborate with different people. The best part of this job is not knowing where it’s going to take you and then being surprised by yourself.
Norah continued: “Of course, the industry has changed a lot. Streaming and social media are the biggest changes.
I’m just glad that I sold albums when you still could. I feel really lucky about that because I think it’s hard for people to make money now. They have to be their own managers and PR machines. It’s a lot more work now.”