Jewel Chooses To Stop And Count To "Ten"

Three-time GRAMMY-winning singer Jewel performing in her music video for "Ten," is today's addition at Top Country Music Videos. The single, a fan favorite, is the 3rd single off Jewel's ninth studio album, "Sweet and Wild," a country-leaning album she released this past June. The music video premiered on CMT a few days ago. With a twangy, guitar-plucking melody, Jewel admits love's journey is no easy task despite occasional conflicts, she says sometimes the best resolution is to step back and reflect, her new single "Ten" inspires hope that she may find that voice once again.
The 36-year-old country crossover singer bounced between pop, light rock and even dance—the genre where she has found her most chart success. And then there was country. Yet, she's never really tapped in to the same well of insight that she drew from when she was younger. Not until now, not until this one track from this otherwise unremarkable collection. "Ten," co-written with Dave Berg, is glossy and fully aligned with country music's mainstream. But it's also one of the best songs she's ever written—certainly the best song she's written in a decade. "Ten" is not just a tight song, it's a perfect song. The track boasts a plucky banjo and the faint wail of a steel guitar, but album producer Nathan Chapman smartly keeps most of the musical augmentation in a supporting role to Jewel's incredible voice.
The real story here, however, is just how essential these lyrics are. "Ten" tells the story of a woman who, in the midst of fights with her lover, stops and counts to ten. As she counts through the chorus, we get to hear what goes on in her mind. "One, I still wanna hate you/Two, three I still wanna leave," she sings. This isn't your cookie-cutter "we've all got problems" bickering, as typically portrayed on country radio. This is real. This is a drag it out, scream and shout kind of fight. This is the kind of fight that's so frustrating, so infuriating, so demoralizing, that it just seems like the best thing you can do is pack up your bag and go.
Because anything has to be better than this. A fight like that spirals out of control, and like a snowball rolling down a mountain, it builds upon itself. The words get meaner and the pain grows deeper. Although Jewel isn't pulling any punches when she puts on the boxing gloves in her new video for "Ten." Jewel reminds us that, in that moment, we have to hold on. And, that if we can just get to ten we might not even remember what we were fighting about in the first place. "Ten" is smart, sensitive and powerful. Here's hoping that Jewel, after all of these years has finally voice that voice she's been searching for.