Crown Jewel

Advocate.com Said, Jewel Said

Lullaby -- "Music for the soul."

Cowboys -- "Hot!"

Guitar -- "Companion. Until I had my husband, my best friend and most loyal companion was my guitar and music. It's helped me battle loneliness and it's been a great weapon at times, standing up for what you believe in. I really love my guitar."

Love -- "Healing. Having the type of life I've had -- moving out when I was 15, homeless when I was 18, I think you have a choice to either let life make you bitter or more compassionate with a bigger heart and more yielding. I've tried to let my experiences make me more compassionate and more touched by humanity and the struggles of myself and people. I think turning to love instead of bitterness and cynicism is really important if you're gonna stay alive and enjoy life at all."

Reality -- "What you perceive it to be. I think reality is very dependent on a perception of life and it can change as we grow and evolve."

Lady GaGa -- "Love her! I got to meet her at the Today show and it was really neat! I go, 'Hi, I'm Jewel' and she goes, 'I know who you are!' [ Laughs ] She's really cute and really clever. It's fun to see people that are as strong visually -- you know, in music, you're always looking for that hook ... what the hook of the song is or what your style of music is going to be, and I think that her style and her look is a very strong hook."

Equality -- "Gosh, where to start on equality. America was founded on liberty and equality, and the right to be equal. I think when the forefathers set out with such an ambitious task and we're still fighting for it, even after slavery, we're still fighting for equal rights for everybody. But at least this is a country where we can fight for it. I know it gets frustrating 'cause we feel like everything should have happened yesterday -- and I agree -- but at least we can have the debate and we're making a lot of headway."