Tribe Tidbids – Jem and Silly Thing

“When I actually heard it I was so shocked, ’cause it was the first time I believed it was actually going to happen. And to hear Madonna singing it was like, oh my gosh, so bizarre. My mom keeps calling me whenever it’s on. She’ll go to shops in the U.K. and hold the phone up to the thing and I’m like, “They’re going to arrest you.”

This is Jemma “Jem” Griffiths talking about her experience as co-writer of Madonna‘s “Nothing Fails”, originally titled Silly Thing in an article by Corey Moss on MTV.com.

Born in Wales, Jem wrote her first song when she was 13, and although it’s taken 15 years and the assistance of a few superstars, her debut full-length album finally arrives Tuesday.

“I knew then one day I’d be doing this, but I didn’t ever want to be a star,” Jem said while taking a break from apartment hunting on a recent sunlit afternoon. “So I just went on with my life. I went to college. Actually, I did a law degree, which is really funny.”

While at Sussex University, sort of – “I hardly went, to be honest,” she admitted – Jem started DJing and promoting clubs and turntablists, including Fatboy Slim. She eventually launched the breakbeat label Marine Parade with DJ Adam Freeland.

After graduating, however, she decided to shine the spotlight on her own singing career.

“All my friends were like, ‘What?,’ ” Jem recalled. “I knew it’d be fine, but a lot of people were quite concerned, ’cause it’s not normal to suddenly run off and be a singer. But then I did this demo around that time and I played it to them and they were like, ‘Sh–, this actually might work,’ which is quite funny because they were like, ‘We were really worried it was going to be rubbish.’ ”

That demo landed a recording session with longtime Björk producer Guy Sigsworth. On their second day together, she finished a song he had been writing, which the producer later submitted to another artist. Titled “Nothing Fails,” it became the third single on Madonna‘s American Life.

Jem has also released her full length debut album on March 23. Titled “Finally Woken,” the album features eleven tracks written and co-produced by Jem. Please visit Jem‘s website at the following link.

To read an article by Arjan published by MadonnaTribe last January, please click here.

Source: Corey Moss, MTV.com