You Can't Miss Jewel's Soulful Performance on The Kelly Clarkson Show

Viewers were treated to a small American Song Contest reunion during the April 25th episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show when Jewel appeared as a guest.

The Grammy-nominated folk Artist represented Alaska on the NBC music series, which sees 56 Artists (each representing a U.S. state, territory, or Washington, D.C.) competing for the title of Best Original Song. She duked it out alongside up-and-coming musicians in addition to other well known Artists, like Michael Bolton, The Voice Season 9 winner Jordan Smith, and Sisqó. 

On ASC, Jewel performed her new track, "The Story." And though she didn't advance to the next round of the competition (which Clarkson hosts alongside Snoop Dogg), the iconic musician is still celebrating her latest album, Freewheelin' Woman, which was released on April 15.

"I'm just really proud that I've been able to have my own life," Jewel said, explaining the album's title to Clarkson. "You know this job is not kind to women, it's hard on women, it's hard on women as we age. And I'm proud of my age. I think I'm singing better than I ever sung, I think I'm writing better than I've ever written. So, I just feel like I wanted the album to represent a sense of empowerment. I love this age, I love where I'm at, and I don't want to have to pretend something else."

On The Kelly Clarkson Show, Jewel performed her newest single "Long Way 'Round," a soulful ballad about life's many ups and downs.

"My life has definitely been the long way around," she said. "It's been a lot of hard plot twists that haven't been fun, that haven't been easy, but they made me who I am, and I do feel good. Really, I feel so happy where I'm at in my life. Just that encouragement of sometimes it is the long way around, sometimes it's messy. Life is so messy, but you come out the other side."  

American Song Contest airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.