Norah Jones still having fun
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Norah Jones
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(CNN) -- The wait is over for Norah Jones' second album.
The 24-year-old singer/songwriter's debut album, "Come Away With Me," was released in 2002 and went on to win eight Grammys last February -- five for Jones herself. "Come Away With Me" was named album of the year, the song "Don't Know Why" won record of the year and song of the year, and she earned best new artist.
Jones' latest, "Feels Like Home," is out February 10 and features guests including Dolly Parton, Levon Helm and Garth Hudson of The Band. Jones is set to begin a European tour in April with a North American tour following this summer.
The Music Room sat down with Jones in New York to talk about the record and how she has adjusted to her success.
TMR: Do you ever just sit there and think "Wow"?
JONES: Not really, sometimes if I'm in a situation. A few months ago I got to meet Ray Charles and sing with him, and I was just "Wow, who am I? And why am I singing with Ray Charles?" But usually I try not to think about it. Otherwise I might go a little insane.
TMR: Let's talk about the new album. You're kind of going in a different musical direction. How do you feel when you listen to it now that it's finished?
JONES: I'm excited about the new album. It's a little bit different, but it's not a heavy metal record or anything. I don't know, we just had a great time making it. There's a little bit more country in there, that's what the whole band -- we've all been sort of listening to that stuff over the last couple of years.
TMR: How did you come to cover the Tom Waits/Kathleen Brennan song, "The Long Way Home"?
Jones' second album releases February 10.
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JONES: The Tom Waits song -- actually I met Tom Waits backstage at the show he did. I was so excited to meet him, I was so nervous, and his wife was so nice and she took me over to meet him. And I said, "Hi, Tom Waits. I love you." And he said, "Oh hi, did you get the songs I sent you?" I'm like, "What are you talking about?"
So I found these songs that he had sent someone -- maybe my manager -- and he said, "Yeah, I heard you were looking for songs" -- which I wasn't. So it was kind of cool that he just sent them randomly. And there was this one song I knew that I really loved and we recorded it for fun. We weren't really sure what would go on the album yet, but we ended up putting it on.
TMR: Can you talk a little bit about the other guests, including Dolly Parton?
JONES: We were going to make the album with the whole band and not really have anybody else come in, but we ended up having a lot of guests. Some of them are people that were friends of ours. We were upstate recording and the engineer said that Garth Hudson lived nearby -- would we like to have him come and play some organ? And we thought that would be amazing and we did it and it was really amazing to work with him ... And then we went back upstate to record with Levon Helm, and that was just as amazing. They are just such nice people.
And another special guest we had on -- it was kind of a last minute thing -- was Dolly Parton. Again, I've idolized her my whole life. She's one of the best musicians around, and I sang with her at the Country Music Awards. And it was so fun and she was so sweet to me, and I fell in love with her. She was going to be in New York when we were recording, so we asked her to come in and sing on this song -- this country song that we weren't sure should go on the record. But we just thought if Dolly wants to come in and sing on it, it will be fun anyway ... and it was.
TMR: You've come such a long way since 2001, is there a moment that just stands out?
JONES: ... I mean it seems like things happen overnight, but they happen more gradually than they seem. My record came out in February of 2002, the Grammys didn't happen until February 2003, a whole year later. So it was just sort of this slow steady burn and every month there was a new thing where I was like, "Pinch me, I'm dreaming." But probably the coolest thing was Sesame Street and we only did that a few months ago. That was pretty cool.
TMR: Do you find it difficult being in the spotlight?
JONES: My life has changed a lot in the past couple of years. But it also kind of hasn't. I have the same band and boyfriend and family and friends, I go to the same places to eat and drink and everything. I have a nicer apartment -- other than that, everything's pretty much normal. I'm normal with my friends.
Things have changed. I'm enjoying myself now. In the beginning I was a little bit uncomfortable, but I've gotten to a place now where I know that if I'm not enjoying myself, then I know it's not worth it. So I try to enjoy myself and I usually succeed. And if I'm not enjoying myself, I've got to look at it and see what's bothering me and try and change something.
