Grammy Nods Don't Change Norah Jones

By Stephen M. Silverman

Tuesday January 28, 2003 01:00 PM EST

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Norah Jones clearly isn't your everyday pop diva.

Despite eight Grammy nominations and worldwide sales of more than 6 million for her No.1 album, "Come Away with Me," Jones conscientiously eschews making flashy videos and posing for pinup photos, avoids celebrity hotspots and even travels without an entourage.

"The record industry has gotten so into image that image becomes more important than the singer," Jones, 23, tells the Los Angeles Times. "I don't know if there are any less good singers than ever, but most don't use their voices in ways that feel honest. Everyone just seems to go for the fast buck."

So not a mercenary is Jones that when her soulful, melancholy album hit the 1 million sales mark, Jones reportedly asked Bruce Lundvall, the head of jazz label Blue Note Records, if he would stop selling it.

"I know it was naive, but I was starting to panic," she says.

About the same time, Jones said, executives at Virgin Records took over radio promotion of the album and startled her with a remix of "Don't Know Why."

"I have no problem with techno music and remixes, but this one was horrible. They had drum machines on it and it was going, 'Don't know why ... why ... why.' It was the most absurd thing I've ever heard," says Jones.