The trailblazing singer-songwriter Jill Sobule behind the 1995 hit “I Kissed a Girl” has died at the age of 66.
On May 1 of the year 2025, Sobule died, aged 60, in a house fire that occurred while she was asleep in her home in Woodbury, Minnesota.
Devastating house fire
The singer-songwriter Jill Sobule, whose frank 1995 song “I Kissed a Girl” caused a sensation nearly a decade before it became the No. 1 hit song for the singer Katy Perry, has died.
Rolling Stone reports that she was 66.
In a devastating house fire at her home in Woodbury, Minnesota early Thursday morning, May 1, Sobule died, according to her publicity firm. Police in Woodbury are investigating the cause of the fire that burned at the house where Sobule was found, the Star Tribune reported.
The loss of Sobule comes just before two new projects were scheduled for release, including a 30th anniversary reissue of her breakout Atlantic Records self-titled.
Sobule sometimes has been described as one of the most underrated and underappreciated talents of the 1990s, and she created a space in music as honest as it was fearless. During over three decades, her music covered topics such as the death penalty, anorexial eating disorders, and LGBTQ+ rights.
The backstory of the iconic song
Jill Sobule was a storyteller to be reckoned with, a fearless cultural pioneer and born and bred in Denver, Colorado.
In 1990, she signed to MCA Records and released an album produced by legendary Todd Rundgren. It was all set for the record to make a big splash but when it didn’t, the label lost interest fast. It left Sobule feeling abandoned and overlooked in a period that found her spiraling into a difficult creative frustrating and emotionally spent time.
However, she wasn’t finished at all.
It was in 1995 that her real breakthrough occurred with the release of “I Kissed a Girl,” a cheeky, heartfelt song that put a toe over creating boundaries and cracking open doors. The song became historical, it was first open LGBTQ themed song to be in Billboard Top 20, the peak was 20 on the Modern Rock Tracks.
Fabio in the video
Other than its cheeky, tender take on same-sex attraction, ‘I Kissed A Girl’ also exploded onto TV as an MTV sensation for its odd pairing of playful irreverence alongside heartfelt emotion. And it became an iconic moment of the ’90s — Art Garfunkel’s nose and a massive Fabio crop up as the oblivious boyfriend in the music video.
“My intent was to write about a first kiss.” I would have been talking from a preteen or a 12 or 13 year old point of view if I was going to do it with a boy. I could talk about it from any age, and there was that with it, I thought that was really fascinating,” Sobule tells Knight-Ridder Newspapers shortly after the song starts picking up steam.
In the same year ‘Supermodel’ turned into pop culture history by being featured on the hit teen film, ‘Clueless,’ a move that seemed to feature Sobule firmly in the ’90s music scene.
“A force of nature”
During her three decades in the business, Sobule had released eight original studio albums; two EPs; and a greatest hits compilation. A folk pop sound with a distinct and unmistakable feel — putting wit, character driven storytelling as well as deeply heartfelt ballads the heart of what she does. However, critics often compared her style to the genre’s legendary singer-songwriters of the 1970s, with her lyrics being significantly modern.
Her longtime manager John Porter, who also produced her most celebrated album in DiscoGodzilla, remembered Sobule as “a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture.” He said that he hoped her music, memory and legacy live on and inspire others.
CNN reported that Sobule is survived by her brother and sister in law and nephews, cousins and a close circle of friends.
Jill Sobule always seemed unapologetic and always as herself, making fans laugh loudly with irony laced lyrics, making them cry from raw honesty. And in doing so, she provided for others who wanted to be themselves too. RIP!
