I love Paula Cole. Her 1994 album Harbinger was on constant repeat during my senior year of high school and This Fire (for which she won a grammy) is my favorite album of all time. She has one of the most powerful and beautiful voices I have ever heard. Her music is raw, honest and so so beautiful. Back in 1999 her hit “I Don’t Want to Wait” was all over the airwaves and even became the theme song of “Dawson’s Creek”, the fabulous TV Drama/guilty-pleasure that I still miss to this day. Paula shot to superstardom in about 30 seconds and was overwhelmed with attention and offers of money. But instead of milking the cash cow, Paula quietly released 2000’s Amen and disappeared from view for seven years.During her break, Paula became a yoga instructor, had a baby, and spent some time just being a real person. She finally released a new album in 2007 called Courage, which I just discovered. There is one song on it called “14″ that I literally cannot stop listening to. You can visit www.paulacole.com to give it a listen.Paula Cole inspires me because she made a decision to have a life and maintain her integrity as an artist. She didn’t want the glamorous rock star world; reality suited her better. Rock on, Paula!