Welsh singer Jem makes her mark

NEW YORK -- Chances are you've heard Jem's music even if you didn't know her name.

Her songs have been prominently featured on Fox's "The O.C.," and she portrayed a wedding singer performing "Maybe I'm Amazed" on last season's finale. Her "Come on Closer" was used on promos for "Desperate Housewives" and the song "24" played behind spots for "Without a Trace."

Even before her debut album "Finally Woken" was released, Madonna recorded one of Jem's songs for the CD "American Life."

Hard to remember, but there was a time when placing music on television was considered unhip. Now it's a key strategy in getting artists exposure, and has helped "Finally Woken" become a modest success.

"I wrote it to be heard," 29-year-old Jemma Griffiths explains over coffee in Times Square.

As a soulful, white singer of electronic-based music from Wales, the shorthand description of Jem is that she's a peppier Dido. She resented the comparison at first.

"It bothered me because I felt like my music was very original," she said. "It's like saying you're not your own thing, that you're walking in the path of someone else."

She's learned to accept that as a necessary evil of describing her music to someone who hasn't heard it.

Jem said she knew with certainty at age 13 that she wanted to be a pop singer. That didn't stop her from going to law school and earning a degree at the urging of her lawyer dad. Now she's better able than most singers to comb through the fine print of contracts.

She's also pretty determined. Jem had a friend write a letter in Braille to her hero, Stevie Wonder, and tried to interest Dr. Dre in her music, both times without getting replies. She hung out near Beatles producer George Martin's studio, trying to get some musicians to bring a note in to him.

"I didn't know how else you would get a recording contract," she said. "Nobody is going to come knocking at your door."

In four years of trying to get her career off the ground, Jem said she had only two days -- she remembers them distinctly -- when she doubted herself. But she quickly banished those questions from her head.

"I think I've got a 'never give up' gene," she said.

She displayed it during a recent appearance on Conan O'Brien's "Late Night." While jumping around during her performance, her microphone belt flew off. No Ashlee Simpson moment for Jem; she kept going.

"I can't do a jig," she said.

When she finally had some labels express interest in her, after hearing a demo that included a song written with British producer Guy Sigsworth, she was nervous. She settled on singer Dave Matthews' label, ATO Records, which became known for its patient approach with artists such as David Gray.

Her disc was released in the United States nearly a full year before being put out in Britain last month. Her management reasoned that it takes a longer time to make an impact in the larger U.S. market.

Jem was initially disappointed when producers of "The O.C." recruited her to sing "Maybe I'm Amazed" at the TV wedding. She wanted to sing one of her own songs. And -- get this -- she had never heard Paul McCartney's original.

But she grew to love it and it turned out to be a great experience, she said.

She has moved to Los Angeles and developed enough contacts to get some interesting side jobs, like being a disc jockey at a party at the Sundance Film Festival.

She craned her neck but couldn't tell if anyone famous was out there dancing to her beats. Jem usually starts with some early 1990s rave music and throws in a few old songs -- Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" is a favorite -- before moving on to newer things.

It's a pretty easy strategy.

"If you get the girls up, you get the guys up," she said.

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