Jill Sobule, the singer-songwriter who made waves in the mid-1990s with her controversial hit “I Kissed a Girl,” died tragically early Thursday morning in a house fire in Minneapolis. She was 66.
Sobule’s death, confirmed by former colleagues, comes just a day before she was scheduled to perform in Denver at a self-produced event titled *“Jill Sobule Presents: Songs From F–k 7th Grade & More.”* The performance, reflective of Sobule’s decades-long embrace of edgy, left-leaning cultural themes, has been canceled, with a free memorial gathering now set in its place.
Though her name may not be top-of-mind for younger Americans, Sobule was a fixture of 1990s pop culture. She achieved national fame with her 1995 single “I Kissed a Girl”—a track that boldly brought same-sex attraction into the mainstream well before the entertainment industry fully committed to progressive identity politics. The song peaked in the Billboard Top 20 and helped cement Sobule as an early cultural trailblazer in an increasingly politicized music landscape.
She also contributed “Supermodel” to the iconic teen movie *Clueless*, a film emblematic of a generation’s coming of age—but also, in hindsight, a cultural turning point that began pushing Hollywood further into postmodern values.
Sobule’s artistic footprint extended far beyond radio hits. She released 12 albums over a 30-year career, wrote satirical musicals like *F–k 7th Grade*—a project laced with themes of gender identity and adolescent trauma—and composed the theme song for Nickelodeon’s *Unfabulous*, a show aimed at tweens.
She was, in many ways, a voice of the counterculture—using humor, irony, and deeply personal lyrics to challenge societal norms and advance what would later become mainstream progressive causes. Her style was witty, her messaging often provocative, and her politics unmistakably left-wing.
Still, even her critics would concede she was an innovator. Sobule was one of the earliest musicians to embrace crowdfunding, raising \$75,000 in just two months from fans to produce her 2009 album *California Years*, long before it became standard practice for independent artists.
Tributes poured in from industry peers after her passing. Her longtime manager called her “a force of nature and human rights advocate,” while her attorney described her as “family,” praising her warmth and devotion to loved ones. Booking agent Craig Grossman echoed the sentiment, remembering her for her humor and energy.
Sobule’s legacy—though deeply entrenched in progressive activism and cultural boundary-pushing—cannot be ignored. She helped usher in a new era of openness in entertainment and played her part in steering America’s pop culture conversation leftward.
Whether you agreed with her politics or not, Jill Sobule was undeniably influential, a product of her time—and, in many ways, a contributor to the values shift that now defines much of Hollywood and academia.
She is survived by her brother James, sister-in-law Mary, and two nephews. A formal memorial is planned for later this summer.
