American singer and songwriter Jill Sobule passed away on the morning of May 1, 2025, in a house fire in the city of Woodbury, 16 miles east of Minneapolis, Minnesota. She was 66. The cause of the fire is being investigated, The Guardian reported.
“Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture,” her manager, John Porter, said in a statement, according to NBC News.
The press release added:
“I was having so much fun working with her. I lost a client and a friend today. I hope her music, memory, and legacy continue to live on and inspire others.”
Sobule is best remembered for her 1995 hit song, I Kissed a Girl. It was one of the first openly gay songs, sung from the perspective of a woman who kissed another female for the first time and enjoyed every moment of it.
However, when pop star Katy Perry released her debut single titled, I Kissed a Girl, in 2008, Jill Sobule was not impressed. During a 2009 interview with The Rumpus, she stated:
“F**k you Katy Perry, you f**king stupid, maybe ‘not good for the gays,’ title-thieving, haven’t heard much else, so not quite sure if you’re talented, f**king little sl*t.”
While Perry never responded to the remark, her fans called out Sobule. However, Jill later clarified to the outlet that there was no feud between them and that her comment was both “out of character” and meant “completely in jest.” She also shared that Katy was welcome to replace her as the country’s “I Kissed a Girl” Girl.
More about Jill Sobule’s past statement about Katy Perry
Jill Sobule sang I Kissed a Girl for the soundtrack of the 1995 American coming-of-age teen dramedy Clueless, starring Alicia Silverstone and directed by Amy Heckerling. The film also featured another hit Sobule song, Supermodel.
Its lyrics, “I kissed a girl for the first time/ And then I felt your hand above my knee,” and “Kissed a girl won’t change the world, but I’m so glad I kissed a girl!” became a queer anthem at the time of the song’s release.
The track reached number 20 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks and number 67 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
When Katy Perry’s song with the same title was released 13 years later, Jill Sobule made profanity-laden comments. However, when she faced backlash from the pop icon’s fanbase, she wrote in The Huffington Post:
“I may be a touch cynical about the business, but I have never really been angry or had ill feelings towards Katy herself. I was actually in a small way happy to not be the ‘Kissed a Girl’ girl anymore.”
Back then, she also hoped that Perry fans would be “okay” with the title of her sequel song, I Kissed a Girl… First. Katy, for her part, has never addressed the matter.
Jill Sobule, who last created the coming-of-age musical F**k 7th Grade, an off-Broadway show in 2022, was slated to perform at Tuft Theater, Swallow Hill, Denver, on May 2, 2025.
According to her representatives, the venue would now hold an informal gathering to pay her tributes. Sobule is survived by James and Mary Ellen Sobule, her brother and sister-in-law, her nephews, and Robert’s wife, Irina.
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Edited by Maithreyi S
