VH1 Storytellers: Norah Jones Premieres On Friday

Performing before an intimate crowd at NYC's legendary Metropolis Studios, Norah Jones opened up on her past heartbreaks, her early days as a struggling musician in New York, her deep love of country music and other influences that have shaped her iconic songwriting. A highlight of the evening included Jones' account of her first meeting with her future label, Blue Note Records. An unknown artist at the time looking for her big break, Jones talked about her anxiety before the meeting and her subsequent journey from traditional jazz singer to contemporary singer/songwriter. That journey led to the eventual release of her blockbuster, Grammy award-winning first album, "Come Away With Me."

Quotes from "VH1 Storytellers: Norah Jones": On getting her "big break" and the anxiety of her first meeting with future label Blue Note Records:

"So I got in there and [they] asked me 'well, what do you want to do? Do you want to sing jazz or do you want to do all this other stuff?' I said 'oh no, jazz, jazz' because I was in his office and I didn't want to say the wrong thing. I didn't want to waste the opportunity�[they] gave me a lot of opportunities to kind of not be in just one genre and to kind of stretch out, which was wonderful."

About the first song she wrote ("Come Away With Me") and discovering her inner songwriter:
"I think I wrote a couple of really bad songs in high school and then I kind of gave up. I was doing a lot of jazz gigs at restaurants for not a lot of money and not many people were listening. And so I got a cheap electric guitar because I didn't have a piano in my apartment. And I started writing three chord songs, which was kind of different from what I moved to New York to do, which was to play complicated jazz."

On the success of her first breakout hit, "Don't Know Why":
"It got kind of rejected by the label, which was a little scary. But luckily they rejected it and asked me to finish it. The other version we had of [the song] was pretty scary sounding. It is never going to be heard by anybody, but it's very different."

On the possibility of a double meaning behind "Don't Know Why":
"People always ask me if that song has a double meaning. And I say 'no, you have a dirty mind!'"

The hour-long "VH1 Storytellers" episode will feature Jones performing her mega-hit "Don't Know Why" along with "Little Broken Hearts" and "Happy Pills" from her new album, "Little Broken Hearts."

Several online-exclusive performances from the show will be available at Storytellers.VH1.com leading up to and following the on-air premiere. The full show will be available at Storytellers.VH1.com following the on-air premiere.