I don't want to live in a culture of despair. I'd like to live in a culture of hope.

The exposure from the tour helped the album reach Platinum status in just under a year with subsequent singles "Break Your Heart" and "Life Is Sweet" receiving moderate airplay on adult contemporary stations. In 1998 Merchant also recorded George Gershwin's "But Not for Me" for the Red Hot Organization's compilation album Red Hot + Rhapsody a tribute to George Gershwin which raised money for various charities devoted to increasing AIDS awareness and fighting the disease. In the summer of 2002 Natalie Merchant was paired with Chris Isaak and both played at stadiums and arenas.

Natalie Anne Merchant (born October 26 1963) is an American singer-songwriter and musician.