It could have been the whole being the daughter of an Alaskan singer/songwriter cowboy thing, but people probably suspected that Jewel had a country album in her somewhere.

Her label, Atlantic Records, knew it too. But even after all the Grammys, the millions of records sold, six albums and 13 years as a successful artist, it was a struggle for Jewel to express a country side in her songs.

“Some of them were too country and would have stood out. Some of them I was able to sneak on,” Jewel says. “I never thought I would have to get off my label and make this big declaration.”

After leaving Atlantic behind, she financed her own country record and shopped it around in Nashville. The album “Perfectly Clear,” released in 2008, features some songs she wrote when she was only 18. It definitely wasn’t pop enough for Top 40, but, believe it or not, it wasn’t pop enough for Nashville neither.

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“I was sort of surprised. Everybody thought it was too country,” she says. “I found this indie label (The Valory Music Co.) that liked my music how it was.”

A few of the album’s tracks definitely have an old-style country feel, like “Anyone But You” and “Love By You (Cowboy Waltz),” that conjure up the ‘70s Nashville sound Jewel is fond of. Others, like the ballad “Till It Feels Like Cheating” and the uptempo single “Stronger Woman,” are poised to mark out a place on country radio. Jewel’s voice is still sweet, thin and airy, with the occasional signature yodel, and it makes you realize country music isn’t a departure as much as what she was destined to eventually be playing.

“I really don’t think this is a huge style change for me,” Jewel says. “My fans have been hearing half this record for 10 years.”

Now, that she’s on this indie label as their flagship artist, she’s been as busy as she was when “Who Will Save Your Soul” was topping the Billboard charts. She’s been a judge on NBC’s country talent competition “Nashville Star,” trying to pass on knowledge that legends like Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Merle Haggard originally passed on to her. She’s also embarked on a 42-date nationwide tour with established country sensation Brad Paisley. The two of them, along with Julianne Hough, perform at 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Sprint Center in Kansas City. For Jewel, it’s an opportunity to reach out to a new audience.

“I haven’t opened for somebody in a long time, but I’m really happy to do it,” Jewel says. “I really think that it’s cool that 13 years into my career I can make new fans.”

But when she’s not touring or judging, she’s lobbying hard to get her music on country radio, not assuming her previous success or having a name everybody knows gives her a pass to slack off.

“I was raised to work hard and then to back up your talent with hard work,” she says. “I don’t expect people to know who I am at all. I never have.”