Melissa Etheridge on Radical Authenticity, Changing Culture & the Courage to Rise

There are artists… and then there are American treasures. And today in The Stiletto Room, I sit down with one of the women who shaped my entire life: Melissa Etheridge.

When I tell you her first album catapulted me into my identity, my career, my purpose — baby, that is not an exaggeration. Melissa talks about writing every song herself, getting discovered in a Long Beach women’s bar, breaking through a male-dominated industry, and the moment she realized her authenticity was her superpower long before the world was ready for it.

We talk Grammys, Oscars, touring overseas, her iconic Janis Joplin performance at the Grammys while she was still in cancer treatment, and the spiritual awakening that reshaped her entire life. Melissa opens up about manifesting her dreams — including her new album Rise, her duet with Chris Stapleton, and the foundation she created in honor of her son to revolutionize addiction treatment.

This conversation is about music, resilience, motherhood, activism, joy, and the wild courage it takes to stay authentic for four decades.

Melissa Etheridge doesn’t just inspire — she changes lives. Mine included.

ABOUT MELISSA ETHERIDGE:

Melissa Etheridge is a Grammy- and Oscar-winning rock icon celebrated for her unmistakable vocals, confessional songwriting, and decades of fearless authenticity. She broke through in 1988 with her self-titled debut and became a defining voice of American rock with hits like “Bring Me Some Water,” “Ain’t It Heavy,” “I’m the Only One,” and the Grammy-winning “Come to My Window.”

Her landmark albums Yes I Am and Your Little Secret cemented her place in music history, earning her ASCAP’s Songwriter of the Year. In 2007, she won an Academy Award for “I Need to Wake Up,” written for An Inconvenient Truth. Etheridge has long been a pioneer in LGBTQ+ visibility and cultural impact, famously performing bald at the 2005 Grammys during cancer treatment — a moment that inspired millions.

She’s continued to evolve with acclaimed projects like Memphis Rock & Soul, The Medicine Show, and One Way Out. Her powerful solo show My Window debuted Off-Broadway before opening on Broadway in 2023 to critical praise.

In 2020, she founded The Etheridge Foundation to advance research and compassionate solutions for opioid use disorder. Her 2024 docuseries and live album I’m Not Broken, recorded inside the Topeka Correctional Facility, showcases the profound healing power of music, storytelling, and

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