1997 Hit, Long Mistaken for Another Icon's Song, Became a No. 1 Radio Smash

For the last 30 years, the hit song "Bitch" has largely been attributed to Alanis Morissette -and there's a good reason why.

Released in 1997 by singer-songwriter Meredith Brooks, the alt-rock anthem became one of the year's biggest radio hits, climbing to No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Top 40 chart and earning a Grammy nomination. But despite its success, many listeners long assumed the song was actually recorded by Morissette, thanks in part to the early days of digital music sharing.

"An entire generation of Napster users were convinced the song was an Alanis Morissette deep cut from Jagged Little Pill. Guess because it bore some thematic similarities to 'You Oughta Know' and other songs like that. I guess it had that Alanis vibe," Adam Reader explained in a Thursday, May 21, YouTube video.

He explained, "Because it was mislabeled as Alanis Morissette, tens of thousands of people downloaded and searched the song on Napster as Alanis. To this day, there are still people who think it because it was mislabeled. Brooks would say that she would get stopped at airports by fans confusing her for Alanis and asking her to sign their Alanis CDs."

Despite the mix-up, "Bitch" - which was co-written with Shelly Peiken - remains one of Brooks' biggest hits.

By June 1997, however, just three months after the song's release, Brooks told the Los Angeles Times that the comparison to Alanis had "started to bother" her.

"It has really started to bother me how much these [Morissette comparisons] have been such a focus of everything written about me," she said at the time. "I didn't think it would be like this."

She added, "It was really starting to bother me a lot more, but I've taken a few breaths and thought about it, and now I'm kind of like, 'Oh, well, whatever.' I've been flattered in a lot of ways because Alanis really did well, and people love her. I don't think it's been a bad thing. And what I've found is that once people get into the album, [the comparisons] seem to end."

Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved

This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 7:50 PM.