"Hands" is the first single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 released from Jewel

Jewel (singer)

Jewel Kilcher , professionally known as Jewel, is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, actress and poet...

's second album, Spirit

Spirit (Jewel album)

Spirit is the second album by singer/songwriter Jewel, released in 1998 by Atlantic. Singles include "Hands", "Down So Long," and a newly recorded version of "Jupiter," followed by a remix of "What's Simple Is True" to promote Jewel's debut film Ride with the Devil...

(1998).

A commercial single was never issued in the United States, and the singles that were issued internationally received the album version. The radio edit can be found only on promos for the single. Even without a physical release, it still reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100

Billboard Hot 100

The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...

 and the video reached #1 on VH1's Top 10 Countdown.

Music video

The video, directed by Nick Brandt

Nick Brandt

Nick Brandt is a photographer who photographs exclusively in Africa, one of his goals being to record a visually poetic last testament to the wild animals and places there before they are gone at the hands of man.-Background and early career:...

, begins with Jewel driving along on a rainy night when she comes across emergency workers responding to a collapsed apartment building. She gets out of her car and stands with the crowd looking at the rubble and notices other onlookers walking away in horror and hopelessness. She follows others into the rubble and helps dig through the rubble for survivors, finding a man, alive, under the rubble and later three young children trapped inside a room. Throughout the whole video, she remains calm and collected, full of hope, as chaos ensues around her.

She explains the idea behind the video in an interview in 1998:

"I think the director just wanted to picture an earthquake. That gave the video a somber feel to the aftermath of the disaster."

September 11th Remix

Right after 9/11, a DJ remixed the song which was carried on stations across the country. Jewel was in the mountains with her longtime boyfriend, Ty Murray, during the attack. She first heard this version on the radio a few days after the attack. It was one of the first things she heard. She spoke of this experience at a Border's concert in Ann Arbor, MI prior to the release of Perfectly Clear.

Jewel appeared on Late Show with David Letterman

Late Show with David Letterman

Late Show with David Letterman is a U.S. late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and is produced by Letterman's production company, Worldwide Pants Incorporated. The show's music director and band-leader of the house band, the CBS Orchestra, is...

just days after the tragedy, on September 18, 2001, and performed this song instead of the previously scheduled "Standing Still

Standing Still

"Standing Still" is a song by female American artist Jewel. Recorded in 2001, this song is featured on the album This Way. The single charted best in New Zealand, where it reached number seven. It also charted in the United States at number 25....

".

Peak positions

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Chart (1998/1999-2010)	Peak position
Canadian Singles Chart	1
European Hot 100 Singles	83

End of year charts

End of year chart (1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	54