Jill Sobule, the singer best known for her groundbreaking 1995 single I Kissed A Girl, has died at 66.
Sobule tragically perished in a house fire in Minneapolis early on Thursday morning, according to Variety.
Firefighters received a call around 5:30 a.m. on Thursday about a fire in Woodbury, Minnesota, according to local news reports.
The home was already engulfed in flames by the time first responders arrived, and the blaze — whose cause wasn’t immediately known — is reportedly under investigation.
Sobule, who also had a song featured in the classic 1995 comedy Clueless, reached number 20 on US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks that year with I Kissed A Girl, making it the most-successful openly LGBTQ-themed song up to that point on the Billboard charts.
She later feuded with Katy Perry after she released her hit song of the same name nearly a decade later in 2008.
In 2009, Sobule lashed out at Perry, calling her a ‘f***ing little slut’ in a 2009 interview with The Rumpus after initially claiming she wasn’t bothered by the song.
In a 2008 interview, the singer–songwriter claimed she didn’t ‘feel precious about the title,’ but she also admitted to getting a thrill whenever compared Perry’s song unfavorably to hers.
Sobule eventually took issue with Perry reusing the song’s name after the California Gurls singer claimed she had come up with ‘in a dream.’
‘In truth, she wrote it with a team of professional writers and was signed by the very same guy that signed me in 1995. I have not mentioned that in interviews as I don’t want to sound bitter or petty — ’cause, that’s not me.’
In the same interview, Sobule vented her fury at Perry in a shocking tirade.
‘F*** you Katy Perry, you f***ing stupid, maybe “not good for the gays,” title thieving, haven’t heard much else, so not quite sure if you’re talented, f***ing little slut,’ she said.
Although her fame ebbed over time, she continued to regularly record and release new music in recent years.
The performer had been scheduled to appear at Swallow Hill Music’s Tuft Theater in Denver, Colorado — her birthplace — on Friday.
Sobule was slated to perform a show of music from her recent autobiographical musical F*** 7th Grade, along with other tunes, but the event will reportedly now be an informal memorial hosted by 105.5 FM host Ron Bostwick, a friend of the late singer.
Her representative added that a more formal memorial to her life and work will be held this summer.
Sobule’s manager, John Porter, said in a statement to Variety: ‘Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture. I was having so much fun working with her.
Sobule — who identified as bisexual is survived by her brother, James, sister-in-law, Mary, and two nephews.