There was perhaps no sophomore set as eagerly anticipated as Alanis Morissette‘s follow-up to the hugely successful Jagged Little Pill. That 1995 album, which has sold 14.6 million copies in the U.S. and over 30 million worldwide to date, is technically her third studio release (she had a couple of albums as a teen pop star in her native Canada), but Pill served as her proper international debut. With that minor asterisk attached, Morissette still holds the title for the best-selling debut album here and the highest-selling debut worldwide.

Released on November 3, 1998, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, like Jagged Little Pill, was also produced by Glen Ballad. But Morissette’s new album was markedly different in tone than its monster-selling predecessor. In the interim between, the singer-songwriter had trekked to India and dabbled in Buddhism. In fact, the words across the cover art for Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie refer to the religion’s Eight Precepts.

Fans who were expecting “You Oughta Know, Pt. 2” or “Ironic (Really, Truly Ironic)” instead unwrapped a set of songs that were much more sedate and intimate. Many had no hooks or traditional choruses, presenting themselves as meandering, stream-of-consciousness thoughts. A few tracks worked immediately (“That I Would Be Good,” “So Pure”), others took a while to sink in (“Front Row,” “Can’t Not,” “I Was Hoping”), while some were complete head-scratchers (“Baba”); but taken as a whole, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie upended what many had anticipated next from Morissette.

Because of pent-up demand for new material, the album debuted at #1, selling nearly 470,000 copies in its first week (a record she held until Britney Spears sold 1.3 million copies of Oops!…I Did It Again in 2000). First single, “Thank U,” released a month before, was Morissette’s explicit declaration of gratitude to India, the country that had so changed her. Twelve years ago this week, the song reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Adult Top 40 chart.

In the video for “Thank U,” directed by Stephane Sednaoui (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Garbage, U2), Morissette appears nude (as she did on the Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie disc art) and lets it all hang out.

Subsequent singles from the album did not fare as well, and though Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie did eventually sell 2.6 million copies, the album was (and is) considered a commercial disappointment, with Morissette experiencing diminishing returns for each of her efforts since. Listening to the album again recently, however, it’s a solid effort that unfortunately suffered because of the inevitable (and somewhat unfair) comparisons to Jagged Little Pill.

Music aside, Morissette has a new project I’m sure she’s much more focused on. She and her husband, MC Souleye, are expecting their first child in December.

Purchase Alanis Morissette – “Thank U” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.