Coppola's debut album, Chupacabra, was released in October 1997. The album elicited rave reviews from music critics, who favorably compared Coppola's music to that of De La Soul and Neneh Cherry. The album achieved a peak of number 47 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart dated January 17, 1998, three months after the album's release. it spent a total of one week on the chart. The album also charted in the UK, where it peaked at number 138 on the UK Albums Chart. The album spawned a second single, "I'm a Tree", which samples The Doors' "Soul Kitchen". The song was unsuccessful, peaking only in Australia, where it reached number 201. That year, Coppola played Lilith Fair, although she was vocal about her opinion of Lilith founder Sarah McLachlan before the tour, indicating that she felt McLachlan was "boring to watch live". Coppola remarked that "I think she's a good songwriter, at times, and singer. She's boring to watch live, though."
