Michelle Branch

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Michelle Branch
Michelle Branch performing in Toronto, October 2003.
Background information
Birth name	Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch
Born	July 2, 1983 (1983-07-02) (age 26)
Origin	Sedona, Arizona, USA
Genre(s)	Alternative, pop rock, acoustic, country
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician, performer, actress, TV host
Instrument(s)	Vocals, acoustic guitar, guitar, keyboards, percussions, piano, accordion, cello, harmonica, mandolin
Years active	2000–present
Label(s)	Maverick, Warner Bros. Nashville
Associated acts	Santana, Jessica Harp, The Wreckers, Chris Isaak, Sheryl Crow, Dave Navarro, Jennifer Hanson
Website	MichelleBranch.com
Former members
Jessica Harp
Notable instrument(s)
Taylor 614ce Gibson Hummingbird

Michelle Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for her collaboration with Santana on the Grammy-winning single "The Game of Love". During the early 2000's, she released two top-selling albums, The Spirit Room and Hotel Paper, as well as singles such as "Everywhere", All You Wanted, and Are You Happy Now?. This led her to have a successful pop rock career, which allowed her to make several appearances in television shows. She was nominated in 2003 for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist.

Following her marriage and subsequent pregnancy in 2004, Branch placed her solo career on hold. In 2005, she formed the country musical duo The Wreckers with friend and fellow musician Jessica Harp, and produced a Grammy-nominated single "Leave the Pieces". Despite their success, the band "took a break" in 2007 to pursue their solo careers. Her new album, Everything Comes and Goes, will explore her acoustic/alternative musical roots as well as country music and will be released in 2009.

[edit] Biography

[edit] 1983-2000: Early life and Broken Bracelet

Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch was born on July 2, 1983 in Sedona, Arizona to an Irish father and a mother of Dutch Indonesian ancestry. She was named after the Beatles' song Michelle and her surname is of French origin. When she was 8 years old, she started taking voice lessons at a local university. Branch received a guitar for her fourteenth birthday from her uncle and she immediately taught herself chords, allowing her to compose her first song within a few days. During high school, she began writing songs extensively. She initially attended Sedona Red Rock High School but decided to continue her education through home schooling. Branch's career began with the release of Broken Bracelet by the independent record label Twin Dragon Records in June 1, 2000. It was inspired by a Lisa Loeb concert she attended. Before the concert began, musician Steve Poltz gave her a bracelet made by Jewel and said "when it breaks you'll be famous". A year later the bracelet snapped and she thought nothing of it.

[edit] 2001-04: The Spirit Room and Hotel Paper

Branch would soon sign a record deal with Maverick Records while opening for Hanson in December 2000. Her first album under the label, The Spirit Room, was released in August 2001, producing the hit single "Everywhere", which won the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards Viewer's Choice, followed by "All You Wanted" and "Goodbye to You". She became frequently compared with singers Marion Raven, Avril Lavigne, and Vanessa Carlton, all of whom rose to prominence at around the same time as she did.^[1] In 2002, her career as an artist began to blossom when she teamed up with Santana on the song "The Game of Love" which went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. She would then earn a Grammy nomination in 2003 for Best New Artist which was won by Norah Jones. Her second album, Hotel Paper, was released in 2003 and was met with mixed reviews. The lead single "Are You Happy Now?" became a success and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, which was won by Pink's Trouble but the following singles, "Breathe" and "'Til I Get over You", did not. She then appeared as herself in several television shows, such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed, where she promoted her music and has guested on films and television shows like The Hot Chick and American Dreams. On June 2004, she hosted MTV's 'Faking the Video' alongside Nick Lachey and JC Chasez.^[2]

[edit] 2005-07:The Wreckers

Michelle Branch (center) during a June 2007 concert with Jessica Harp (right) as The Wreckers.

Branch decided to collaborate with her back-up singer and long-time friend Jessica Harp on a new project in July, 2005. They were initially known as the "The Cass County Homewreckers" as a joke by Branch's husband, but they trimmed it down to The Wreckers. Their album tried to combine their respective genres, pop rock and country. It was originally due for release in June 2005 but was delayed because of reasons surrounding Branch's pregnancy. The duo's' first single, "Leave the Pieces", was released in February 2006, while their album Stand Still, Look Pretty was released in May. During this period, they contributed in Santana's album, All That I Am, with the song "I'm Feeling You", appeared in American teen drama One Tree Hill, and joined country music stars Rascal Flatts and Gary Allan on a U.S. tour. They initially toured with Gavin DeGraw. The album did not satisfy some of her fans, who fumed their displeasure on the message boards for The Wreckers' official website, which had to be shut down. Despite the negative backlash, the group was nominated for the 2006 CMA Awards Vocal Duo of the Year and for a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the song "Leave the Pieces" in December 2006, and Stand Still, Look Pretty was certified Gold by the RIAA with sales of 851,000 copies as of March 2009. As of early August 2007, Branch and Jessica Harp announced on the band's official message board that they were putting the band on hold while they went forward with solo albums. Subsequent press statements have made it clear that The Wreckers, at least as a partnership between Branch and Harp, is no more.

[edit] 2008-present: Everything Comes and Goes

Immediately after, Branch wrote an unreleased song for Mandy Moore's 2007 album Wild Hope^{[citation needed]} and also wrote "Together" for the soundtrack of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2. In October 2007, she announced that she was working on a new solo album and later reported the title would be Everything Comes and Goes. In June 2008, she played several live shows in preparation for the album's release with her sister Nicole singing backing vocals. She was also quoted in Billboard as saying the album would stay on the country route. A few song titles discussed were "Long Goodbye", "Texas In The Mirror", "This Way", and the ballad "Crazy Ride". On her website, Branch put up a 46-second clip of her new single, "This Way" and in February 2009 released the full song as a free download for her website's members. Also in early 2009, she sang the song "I Lose My Heart" in a duet with Chris Isaak on his new album Mr. Lucky. She is currently collaborating on a song with the Norwegian singer Marion Raven, who is about to launch her new album by mid this year. It has been announced on her website that the first single from the album, "Sooner Or Later," will be released on July 21, 2009.

[edit] Personal life

Branch married her bass player, Teddy Landau, in Mexico on May 23, 2004, and gave birth to a baby girl named Owen Isabelle on August 3, 2005. Her other relatives include an older half-brother named David, a younger sister named Nicole, a maternal grandmother, who was held by the Japanese in an internment camp during World War II, and a maternal grandfather, who was French and Indonesian.^[3] During 2007, she sold her Southern California home and moved to Nashville on January 2008.^[4][5] On June 15, 2008, Branch announced on her official message board that she will be fulfilling a lifelong dream by opening a bakery in Nashville called 'The Sugar Bar' with pastry chef Rebekka Seale.^[6] Unfortunately, the plan was postponed so that she could focus on her solo career.

[edit] Musical style

Branch owns at least fourteen guitars but mainly uses a Gibson Hummingbird after retiring her blue Taylor 614ce. In addition to the guitar, she also plays other instruments such as the piano, drums, and mandolin. She states that her music has been influenced by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Aerosmith, Patsy Cline, Cat Stevens, Stevie Nicks, and Joni Mitchell,^{[citation needed]} but also prefers to listen to contemporary artists such as Incubus, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Metallica, Silverchair, Madonna, Lisa Loeb, Sheryl Crow, and Patty Griffin. Her other interests include classical music and older country music.^[7][8][9]

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] Singles

[edit] Miscellaneous

[edit] Music videos

[edit] Filmography

(acting roles only)

[edit] Awards

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Michelle Branch

• Official site
• Michelle Branch and Us
• MichelleBranch.CN
• Michelle Branch at the Internet Movie Database
• Michelle Branch at TV.com
• MichelleBranch Videos
• Michelle Branch Concert Photos
• Feature story on The Wreckers
• 2003 Grammy Awards