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, United States
Genres	Alternative, pop rock, acoustic, country
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician, actress
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, keyboard, percussions, piano, accordion, cello, harmonica, mandolin
Years active	2000–present
Labels	Maverick, Warner Bros. Nashville
Associated acts	Santana, The Wreckers, Jessica Harp
Website	www.MichelleBranch.com
Notable instruments
Taylor 614ce Gibson Hummingbird

Michelle Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist best known for the Grammy-winning collaboration with Santana, "The Game of Love". During the early 2000s, she released two top-selling albums, The Spirit Room and Hotel Paper, was nominated in 2003 for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist. Following her marriage and subsequent pregnancy in 2004, Branch placed her career on hold. In 2005, she formed the country music duo The Wreckers with friend and fellow musician Jessica Harp, and produced a Grammy-nominated single "Leave the Pieces." Despite that 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 most likely be released in 2010.

Life and career

1983–2000: Early life and Broken Bracelet

Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch was born on July 2, 1983 in Sedona, Arizona¹² to an Irish father and a mother of Dutch Indonesian and French ancestry.³ Branch's relatives include her parents Peggy and David,⁴ an older half-brother also 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 She went to grade school at then St. Mary's Catholic School^{citation needed} in Flagstaff Arizona³ where her passion for music was sparked by Sr. Yolanda at the Friday school masses at Nativity Church.^{citation needed} Branch began taking voice lessons when she was eight and⁴ received a guitar for her fourteenth birthday⁵¹² from her uncle and she immediately taught herself chords, and she composed her first song within a few days. During high school, she began writing songs extensively. She initially attended Sedona Red Rock High School^{citation needed} but was soon continuing her education through home schooling.⁵ Branch's career began with the release of Broken Bracelet,⁵¹² an album released on the independent record label Twin Dragon Records on June 1, 2000.⁴³ Its title was inspired by an occurrence at a Lisa Loeb concert she attended. Before the concert began, musician Steve Poltz gave her a bracelet made by pop singer Jewel; he told Branch that "when it breaks, you'll be famous." A year later the bracelet snapped and she thought nothing of it.⁴

2001–2004: The Spirit Room and Hotel Paper

Branch soon signed a recording deal with Maverick Records⁵¹² while opening for Hanson in December 2000.³⁴ Her first album for the label The Spirit Room was released in August 2001,³ producing the hit single "Everywhere," which won the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards Viewer's Choice Award.⁶ This was followed by "All You Wanted" and "Goodbye to You." In 2002, her career as an artist began to blossom when she teamed up with Santana³⁷ on the song "The Game of Love,"² which went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.¹⁶ She would then earn a Grammy nomination in 2003 for Best New Artist,⁶ but was edged out 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?" was a chart success, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance,⁶ but was edged out by Pink's "Trouble." The following singles, however, "Breathe" and "'Til I Get over You," did not match the first single's success. Branching out into television, she appeared in several shows, including Buffy the Vampire Slayer, American Dreams, and Charmed. In June, 2004 she hosted MTV's "Faking the Video" alongside Nick Lachey and JC Chasez. She also appeared in the Rob Schneider film The Hot Chick.

2005–2007:The Wreckers

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

Branch married her bass player Teddy Landau in Mexico on May 23, 2004,⁸⁹¹ and gave birth to a baby girl named Owen Isabelle on August 3, 2005.¹⁰ Prior to meeting her husband she dated guitarist Sean Woolstenhulme of Lifehouse and The Calling.⁵

Branch decided to collaborate with her backup singer and longtime friend Jessica Harp on a new project in July, 2005.¹¹⁹²¹² They were initially known as the "The Cass County Homewreckers" as a joke by Branch's husband,^{citation needed} but they trimmed it down to The Wreckers.⁹ Their album attempted to combine their respective genres, pop rock and country. It was originally slated for release in June, 2005 but was delayed because of reasons surrounding Branch's pregnancy.² The duo's first single "Leave the Pieces" was released in February, 2006, while their album Stand Still, Look Pretty was released in May.⁹ During this period, they contributed to Santana's album All That I Am, with the song "I'm Feeling You,"⁹ appeared in the American teen television drama One Tree Hill,² and joined country music stars Rascal Flatts on a U.S. tour.¹²¹¹ They initially toured with Gavin DeGraw.⁹ The album did not satisfy some of her fans, who voiced their displeasure on the message boards for The Wreckers' official website, which had to be shut down.^{citation needed} 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 Vocal¹⁶ for the song "Leave the Pieces" in December, 2006. 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 moved forward with solo albums.^{citation needed} Subsequent press statements have made it clear that The Wreckers, at least as a partnership between Branch and Harp, is no more.¹

In 2007, she sold her Calabasas home and moved to Nashville.¹³¹⁴

2008–present: Everything Comes and Goes

Immediately thereafter, 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; it was also featured as the final song ever played on the CBS TV soap opera, Guiding Light. 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.¹ 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 retain a country flavor. A few song titles discussed were "Long Goodbye," "Texas In The Mirror," "This Way," and the ballad "Crazy Ride."^{citation needed} Also in early 2009, she sang the song "I Lose My Heart" in a duet with Chris Isaak on his new album Mr. Lucky.¹⁵ The first single from the album "Sooner Or Later" was released on July 28, 2009. The album is expected to be released in early 2010.

Artistry

Branch owns at least fourteen guitars, but mainly uses a Gibson Hummingbird after retiring her blue Taylor 614ce.^{citation needed} In 2009 she began using a custom made Hummingbird which is the only white one in existence.^{citation needed} In addition to the guitar, she also plays other instruments such as the piano, drums, and mandolin.^{citation needed}

She states that her music has been influenced by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Aerosmith, Patsy Cline, Cat Stevens, Stevie Nicks, and Joni Mitchell, but also enjoys listening to more contemporary artists such as Incubus, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Metallica, Silverchair, Madonna, Lisa Loeb, Sheryl Crow, and Patty Griffin.^{citation needed} Her other interests include classical music and older country music.⁷¹²

Discography

Filmography

Awards

References

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