Michelle Branch

Beginning with the acoustic based self-released Broken Bracelet in 2000, Michelle Branch has always been a young woman in a big hurry. The release of Michelle Branch's major label debut The Spirit Room in 2001 ushered in an entirely new movement in pop music, busting open the door for the new crop of females who write and play their own songs, after all--there was no other female artist on the charts who wrote and performed all the songs on her record, and her music was distinctively driven by guitars and lyrics as opposed to loops and dance oriented videos. And the results spoke for themselves: over 2.5 million records sold, a Grammy Award, an MTV Viewer's Choice Award on the basis of 4 top 10 hits and sold out tours with Sheryl Crow, a smash duet with Carlos Santana and an invitation from the Dixie Chicks to tour arenas this summer. Amazed by her abilities, the press used phrases like "old soul" and "wise beyond her years" to explain her skills. "I never wanted to be the 'young female' artist- I always looked at myself simply as a 'female' artist." Other artists saw what she saw. "When I worked with Sheryl Crow and Carlos Santana, both said something to me that I will never forget--'You're the real deal.' And when artists of that caliber say things like that, it helps me to remain focused on the songs and not my age."

Michelle Branch was all of 18 years old when her debut album, 2001's The Spirit Room, became a platinum seller, spawned three hit singles ("Everywhere," "All You Wanted," and "Goodbye to You"), and sold four million copies worldwide. The album, as well as 2002's "The Game of Love," Branch's Grammy Award-winning smash single with Carlos Santana, established the Sedona, AZ, native as a young musical artist with a very grown-up talent. Following the release of her darker, more ambitious 2003 platinum album Hotel Paper - which featured the hits "Are You Happy Now?" and "Breathe" - and the birth of her daughter in 2005, Branch found herself at a crossroads. She put her solo career on hold to team up with Nashville singer/songwriter Jessica Harp to form the country music duo The Wreckers, an inspired vocal and songwriting collaboration that was nominated for both a CMA Award and a Grammy Award.

The Wreckers released their debut album, the platinum Stand Still Look Pretty, in 2006 and their popularity helped establish Branch as a fixture on country radio, thanks to such winning tracks as the No. 1 "Leave The Pieces" and the Top Ten hit "My, Oh My." But the pair decided to part ways just as their music was rising on the charts - an emotionally difficult time that Branch documents on her deeply personal six-song EP, Everything Comes and Goes, which was released in August 2010 as a gift to fans as she focuses on recording the follow-up to Hotel Paper. Branch is currently in the studio in Los Angeles working on the album, which will be released by Warner Bros. Records in 2011.

Official Bio