Michelle Branch Bio

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Michelle Branch Pictures

Michelle Jacquet Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, known for pop music during the early 2000s and also for her collaboration with Santana on the Grammy-winning single "The Game of Love". In 2003, she was nominated for Best New Artist, which was won by Norah Jones. During the early 2000's, she released two successful albums, The Spirit Room, and Hotel Paper, and singles such as "Everywhere", "All You Wanted", and "Are You Happy Now?". In 2005, she formed the musical duo The Wreckers with fellow musician Jessica Harp, and was nominated for a Grammy for the song "Leave the Pieces". The duo broke up during late 2007 due to fan pressure which inspired her to write her fourth solo album, Everything Comes and Goes, which will be released in 2009.

Michelle Branch: Early life

Branch was born on July 2, 1983 in Sedona, Arizona to an Irish father and a mother of Dutch Indonesian ancestry and was named after the Beatles' song Michelle. Her surname is of French origin. She has an older half-brother, David, and a younger sister, Nicole. Her maternal grandmother was held by the Japanese in an internment camp during World War II, while her maternal grandfather was French and Indonesian.

Branch started taking voice lessons at a local university when she was 8 years old. She received a guitar for her fourteenth birthday from her uncle and she immediately taught herself chords. Within a few days she had composed her first song. During high school, she was writing songs extensively. She initially attended Sedona Red Rock High School but decided to continue her education through home schooling.

Michelle Branch: Musical career

Michelle Branch - Broken Bracelet, The Spirit Room, and Hotel Paper

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.

Soon, Branch would 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" followed by "All You Wanted" and "Goodbye to You". She became frequently compared singers Marion Raven, Avril Lavigne, and Vanessa Carlton, all of whom rose to prominence at around the same time as she did. In 2002, Branch's 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.

Branch released her second album, Hotel Paper, which was met with mixed reviews. The lead single "Are You Happy Now?" became a success and was nominated for 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.

Michelle Branch - The Wreckers

Branch decided to collaborate with Jessica Harp on a new project in July, 2005. They were initially known as the "The 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 Wreckers' 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 Wreckers were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for the song "Leave the Pieces" in December 2006.

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 The Wreckers, at least as a partnership between Branch and Harp, is no more.

Michelle Branch - Return to solo career (Everything Comes and Goes)

Immediately after the breakup, Branch wrote an unreleased song for Mandy Moore's 2007 album Wild Hope 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.

Michelle Branch: Personal life

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 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. During 2007, she sold her Southern California home and moved to Nashville on January 2008. 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. Unfortunately, the plan was postponed so that she could focus on her solo career.

Michelle Branch - Influences

Branch states that her music has been influenced by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Queen, Aerosmith, Patsy Cline, Cat Stevens, Stevie Nicks and Joni Mitchell. She also prefers to listen to contemporary artists such as Incubus, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Metallica, Silverchair, Lisa Loeb, Sheryl Crow, and Patty Griffin. She is interested in classical music, as well as older country music.