Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter Michelle Branch rose to prominence with her hit album The Spirit Room in the early 2000s. Signing to Maverick Records when she was just 17, her angsty powerhouse vocals, guitar chops and songwriting talent impressed the label at a time when the majority of young female artists were performing other people’s songs. The album spawned several heartfelt, catchy singles including ‘All You Wanted’ and ‘Everywhere’ and went on to sell two million copies in America. Follow up Hotel Paper smashed into the Billboard album chart at No.2 and also went platinum, with track ‘Are you Happy Now?’ receiving a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Performance. Branch also won a Grammy for her vocal performance on Carlos Santana’s The Game of Love and has enjoyed success as part of The Wreckers alongside Jessica Harp.
Born in Arizona, Branch first picked up a guitar when she received one as present on her 14th birthday. A naturally gifted songwriter and musician, she wrote her first song within a week and began to play local shows. In 1998 she dropped her independent debut album Broken Bracelet and began to attract attention from several major record labels. After signing to Maverick she began to co-write with a former member of Melissa Etheridge’s band, John Shanks, and the pair penned her debut hit single ‘Everywhere’. Hit after hit soon followed, and in 2006 she released Stand Still, Look Pretty as part of modern-country duo The Wreckers. The album went gold and included lead track ‘Leave the Pieces’ which hit the number 1 spot in the Country Charts.
In 2017 Branch dropped her third studio album Hopeless Romantic, and is currently re-recording The Spirit Room to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her iconic album.
