Michelle Branch

By Ruby World

If you've heard the song Everywhere, you'll know exactly why Maverick Records (Madonna's label) signed teen songwriter, Michelle Branch, to their roster. After releasing her Independent CD, Broken Bracelet in 2000, there was no stopping Michelle from broadcasting her confident pop/rock music to the world. With  The Spirit Room, Michelle offers herself as an intelligent role model for her peers and music that represents the strength of a young woman's heart.

While Britney Spears was busy learning dance moves and Destiny's Child was just an idea, Michelle Branch was committing herself to discovering her voice in music as a songwriter and performer. Born several weeks early, Michelle once asked her mother what music she listened to while she was in the womb. Her mother told her that she sang along to The Beatles, which might explain why Michelle's songs are descriptive pop/rock, rather then the R&B Pop style that was (and still is) popular as she grew up.

Michelle aspired from an early age to be a singer, but it wasn't until she saw the effect that music had on people that she dedicated her efforts to becoming a Pop Star. She did the usual, took voice lessons, performed for her church's choir, and one day asked for a guitar. She was presented with one of her own on her 14th birthday. She immediately wrote her first song on the new instrument, but no one believed her. (After all, it was the first time she played guitar.) Not deterred, Michelle locked herself up in her room all summer to practice making herself a competent player.

It wasn't long after that a buzz began to grow at school about Michelle's music. Soon the whole town was talking about her songwriting, and she was playing gigs all over her home state of Arizona. Many times she had trouble booking a gig because venue owners couldn't believe that a 14 year old could be good enough to play alongside adults. Michelle didn't take the criticism to heart and continued to do her own thing - something she was very proud of. Somehow she knew that when the time was right, the doors would open up for her.

In 1999, Michelle received the best advice ever. A family friend gave her a call and asked her to rush over to a nearby resort so that she could pass along a demo tape and press photo to someone in the music industry that was visiting. Michelle was with her little sister when she got the news - with no parents around to give her a lift, she and her sis hopped on a golf cart and rode all the way to the hotel - cutting through the golf course to get there.

As fate would have it, Michelle presented Jeff Rabhan, a manager, with her demo and photo. Not getting overly excited that fame would knock on her door, she talked with Jeff for a while and they then went their separate ways. After a few months of no response to her submission, Michelle completely abandoned the idea that the meeting between the two would amount to anything. Then, out of the blue, Jeff called and offered to be her manager. Within a year Michelle cut her first album and caught the eye of Maverick to release her second, The Spirit Room (with her best friend Jenifer playing bass). You can still request her single Everywhere at your local radio station and pick up her album at the music store.

Visit her official Michelle Branch Website!