"Happy Now" is a song by British pop group Take That from their sixth studio album, Progress. The song features Gary Barlow and Robbie Williams performing lead vocals. The song was released as the third single from the album, mainly to promote the group's Comic Relief sketch, "Fake That".

Background[link]

The song was first announced as the album's third single when it was revealed that the band would perform the song live on the Comic Relief telethon on Red Nose Day 2011 – Friday 18 March. The group performed the song at 9:15pm, following which an announcement was made that a video for the track would premiere on the same night at 10:30pm. The video premiered on digital music channels on 6 April 2011, which subsequently was the same date that the track was placed on the BBC Radio 1 B-Playlist, on 6 April 2011.^[1] In the United Kingdom, the single was only released digitally, however, a promotional physical release of the single, complete with remixes from Paul Oakenfold and Benny Benassi, was made available in Europe.^[2]

Music video[link]

The official music video for "Happy Now" was recorded at the BBC Television Studios during February 2011. The video premiered on the Red Nose Day 2011 telethon on Friday 18 March during the show's short stint on BBC2.^[3] The video begins with the band sitting as a Judges' panel in a small room. The band bring on participants who are hoping to be formed into the group's ultimate tribute act, Fake That. Many bands appear on stage, including a group of youths, a mixed gender group and five OAPs. The band are then introduced to a five piece made up of comedians Alan Carr, James Corden, John Bishop, David Walliams and Catherine Tate, who appear on stage in the group's outfits from their Do What U Like video in 1991. The real Take That heckle them off stage, however, they return disguised as the group from their video for The Flood, complete with the Progress rowing boat. In similar fashion, they are heckled off; however return in outfits from the group's videos for Pray, Love Ain't Here Anymore and Back For Good with each impersonator performing the dance moves of the member of Take That they are pretending to be. Gary Barlow and the rest of the band then agree that the group look good in their Back For Good outfits, and decide to make them into Fake That. The real Take That then appear on stage and perform the final piece of the track with them.

Track listing[link]

European Promo Single^[4][5]

1. "Happy Now" (Main Version) – 3:56
2. "Happy Now" (Live Version) – 3:45
3. "Happy Now" (Paul Oakenfold Radio Edit) – 3:31
4. "Happy Now" (Benny Benassi Radio Edit) – 3:52
5. "Happy Now" (Paul Oakenfold Remix) – 7:19
6. "Happy Now" (Benny Benassi Remix) – 7:00

UK iTunes Package^[6][7]

1. "Happy Now" (Live Version) – 3:45
2. "Happy Now" (Video) – 4:44
3. "Happy Now" (Behind The Scenes Footage) – 14:18

Charts[link]

Release history[link]

References[link]

Happy Now? is a play by Lucinda Coxon, first staged at the National Theatre, London in 2008.

Plot[link]

After a conversation with Michael, a middle aged businessman, at a conference hotel, Kitty begins to wonder what life is really all about as she desperately tries to balance family life with personal freedom and fidelity with a trying job in marketing for a cancer charity. Meanwhile, at home, Johnny (her husband) makes out she's got it easy compared to his hectic schedule as a newly trained teacher - a job he ironically took on in order to lead a more laid-back lifestyle. Kitty's parents are drifting further and further apart as her mother, June, tries to keep Kitty on her side of the feud. Miles and Bea - Kitty and Johnny's friends - are also struggling to hold it together as Miles is slowly becoming more and more gripped by alcoholism whilst Carl, another friend, seems to have the ideal lifestyle with his new lifeguard boyfriend Antonio.

Original production[link]

The original production was staged at the Cottesloe Theatre, National Theatre, London on 24 January 2008 and is currently playing until 10 May 2008. The production was directed by Thea Sharrock and featured the following cast:

• Michael - Stanley Townsend
• Kitty - Olivia Williams
• Johnny - Jonathan Cullen
• Miles - Dominic Rowan
• Bea - Emily Joyce
• Carl - Stuart McQuarrie
• June - Anne Reid

The technical crew were as follows:

• Production Manager - Igor
• Designer - Jonathan Fensom
• Lighting Designer - Oliver Fenwick
• Sound Designer - Paul Arditti
• Fight Director - Terry King
• Company Voice Work - Kate Godfrey
• Assistant Director - Laura Farnworth
• Stage Manager - Fiona Bardsley
• Deputy Stage Manager - Valerie Fox
• Assistant Stage Manager - Sophie Milne
• Costume Supervisor - Jane Gooday
• Prop Supervisor - Kirsten Shiell
• Assistant to the Lighting Designer - Paul Knott
• Assistant Production Manager - Simon Khamara
• Design Associate - Ben Austin
• Video Images - Gemma Carrington
• Production Photographer - Stephen Cummiskey

Subsequent productions[link]

Yale Repertory Theater

• October 25-November 25, 2008
• Directed by Liz Diamond

Cast:

• Michael - David Andrew Macdonald
• Kitty - Mary Bacon
• Johnny - Kelly AuCoin
• Miles - Quentin Mare
• Bea - Katharine Powell
• Carl - Brian Keane
• June - Joan MacIntosh

Creative Team:

• Scenic Designer - Sarah Pearline
• Lighting Designer - Matt Frey
• Sound Designer - David Budries
• Costume Designer - Heidi Hanson
• Fight Director - David DeBesse
• Vocal and Dialect Coach - Pamela Prather
• Stage Manager - Amanda Spooner
• Casting - Tara Rubin Casting
• Production Dramaturg - Sarah Bishop-Stone
• Assistant Director - Christopher Mirto

Primary Stages Theater

• January 26-March 6, 2010
• Directed by Liz Diamond

Cast:

• Michael - C. J. Wilson
• Kitty - Mary Bacon
• Johnny - Kelly AuCoin
• Miles - Quentin Mare
• Bea - Kate Arrington
• Carl - Brian Keane
• June - Joan MacIntosh

Creative Team:

• Scenic Designer - Narelle Sissons
• Lighting Designer - Matt Frey
• Sound Designer - David Budries
• Costume Designer - Jennifer Moeller
• Fight Director - David DeBesse
• Props Master - Faye Armon
• Projection Designer - Jeff Sugg
• Associate Projection Designer - Daniel Brodie
• Vocal and Dialect Coach - Pamela Prather
• Stage Manager - Matthew Melchiorre
• Assistant Stage Manager - Amanda Spooner
• Casting - Stephanie Klapper Casting

Reception[link]

The play received good reviews with The Independent^[1], Mail on Sunday and Whatsonstage.com^[2] each awarding it four stars.

References[link]

External links[link]

• National Theatre - Happy Now official website

Megan and Liz (commonly stylized as Megan & Liz) are American pop girl band composed of fraternal twin sisters, Megan and Liz Mace, from Edwardsburg, Michigan. They are both songwriters, and Megan is their guitarist.

Early life[link]

Megan McKinley Mace and Elizabeth Morgan Mace were born on November 21, 1992 in Edwardsburg, Michigan. Megan is the older twin.^{[citation needed]}

YouTube success[link]

Their first video on YouTube, entitled "This Note", is a song which they wrote aged 15.^[1] Their first cover was of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", originally written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson and performed by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, but better known from Diana Ross's cover in 1970. They have posted 22 original songs on YouTube (as of March 2012).^[2]

Their YouTube channel currently has over 676,000 subscribers and over 139 million video views. They are the 34th most subscribed music channel on YouTube.^[3]

The duo released their first official music video on May 20, 2011 ^[4] of their self-written song "Happy Never After." Since then they have posted 5 original and official videos. Two days later, on May 22, 2011, Megan and Liz performed at the Totally Tube concert in Westbury, New York, alongside fellow YouTubers Kurt Schneider, Tiffany Alvord, Joseph Vincent, Kait Weston, and Jenna Rose.

Since moving to Nashville, Tennessee the duo has been added to Nashville Hootenanny's 'Teen Hoot' roster, where local artists perform for a crowd of teens at Westwood Studios. Megan and Liz have appeared in June 26, 2011 and August 20, 2011 performances and play both covers and original songs for further shows.^[5] In the August 20 show, they performed a duet with "Need Your Poison" co-writers Memphis High.

Their second music video, "Rest of You", was released on June 17, 2011.^[6] The video was shot in their hometown of Edwardsburg with several of their friends. Views of Lake Michigan can be seen in the video. The single was released two days prior to the music video's release on YouTube and Celebuzz.

In the beginning of August 2011, Megan and Liz debuted their new single, "Here I Go", on Celebuzz!. The song was co-written by the girls and Paula Winger.^[7]

In late August 2011, the twins released their next original song, "Run Away", along with a corresponding music video. The girls co-wrote the song with Alexz Johnson and Jimmy Robbins. The video was shot at Edwin Warner Park in Nashville.^[8]

"World's Gunna End", another Megan and Liz original, was released on September 6, 2011. The accompanying music video was released on September 12. Megan and Liz co-wrote the song back in May 2011 with songwriter and music producer Chris Sernel.^[9] The girls, along with their video producer (who had appeared in the "Here I Go" music video), visited over thirty locations in Nashville to shoot the many alternating scenes in the video.^[10] The girls released an acoustic version of the song as a free download on their Facebook fan page on October 3.^[11]

A Twinning Christmas EP (2011)[link]

In early September 2011, Megan revealed on her official Twitter account that they would be releasing a Christmas EP before the release of their debut album.^[12] Their EP, A Twinning Christmas, was released online (digitally on iTunes and Amazon MP3) on November 15, 2011.^[13] Their first original Christmas song, "It's Christmas Time", was released on November 8.

Debut Album and Recent Releases (2011-)[link]

In June 2011, the girls announced that they had officially begun production on their debut album, to be released in the spring of 2012.^[14]

In mid-September 2011, Megan & Liz announced that they were heading to Los Angeles, California to shoot multiple music videos. One of them was for an original song, "Are You Happy Now?" (co-written with Paula Winger), which was directed by Shenae Grimes of 90210. This song was also recorded for the Do Something organization against bullying.^[15] The single was released on October 8, 2011. The music video premiered on Teen.com on October 17, 2011. The website had been promoting Megan & Liz the week prior, including releasing exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the video shoot with Grimes, premiering a video teaser, and hosting a giveaway of some of the props used in the video.^[16][17] As of now, an acoustic version of the song taken from one of their live performances is available as a free download on their Facebook fan page.^[18]

Their original song, "Old School Love",^[19] was released early on December 21, 2011, with the re-release slated for January 3, 2012. The filming of the video was completed on October 1, 2011.^[20] It was written by Megan and Liz, along with Alexz Johnson and Jimmy Robbins.^[21] The video was released on January 16, 2012.^[22]

The duo performed their unreleased song, titled "Switch Hearts", at a show at Michigan State University in late October. A new unreleased song, "Just Friends", can be heard in the girls' tour vlog released in early December.^[23][24] They have also performed their original, "Better Than Me," in November 2011. In late December 2011, it was revealed that the duo would be collaborating with Zach Porter from the boy band Allstar Weekend, on a song called "Telescope."^[25] Megan confirmed that this song will be featured on their debut album, along with "Switch Hearts."^[26] They filmed a music video for another unreleased song, "Long Distance," in middle of March.^[27] A demo version of the song was made available for download on April 9, 2012 when fans received ten clicks on their "share" links through a Facebook app.^[28]

On December 2, 2011, the girls performed at the annual 107.5 The River's Acoustic Christmas 2011 concert in Nashville, alongside Demi Lovato, Hot Chelle Rae, Colbie Caillat, Andy Grammer, and Cobra Starship.^[29] On December 9, the girls were invited to perform at Z100 Jingle Ball 2011 Pre-Show in New York City.^[30][31]

In January 2012, the girls travelled to L.A. to film a music video for another original song, "A Girl's Life."^[32] The video was released a short while later on January 30, 2012.^[33]

In May 2012, they performed on the Village stage at the annual Wango Tango concert event.^[34] In that same week, Megan & Liz won the Macy's iHeart Radio Rising Star contest, which means that they will be the opening act at the iHeart Radio Musical Festival, held in Las Vegas, Nevada in the September of 2012.^[35]

This Time EP (2012)[link]

Megan & Liz's fourth EP, This Time, will be sold in physical form for a limited time in F.y.e. stores nationwide. It was released on February 28, 2012.^[36] This EP contains seven original songs, six of which had previously been released as singles. The other original song is called "Princess Charming."^[37] The EP was also released on iTunes on February 20th.^[38]

Personal life[link]

Both of the girls attended Edwardsburg High School in Michigan, where they were both cheerleaders. After their relocation to Tennessee, they returned to Michigan to graduate with their class in June 2011.

Liz can play a little bit of piano and is currently attempting to learn the guitar in her spare time.^[39] Liz is also a vegetarian, while Megan is a pescatarian.

The twins have met and collaborated with several other fellow YouTube artists, such as Memphis High, Emily Harder, Boyce Avenue, and Tiffany Alvord. They have also listed YouTube artist Christina Grimmie as one of their inspirations.

Other inspirations of the Mace twins include Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Demi Lovato, Katy Perry and Aly & AJ.

They teamed up with Friskies to raise $1,000 for the Friends for Dearborn Animal Shelter during the 2010 holiday season. The donation was awarded when their holiday jingle video surpassed 100,000 views after 18 days.^[40]

As of May 2011, the sisters have relocated to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue more music opportunities.^[41][42] They now release their singles through Collective Sounds.^[43]

The duo also have a beauty channel on YouTube where they post videos that focus on hair, makeup, and style, as well as aspects of inner beauty.^[44]

Discography[link]

Megan & Liz have released two EPs. Their first EP is available for online download through Amazon.com and iTunes. It contained all original songs. Their self-titled second EP was only available to purchase on tour in February 2011. This EP contained three covers, as well as two original songs. Their cover "Your Guardian Angel" on the EP was previously unreleased and has not been released online. Their Christmas EP was released in November 2011, which contained two original songs and three covers of popular holiday songs.

Singles[link]

Tour[link]

In mid-January, the Mace twins announced they would be special guests along with Tiffany Alvord on tour with the band Boyce Avenue. They will be on tour from February 11 to February 27. On March 1 they announced that they will open for Boyce Avenue in two more shows at the end of the month. The dates are below:^[49]

In late August, Megan & Liz announced that they will be opening for Action Item on their upcoming, "The Stronger The Love" tour, along with Burnham, Hollywood Ending, and The After Party. They will appear in eight shows.^[50]

The girls joined Allstar Weekend along with Hollywood Ending, Before You Exit, and The After Party on select dates during the winter portion of their 2011-2012 tour.

In February 2012, Megan & Liz began their F.Y.E./radio tour, where they will travel to radio stations across the Mid-Western part of the United States. They will also be performing in various F.Y.E. stores while promoting their EP, "This Time". More dates are to be announced.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Megan and Liz official website
• Megan and Liz at Last.fm
• Megan and Liz YouTube band page

The Ready Set
Jordan Witzigreuter in 2009.
Background information
Origin	Fort Wayne, Indiana
Genres	Pop, pop rock, electronica, electronic rock, electropop, synthpop, dance, dance-pop, techno, alternative rock, emo
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Decaydance, Sire, Beluga Heights
Associated acts	Fall Out Boy, All Time Low, Never Shout Never, Allstar Weekend, Breathe Carolina
Website	www.thereadyset.com
Members
Jordan Witzigreuter

The Ready Set was formed on November 17, 2007 in the basement of Witzigreuter's childhood home. Jordan Witzigreuter is the lead vocalist and sole member of the act. Witzigreuter generally writes and records on his own, using a backup band when on tour. He has once stated, "The Ready Set is, always has been, and always will be just me." The name was adopted due to the artist's concerns that his last name, Witzigreuter, would be difficult for people to pronounce. Jordan resides in his hometown, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Pete Wentz signed The Ready Set to his label Decaydance Records on November 24, 2009.^[1][2] Wentz assisted Jordan in releasing his debut full-length I'm Alive, I'm Dreaming.

It was announced on September 3rd, 2011 that a new EP, [1], would be released on October 11, 2011, but the date was later pushed back to November, 2011.^[3]

In an interview with Just So You Know, he stated he hopes to release a full length album in Fall of 2012. He also said he will have some other things being released before that.^[4]

Studio albums[link]

Extended Plays[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Ready Set

• thereadyset.com – official website

Michelle Branch
Michelle Branch in January 2010.
Background information
Birth name	Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch
Also known as	Michelle Branch Landau Michelle Landau
Born	(1983-07-02) July 2, 1983 (age 28)
Origin	Sedona, Arizona, United States
Genres	Pop rock, acoustic, country pop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, musician, actress
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, keyboard, percussions, piano, accordion, cello, harmonica, mandolin
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Maverick Reprise Nashville
Associated acts	Santana, The Wreckers, Chris Isaak, Justincase, Timbaland
Website	www.MichelleBranch.com
Notable instruments
Taylor 614ce Gibson Hummingbird

Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch (born July 2, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter, guitarist and actress. During the early 2000s, she released two top-selling albums, The Spirit Room and Hotel Paper, and was subsequently nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2003. In 2005, she formed the country music duo The Wreckers with friend and fellow musician Jessica Harp, and produced the Grammy-nominated single "Leave the Pieces". The Wreckers disbanded in 2007 to pursue their respective solo careers. She has had several commercially successful songs, most notably winning a Grammy with Santana for "The Game of Love".

Life and career[link]

[edit] 1983–2000: Early life & Broken Bracelet

Michelle Jacquet DeSevren Branch was born on July 2, 1983, in Phoenix, Arizona,^[1][2] to David and Peggy Branch, six months after they were married.^[3] Her father is of Irish descent, and her mother is of Dutch Indonesian and French descent.^[3][4] Her siblings include an older half-brother named David and a younger sister named Nicole.

Beginning to sing at the age of three, Branch enrolled in voice lessons at Northern Arizona University when she was eight,^[3][5][6] and received her first guitar for her fourteenth birthday.^[1][2][6] After teaching herself chords, she composed her first song "Fallen" within a week of receiving her guitar.^[7] She initially attended Sedona Red Rock High School,^[5] but finished the last two years of her high school education through home schooling so that she could focus on her music career.^[6] To support Branch's interests, her parents helped her book local gigs in Sedona, AZ, and later financed her independent album Broken Bracelet.^[6] Her set list at these gigs included covers by Sheryl Crow, Lisa Loeb, Jewel, and Fleetwood Mac.^[7]

In June 1998, Branch self-produced Broken Bracelet,^[3] a compilation of songs she wrote when she was 14 and 15;^[4] the album was later released on the independent record label Twin Dragon Records in June 2000.^[3][4] Its title was inspired from a bracelet made by pop singer Jewel, given to Branch by musician Steve Poltz at a Lisa Loeb concert she attended. Poltz told Branch that "when it breaks, you'll be famous."^[3] The Broken Bracelet recordings were destroyed in the Nashville floods in May 2010.^[8]

In December 1999, she posted two of her songs on the Rolling Stone website, which caught the attention of both pop rock band Hanson and former Rolling Stone writer and Los Angeles record producer Jeff Rabhan, eventually leading to two gigs opening for Hanson in 2000.^[3]

[edit] 2001–04: The Spirit Room

In 2001, Branch signed a recording deal with Maverick Records,^[3][4][6] where she began working with John Shanks to produce her first album and major-label debut.^[9] The album, The Spirit Room, was released in August 2001,^[4][9] producing the hit single "Everywhere." The single was a commercial success, winning the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards Viewer's Choice Award.^[10] "Everywhere" was later followed by singles "All You Wanted" and "Goodbye to You." In August 2001, she appeared on Total Request Live after "Everywhere" reached No. 4 on their charts. Due to the mainstream success of those released singles, The Spirit Room was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA for selling over two million copies in the US. Michelle also sang in Hanson's 2004 album, Underneath in the song, "Deeper."

Branch met Justincase before her debut on Maverick Records, becoming friends over the Internet before meeting in Las Vegas for a music convention in 2000.^[11] Justincase was signed to Maverick Records in late 2001 with the help of Branch.^[12][13][14] A self-titled debut album on October 29, 2002 which included several collaborations with Michelle Branch—including the lead single, "Don't Cry for Us"—who promoted the album on MTV's Total Request Live.^[15] In 2002, she teamed up with Santana to produce the song "The Game of Love,"^[2][4][16] which went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.^[1][10] She also earned a Grammy nomination in 2003 for Best New Artist,^[10] but was edged out by Norah Jones.

[edit] 2003–05: Hotel Paper

Her second album Hotel Paper was released in 2003, and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 charts and matched the commercial success of her debut album earning a Platinum certification by the RIAA for selling over a million copies.^[17] However, the album was met with mixed reviews. The lead single "Are You Happy Now?" was a chart success, earning her a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance,^[10] though she was ultimately 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. Branch married her bass player Teddy Landau in Mexico on May 23, 2004,^[1][18][19] and gave birth to a baby girl named Owen Isabelle on August 3, 2005.^[20] Prior to meeting her husband she dated guitarist Sean Woolstenhulme of Lifehouse and The Calling.^[6]

2005–07: The Wreckers[link]

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

In July 2005, Branch began collaborating with her backup singer and longtime friend Jessica Harp.^{[2][19][21][22]} They were initially known as "The Cass County Homewreckers" as a joke by Branch's husband,^[23] but they trimmed it down to The Wreckers.^[19] 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.^[19]

During this period, they contributed to Santana's album All That I Am, with the song "I'm Feeling You,"^[19] appearing on the American teen television drama One Tree Hill,^[2] and joined country music stars Rascal Flatts on a U.S. tour.^[21][22] They initially toured with Gavin DeGraw, Tyler Hilton and Bethany Joy Galeotti which was also written into the show during the second season.^[19] 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 Vocal^[1][10] 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. The Wreckers split in 2007.^[1]

Branch sold her Calabasas home and moved to Nashville.^[24][25]

[edit] 2008–10: Everything Comes and Goes

Immediately thereafter, Branch wrote an unreleased song for Mandy Moore's 2007 album Wild Hope,^[26] 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.

In early 2009, she sang the song "I Lose My Heart" in a duet with Chris Isaak on his new album Mr. Lucky.^[27] A video for the first single from the album "Sooner Or Later" was released on July 28, 2009. Also in 2009, she recorded "A Case of You" (originally by Joni Mitchell) for the compilation Covered, A Revolution in Sound which commemorated Warner Bros. Records 50th anniversary.^[28] A video was made for the song "This Way" and uploaded to Branch's official YouTube account in October 2009,^[29] but it was not released as a single and did not chart. (The video was included on a limited edition DVD entitled The Video Anthology available on michellebranch.com.)^[30] Everything Comes and Goes was finally released as a six-track extended play on July 16, 2010, via Michelle's website and would be available at all retailers one month later.^[31] In 2010, Branch and R&B/hip-hop producer Timbaland collaborated on a pop/R&B song entitled "Getaway" and released a video.^[32]

[edit] 2011–present: West Coast Time

In December 2010, Branch announced her return to her Pop/Rock roots for her new album.^[33] In January 2011, Branch confirmed in an interview with Katie Krause from Hollywire.com that the album would be released this year.^[34] In early 2011, Branch released three previously unreleased songs from Everything Comes and Goes including, "Texas In the Mirror", "Take a Chance on Me", and "Long Goodbye", the latter a duet with Dwight Yoakam. On March 22, 2011 in a video regarding updates on the third studio album uploaded via Branch's YouTube account, Branch confirmed that half the album is finished and added that "it's sounding really really good....it's all going well and it's all on time."^[35] On April 14, 2011 it was announced that Branch had finished recording the album, she also added that "only mixing/mastering left."^[36] On May 26, 2011, Branch hosted a live webchat with fans in which she previewed her new single "Loud Music", which was released to iTunes store on June 14, 2011, The song was co-written and produced by British writers Jim Irvin and Julian Emery who collaborated with Michelle on several songs on the album. In the webcast, Branch also mentioned songs on the album called "Mastermind" and "The Story Of Us" and also added that "Through The Radio" would be a hidden track on the CD. In a previous webcast, she premiered a song from the album called "Spark". During a live outdoor performance at the Warner Brothers building she performed another new song, dedicated to her husband Teddy Landau, "For Dear Life". On June 1, 2011 Michelle announced that the album is called West Coast Time and was originally slated for a September 2011 release date. No release date has yet been given.

In June 2011, she released the album's first single titled "Loud Music". On July 12, 2011, Branch performed "God Bless America" at the MLB All-Star Game, in Phoenix, Arizona. In September, a new song "Another Sun" was featured on Fox's TV series Terra Nova.^[37] On October 29, 2011, she gave a small concert to approximately 200 fans at the Egyptian Room in downtown Indianapolis, as part of the Gravedigger's Ball. On December 12, 2011, Branch released a song titled "If You Happen to Call" for free download on the official website.^[38] On April 3, 2012, Michelle Branch performed "Leave the Pieces" with Kelly Clarkson in LA as part of Clarkson's 'Stronger' tour.

Musical style and influence[link]

She states that her music has been influenced by The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Aerosmith, Lisa Loeb, Joni Mitchell, Queen, Alanis Morissette, Jewel, Fleetwood Mac and Cat Stevens.^[3][39][40] classical music and older country music.^[16][22] Branch mainly uses a Gibson Hummingbird after retiring her blue Taylor 614ce.^[41][42]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Broken Bracelet (2000)
• The Spirit Room (2001)
• Hotel Paper (2003)

EP's

• Everything Comes and Goes (2010)

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominateds[link]

Grammy Awards[link]

The Grammy Awards are awarded annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Branch has won one award from four nominations.

MTV Video Music Award[link]

The MTV Video Music Awards were established in 1984 by MTV to celebrate the top music videos of the year. Branch received three nominations.

Others Awards[link]

References[link]