Michelle Branch was seventeen years old when she signed to Madonna’s Maverick Records. In2001, she released her highly acclaimed debut album, The Spirit Room, which featured the hit singles “Everywhere,” MTV Video Music Award Viewer’s Choice winner, “All You Wanted” and“Goodbye to You,” and ushered in a new era of young women writing and performing their own songs. The album went on to sell three million copies worldwide, and was certified double-Platinum in the US, Platinum in Japan, Gold in Australia and Canada, and Silver in the UK,among others.

Branch won a Grammy Award for her 2002 collaboration with Carlos Santana, “The Game of Love,” which peaked at No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100, No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and became a major international hit. Her second album, 2003’s Hotel Paper, debuted at No. 2 on the US Billboard album chart and was a top 10 hit around the world. Certified Platinumin the US, and Gold in Australia, Canada and Japan, it spawned the hit single “Are You HappyNow?,” which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Female Rock Performance. Branch was also nominated for Best New Artist.