The cliché question that comes to mind concerning 20-year-old singer/songwriter/guitarist Michelle Branch is, Is she happy now?
     A gander through the lyrics of her latest CD, Hotel Paper, makes it seem like she doesn't smile much. The title refers to the brand of stationary this road warrior most often used for writing songs and other communications over the last two years as her career exploded. The title track speaks, with some regret, of a love that was sidelined due to the commitment to that career. "I write mostly on hotel paper/knowing that my thoughts will never leave this room/I'd be out of line telling you 'leave her'/so I lie lonely surrounded by you/by you." Other tracks, such as "Desperately," "Where Are You Now?" and even the acerbic hit "Are You Happy Now?" reference longing and loneliness and other sacrificial choices.
     Such is the paradox of success in today's pop culture. Artists gladly pursue recognition, yet gained fame leads to decreased privacy, less personal attachments and increased isolation. A "tragic" celebrity figure emerges for which the rest of the world usually feels very little sympathy. Songwriters still use it as inspiration, though, especially on a follow-up to a successful debut. In the immortal words of Branch mentor Sheryl Crow, "If it makes you happy/then why the hell are you so sad?"
     To her credit, Branch does not succumb to a tragic view of her whirlwind success. Lyric writing may be enough of an outlet for any downsides to make the upsides far more enjoyable. This young woman is living out a dream and she has not forgotten that aspect, even when she is holed up in a hotel room with no family, friends or freedom.
     She states, "When I have free time I can only go out with the band and try to have fun. I do miss my friends, though, so once in a while I will bring them on the road. But," she adds without hesitation, "I wouldn't ever trade being where I am now."
     A very good thing, since a glum spirit might tarnish all that is happening around her these days. %Hotel Paper% made a strong debut at No. 2 on the Billboard album chart this summer and has already been certified Gold. Lead single "Are You Happy Now?" broke into the pop Top 20 and follow-up track "Breathe" should be circulating there soon as well. And a successful summer stint opening for the Dixie Chicks is being followed by a headlining club tour through the entire month of October.
     Clearly, this flurry of activity did not emerge from thin air. It rests upon the incredible foundation set by Branch's 2001 major label debut, The Spirit Room. That double-Platinum album features the watershed tracks "Everywhere" and "All You Wanted" and is still selling briskly. From that release Branch earned a significant amount of radio airplay, a truckload of press coverage and key support from MTV, which awarded her a Viewer's Choice Award last year.
     Amidst all the young females that have emerged over the last few years, Branch stands out because she is viewed as an artist in her own right. She writes and plays her own songs and favors an organic rock sound versus the computer dance loops used by some of her peers. She also appears to be one of the few artists her age to advertise a love for classic rock (Led Zeppelin and Queen T-shirts have been spotted in photo shoots). Her ears are in tune with what is going on today, but her heart is rooted in the music that filled her home when growing up in Arizona.
     As she notes, "My parents were not musicians, but they loved music and I came to love their music." Cat Stevens, Neil Young, CSN, Joni Mitchell and Paul McCartney were among those that made an impact on the developing Branch. The artist to make the deepest impact was fellow Arizonian Stevie Nicks (who can be spotted with Branch in a recent photo shoot for In Style magazine).
     In Nicks and the aforementioned Crow, Branch has found elder stateswomen that have willingly become role models and sources for encouragement. Without concerns of losing status or relevance, the older women have been gracious in building up the younger artist. Nicks has made positive statements about Branch and was photographed with her, as noted above. Crow duets on the Hotel Paper track "Love Me Like That" in fulfillment of an offer she made to Branch when the latter was her opening act a while back. For Branch, these women represent the artist that she wants to be. "They have managed to be strong and sexy, yet they take their art seriously," she says.
     She has also shown admiration for an additional female superstar, though more for her business skills than musical output. That woman is Madonna, who as part owner of Branch's label, Maverick, is her boss. And guess what—the boss is satisfied. "Madonna just showed up backstage at a show unexpectedly," Branch recalls of her only actual meeting with her. "She told me to just keep doing what I am doing."
     Classic rock has also offered Branch another icon to help her career: Carlos Santana. Her duet with his namesake band on "The Game of Love," from the Shaman record, became a Top 10 hit that earned a Grammy Award. The track became an excellent precursor to her own record, since it broadened her potential audience. "My fans were initially males and females my age," she recalls. "'The Game of Love' has changed that by adding older men and women who say, 'Here is the chick who sang with Santana; let's check her out.'"
     Her parents were pivotal in other ways as well. Aside from driving their pleading daughter to numerous gigs, she met her manager through a family connection. Branch actually stole a golf cart while at a resort to deliver him her demo. He liked what he heard and Branch gained her first exposure as an opening act for Hanson. Things have developed quite ironically since that time.
     This artist does glance back in amazement at what has transpired, yet is already thinking ahead to future records. "When I make records, I like at least one track to give a glimpse of what the next record will be like," she says. "On the last record, that track was 'All You Wanted.' On this record it is 'Empty Handed.'" "Empty Handed" sports orchestral strings, a melismatic vocal and a searing, mid-tempo rock groove that is indicative of coming maturity.
     For Branch, other forms of diversification do have appeal, but her main desire is to continue as an artist making many "next records." "I plan to keep writing and would like to write for others and get more behind the scenes and sign bands," she says. "But I don't plan to do much other stuff right now since I have far to go as a musician. To keep going as a musician it just matters if people will listen."
     The final statement to encapsulate the hopeful vision of Michelle Branch is, "I want to make records until I am dead."