Watch: Michelle Branch Reacts to Avril Lavigne and Vanessa Carlton Comparisons
Comparison was everywhere when Michelle Branch got her start.
Indeed, the “Game of Love” singer recalled being constantly brought up in conversations about her peers Avril Lavigne and Vanessa Carlton when she rose to fame in the early 2000s—and it wasn’t exactly a pleasant experience for her.
“The difference, I think, between being a female artist when I was out and now, fortunately, is everyone just wanted to pit us against each other back then,” Branch told E! News in an exclusive interview. “I don’t know what it was, but it always felt like Michelle versus Vanessa Carlton versus Avril Lavigne.”
Now, however, the 43-year-old said she feels like young artists can grow their careers in a more progressive environment, citing the inclusive vibe of Olivia Rodrigo‘s Daisy Chain Fields Music Festival, which took place in August and included an all-female lineup.
“I feel like there’s such a camaraderie now between artists and especially female artists, and that’s the way it should be,” Branch noted. “It’s a really beautiful thing.”
She added, “I think these girls have a lot more support and they’re a lot more savvy in ways than we were able to be back then.”
Of course, Branch’s beginnings haven’t soured her on the industry entirely. After all, she is gearing up for the Nov. 6 release of her 25th anniversary EP, Everywhere and Back Again, which is made up of reimagined recordings of her most popular songs using the help of special guests.
Photo by Paul Archuleta/Getty Images
“It felt really celebratory,” the Grammy winner said of revisiting hits like “Breathe,” “Everywhere” and “All You Wanted” on the project. “I feel like I’m really honoring young Michelle.”
On top of that, she’s had the opportunity to hear other singers’ unique takes on her songs, like Maren Morris‘ joining her on a rendition of her 2001 smash “Goodbye to You.”
“Maren was my first choice when it came to trying to figure out who was going to sing ‘Goodbye to You,’ so I was very, very grateful that she was down,” Branch explained. “That song I wrote when I was 15 in my bedroom, and I feel like hearing it now with Maren singing it from the perspective of a grown woman who is a mother—an artist who’s lived so much more life than 15-year-old me—really brought a whole different emotional tone and emotional weight to the song that didn’t exist before.”
And the singer—who shares kids Rhys, 8, and Willie, 4, with husband Patrick Carney, as well as Owen, 21, with ex Teddy Landau—is equally as excited to kick off her Everywhere and Back Again Tour on Sept. 27.
“The fact that I’m able to take three weeks out of my family life and go on tour—I’m very, very lucky,” Branch shared. “It’s given me a different perspective on it because I just appreciate the time that I get to do it so much more.”
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