Michelle Chamuel

Michelle Chamuel
Chamuel performing in 2014
Background information
Birth name	Michelle Jacqueline Chamuel
Born	1986 (age 29–30) Wellesley, Massachusetts
Genres	Electronic pop, pop, electronica
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Vocals, piano, keyboards, synthesizer, guitar
Years active	2007–present
Labels	The End, Independent
Associated acts	Ella Riot, Theo Katzman, Mary Lambert, Usher
Website	michellechamuel.com

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Michelle Jacqueline Chamuel (born 1986) is an American singer, songwriter and producer. She was the lead singer of the band Ella Riot and the runner-up on season four of The Voice. As a producer she is known as The Reverb Junkie. She has released several albums and EPs as a solo artist and in partnership with other artists. Her latest album Face the Fire was released in February 2015. She released an EP titled I AM in November 2015.

Early life

Chamuel grew up in Wellesley, Massachusetts.^[1] She is the daughter of Joalie Davie and Jacques Chamuel who came to the United States from Egypt in 1960s.^[2] She studied violin with her father and took piano lessons at age four. In seventh grade she started to sequence music on a synthesizer, sing and compose. She produced a full-length CD during her senior year, graduated from Wellesley High School and studied performing arts technology at the University of Michigan.^[1]

Career

2007–11: Ella Riot

Ella Riot performing in 2010

In 2007 Chamuel joined the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based band Ella Riot.^[3] In college she released a track titled "My Dear Disco" with band guitarist Robert Lux.^[4] Initially the band was instrumental, and her addition as lead vocalist became a turning point in the band's direction.^[5] The band's name was in part a tribute to Ella Fitzgerald who was an inspiration to Chamuel.^[6] The band toured extensively and released two definitive works, Dancethink and Love Child.^[7] In October 2011 the band went into hiatus.^[8]

In a 2010 interview with AfterEllen, Chamuel spoke about being out and queer in the music industry, staying true to herself, and artists that inspired her such as Elton John and Ani DiFranco.^[9] She said "I don't think of myself as 'a lesbian musician' or a 'Jewish artist.' It's not one and alone. I think of myself as a musician."^[10]

2011–12: Independent work

After Ella Riot, she moved to Amherst, Massachusetts, and worked independently. She released an album titled s/he, an EP titled All the Pretty People and an EP titled EP 1 in partnership with other artists. She released remix music with original lyrics and vocal compositions and collaborated with several musicians as a featured artist. Reviews characterized her voice as velvety, polished, soulful and controlled.^[11][12] As a performer she said honesty is key in live performance, "that's the goal, to be totally honest and in the moment."^[8]

2013: The Voice and All I Want

Chamuel took part in the fourth season of NBC's The Voice. In the blind audition she sang Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl". Three judges turned their chairs and she chose team Usher.^[13] She won the battle and knockout rounds with performances of "Titanium" and "Raise Your Glass".^[14][15] In her first live performance she sang Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors".^[16] Over the next four live performances she was voted into the Top 5. Her rendition of "Just Give Me a Reason" was called a killer performance by Pink's official website.^[17] Her rendition of Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble" received an enthusiastic approval from Swift, and Rolling Stone noted that she can tackle pretty much any genre.^[18][19] The song charted on the Billboard Hot 100.^[20] In the final round she sang Annie Lennox's "Why" and U2's "One" in a duet with Usher.^[21] She came in second place.^[13]

Chamuel released the solo album All I Want in September 2013. The album was released under her producer moniker and debuted at number 6 on the U.S. Dance/Electronic Albums chart.^[22] She called it her "solo electronic project" and said her studio work as The Reverb Junkie focuses on creative sound works, whereas the work released under her own name has more of a pop focus.^[23][24]

In September she spoke at a fundraiser for "Voices from Inside", an organization dedicated to empowering women.^[25] In October she spoke at a TEDx gathering about the role of music in shaping one's sense of home.^[26] In November she released a single titled "Go Down Singing", a song about the potential in each person to shine.^[27]

2014–present: Face the Fire

In January 2014 Chamuel and producer Arjun Singh released an EP titled The Drift. The EP features hip hop artist Isaac Castor.^[28] She released a song on Valentine's Day titled "Made For Me" and released an EP titled EP 2 in April 2014. This was her second EP in partnership with producer David Gonzalez.^[29][30] In 2014 she performed several shows in the U.S. and Ireland, including a seventeen city U.S. tour.^[31]

External video

Paste Magazine – Chamuel on "Golden" and songwriting.

Chamuel released Face the Fire in February 2015 – the first album under her own name.^[32] She said as a teenager she was obsessed with pop hits on Top 40 radio and in this album she wanted to produce well-crafted pop music.^[33] She wrote the songs with her former bandmates Theo Katzman and Tyler Duncan.^[34] The album debuted at number 21 on the U.S. Independent Albums chart.^[35] In March she performed an acoustic version of "Golden" on VH1's Morning Buzz show.^[36] Chamuel released an EP titled I AM in November 2015 under The Reverb Junkie moniker.^[37]

Tours

• Turn It Up Tour (2014)^[38]

Discography

Released as: The Reverb Junkie–1, Michelle Chamuel–2, s/he–3.

Remixes

Collaborations

Compilations

Soundtracks

The Voice performances and results

References

External links

• Official website
• The Reverb Junkie, Official website
• Michelle Chamuel on Facebook
• Michelle Chamuel at the Internet Movie Database