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''Hotel Paper'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Michelle Branch which was released on June 24, 2003.
Some of the major themes on ''Hotel Paper'' are leaving things behind, constantly being on the move, independence, the mysteries of bus stations and spirituality. The album's cover is a photograph of Branch by Sheryl Nields.
''Hotel Paper'' debuted at number two on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200, selling 157,000 copies in its first week-;it was Branch's highest sales week and surpassed the peak position of her previous major label album, ''The Spirit Room'' (2001). By September 2003, ''Hotel Paper'' was certified gold by the RIAA. The album sold 1,116,000 copies in the U.S. up to March 2009, attaining platinum status. ''Hotel Paper'' was certified gold in Canada for shipment of 50,000 copies.
"Are You Happy Now?", the album's first single, peaked at number sixteen on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, Branch's third nomination. The second single was "Breathe", which reached number thirty-six on the Hot 100 and became a top five club hit. A third single, "'Til I Get over You", was released with no music video and failed to chart. - Wikipedia
On the opening track of her sophomore album, Michelle Branch asks the musical question "Are You Happy Now?" After a multi-platinum debut and multiple Grammy Award nominations, you'd think the answer would be an emphatic yes. Not so. Not so, according to the 19 year old singer and songwriter's 12 latest songs. Branch's problem: love-or lack thereof. On Hotel Paper, Branch pines and laments-tunefully, mind you-about a heart that's been sliced, diced, mashed and trashed so severely that it almost sounds beyond repair. "I know this world keeps on turning/ Keeps me yearning" she confesses with guest Sheryl Crow in "Love Me Like That," while the album takes a more dramatic turn in "Hotel Paper," in which she takes the role of unrequited concubine whose illicit lover turns out "to be more than I bargained for."But Hotel's morose tone is tempered by songs that crackle with passion and glide with polished melodicism, from the muscular, rootsy groove of "Where Are You Now?" to the textured, aching ambience of "Desperately" and "'Til I Get Over You." The title track's techy underpinning and swelling dynamics (spiced by guitar leads by Dave Navarro of Jane's Addiction) recall labelmate Alanis Morissette, but the Crow duet offers brassy assurance. And John Leventhal, one of four producers who worked on the album, gets the most emotional results out of Branch on the title track and the gentle album-closer "It's You." She may write like her love life's in tatters, but Branch's creative growth certainly gives her something to be happy about.
