Career success: Stand Still, Look Pretty
In 2005, Michelle Branch recruited her longtime friend and backing vocalist Jessica Harp on a new musical venture, incorporating elements from both Branch's pop-rock style and Harp's country style to form the Wreckers, a shortened form of "the Cass County Homewreckers," a band name idea from Branch's then husband, Teddy Landau. They were soon signed to Maverick Records.
The Wreckers' song "The Good Kind"—originally recorded by Harp—was featured on the hit teen television series One Tree Hill . They performed this song on the show on February 8, 2005. Later that month, the duo embarked on the nationwide One Tree Hill Tour alongside Gavin DeGraw, Tyler Hilton, and Bethany Joy Galeotti. Branch later expressed her dislike of going on tour without releasing an album first, and the Wreckers then attempted to release their debut album, Stand Still, Look Pretty .
The album was finally released in May 2006, led off by the single "Leave the Pieces", a number one country hit. It was followed by a heavy promotional radio campaign by the band which allowed it to make the top five on the country music albums chart in the United States, the top twenty on the Billboard 200, and the number one album on the United Kingdom Country Chart. This allowed them to have various live performances including one in Indianapolis, Indiana, at Monument Circle in August 2006, and on tour as Rascal Flatts's opening act during the summer of 2006, in addition to playing smaller club dates as headliners. "My, Oh My", was the second single from Stand Still, Look Pretty, and its video was filmed on the Wild West stage at Universal Studios Hollywood.
The band were nominated for "Vocal Duo of the Year" at the 40th Annual CMA Awards, but lost to Brooks & Dunn. In December 2006, they were nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal" for "Leave the Pieces." [1] Moreover, the band also released a cover of the country song "Strawberry Wine", originally sung by Deana Carter, and performed it live on the 2006 CMA Awards. [2]
Split-up and recording solo albums
In February 2008, it was announced the group had split to focus on their solo careers. [3] The duo has since stated that their next recording projects will be solo albums. Jessica Harp has stated that they will continue the Wreckers as a side project, but solo albums are what "feels right" for now. Harp released her first solo single, "Boy Like Me" from her debut album A Woman Needs , in March 2009. The single was a Top 30 hit on the charts, and was followed by the album's title track, which reached No. 56 after a short chart run. On March 16, 2010, Harp's album was digitally released following an announcement that she would retire from her recording career to focus on songwriting. Meanwhile, Branch released the single "Sooner or Later" in August 2009 and released her six-song EP Everything Comes and Goes on September 14, 2010.
