Biography
Also known under her production alias the Reverb Junkie, Michelle Chamuel works as a singer, producer, and songwriter and finished second on season four of NBC’s singing competition The Voice. She grew up in Wellesley, Massachusetts, where high-school studies included piano and violin until the Korg Triton keyboard and sequencer shifted her focus away from classical music. The instrument’s polished tones helped channel her interest in pop, indie, and electro styles, leading her to produce a self-titled album during her senior year before enrolling at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to study performance arts technology. In 2007 she joined the local group My Dear Disco, whose debut EP appeared that same year and whose first full-length album, DanceThink, arrived in 2009, its title reflecting the band’s indie-disco approach reminiscent of LCD Soundsystem. The ensemble adopted the name Ella Riot in 2011 as a tribute to Chamuel’s admiration for Ella Fitzgerald, issued the Love Child EP, and soon disbanded, after which Chamuel and bandmate Tyler Duncan launched the project s/he. An initial 2012 tryout for The Voice proved unsuccessful, yet a 2013 return to her hometown yielded a second audition; her take on Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl” prompted Usher, Adam Levine, and Shakira to turn their chairs. Placed on Usher’s team, she advanced to the finals with renditions of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors,” Annie Lennox’s “Why,” and U2’s “One,” ultimately placing second to winner Danielle Bradbery. Universal issued The Voice: The Complete Season 4 Collection later that year. Chamuel’s first solo album, Face the Fire, followed in 2015 and included contributions from former Ella Riot and s/he collaborator Duncan.
Albums
