“Music has the power to unleash the soul and set it free” Michelle aka Miss Mercury knows what those words mean. Since she first picked up the guitar at the age of 14 years old, she has been using song writing as her voice to express the hardships of an uncertain upbringing. “We moved around a lot when I was a kid, and sometimes it became really lonely, having to start a new school, make new friends, get used to a new environment. I was always a pretty shy kid, and music helped me come out of my shell and express what I was feeling. It also gave me something to call my own and feel secure about. It is the ultimate therapy”. Miss Mercury’s music has most recently been described as a cross between Blondie and the Ramones, and she has also been likened to artists such as Pink as well as Natalie Merchant, Chantal Kreviaziuk and Dido in her early years. Although still fairly new to the music scene as a singer/songwriter, Michelle has already had the pleasure of working with and learning from several very talented artists such as Vancouver’s Laura Doyle as well as original member of the Spirit of the West, Jay Knutsen. She has performed while travelling in Central America and Thailand, and upon returning to Canada, began playing her all original material at music venues in Toronto and Vancouver. “I finally had the courage to go into the studio and record my first album after a very inspiring suggestion from a total stranger”. Hooked after her first sessions in the studio with talented producer Sam Ryan, Michelle developed her new sound and image, Miss Mercury. Having produced and developed chart topping acts such as Krome, which was the second most played song on Galaxy Radio in 2009, as well as Destino and Brooke Nolan, Sam Ryan was able help take Michelle’s career as a singer/songwriter to the next level. She was able to reach deep down into her inner artist and write all new material for what has already turned out to be an ear catching and impressive sophomore album entitled “The Other Side”. “My songs come from a very deep place, I feel and experience things, or hear stories about other people’s experiences, and then I pick out a tune and put the words into song”. “I like to keep some humor in the songs as much as possible and sometimes they literally come to me in five minutes”. Recently working with some of Canada’s finest musicians, including Juno award winning Chris Gestrin, Juno nominee drummer Richard Brown who toured with Divine Brown and Big Sugar as well as co writing and recording with seasoned musician and songwriter, Phil Addington from the band Swank, Miss Mercury has been given the inspiration to step out, and as she puts it, “Open myself up for the world”. She is already receiving commercial airplay across Canada and Australia as well as having her single No Chemistry in an episode of NBC’s comedy show “Community” with Chevy Chase. Also nominated as finalist for several prestigious competitions in the past year, such as the American Urban Music Awards, The International Songwriting Competition in the US, as well as the Radio Active Competition in Vancouver, Miss Mercury is set to make waves this year!