Michelle Branch & New Radicals release reimagined version of "The Game of Love" - Michelle Branch Announces 'Everywhere And Back Again' EP out November 6, 2026
- Crucial Rhythm
- Jul 15
- 8 min read
Today, Grammy Award-winning artist Michelle Branch and New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander share a new, reimagined version of “The Game of Love,” produced by Alexander. The new version brings Branch back together with Alexander, the song’s original writer and producer, for their first collaboration since the song initially came out in 2002. The release of “The Game of Love” heralds a brand new era of music for Branch, with her Everywhere and Back Again EP arriving November 6 via BMG. The project celebrates Branch’s 25-year career and brings her iconic catalogue into a new era through reimagined recordings featuring friends, peers and special guests.
Stream “The Game of Love” by New Radicals and Michelle Branch HERE & Watch The Official Lyric Video HERE
Everywhere and Back Again revisits the songs and cultural moments that have defined Branch’s career, while looking firmly toward the future. The EP will feature reimagined recordings of some of Branch’s most beloved songs such as “The Game Of Love” and “Everywhere,” “All You Wanted”, “Goodbye To You,” “Breathe,” and more. Each track will feature collaborations with acclaimed artists from across genres, with additional names to be announced soon! The project reframes songs Branch first wrote and released as a teenager through the voices and perspectives of artists who grew up alongside her music. See full tracklist below.
“Getting to hear these songs, many I wrote as a teenager, performed by friends and peers that I so greatly admire has been such a ‘pinch me’ moment as a songwriter,” Branch shares. “Suddenly these adolescent songs about love lost and found take on an entirely new meaning and weight when sung by artists of all different genres and in a different era. Being able to celebrate a 25-year career while firmly believing my best work is still ahead of me is the dream of any artist. And having fans that have grown up beside me who are still listening and still care after all these years is the greatest gift. Thank you all for helping me celebrate.”
The reimagined version of “The Game of Love” with New Radicals frontman Gregg Alexander kicks off the new project, which sees the pair collaborating together more than two decades after Branch’s Santana collaboration won Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart. “The Game of Love” was originally written by Alexander, who also wrote The New Radicals' nearly lost hit, “Murder On The Dancefloor,” which was originally earmarked to be their 1998 debut single, but instead sat in the vault until released as a 2001 single by Sophie Ellis-Bextor. After being used in a pivotal scene in the box office and viral hit film Saltburn in 2024, the song had a resurgence, again reaching #2 on the UK chart, going platinum in America and making its first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 chart two decades after its initial release.
“‘The Game of Love’ has been such a special song in my life made possible by one of my personal musical heroes, Gregg Alexander from New Radicals,” shares Branch. “Many people don’t realize that Gregg wrote The Game of Love and being able to sing this together with him is really a full-circle moment and captures the original spirit of the demo.”
The story behind the new version of “The Game of Love” stretches back to the earliest days of Branch’s career. After New Radicals paused touring, Branch toured with several musicians from the New Radicals live band and began covering “You Get What You Give” during her first tour. When Clive Davis was searching for the right voice for “The Game of Love,” both Tina Turner and Macy Gray had recorded versions of the song, but in his mind he was still searching for a young unknown. Alexander suggested Branch, having heard that she had been covering New Radicals live, and she nailed the demo on the first try. The rest is history.
On re-connecting with Branch and the new version of “The Game of Love,” New Radicals Gregg Alexander said: “Michelle has been acknowledged as inspiring so many artists, and Michelle is one of the kindest artists I’ve ever worked with. Our sometime mentor Clive Davis brought icons Tina Turner and Macy Gray to the studio to “try out” “The Game Of Love” in 2001. Yet Clive envisioned a brand new voice delivering my idealistically innocent lyric and melody. So when 19-year-old Michelle waltzed in delivering a jaw-dropping one-take vocal, we won a Grammy a year later. New Radicals and Michelle recently raised the “mix faders” at NYC’s Hit Factory with both our 2001 and 2026 vocals side by side, us both realizing singing our hearts out is perhaps just what the doctor ordered amidst today’s anxiety and global crises! And Clive, the music world misses you already… this record is dedicated to you. So let’s turn this motherfucker up and dance like no one’s watching!”
Last night, Branch celebrated the launch of Everywhere and Back Again with MBTV Presents: Everywhere and Back Again - Live in Front of a Studio Audience, a one-night-only event at The Sun Rose in West Hollywood that was livestreamed across Branch’s socials. Inspired by the MTV and TRL era that helped launch her career, the event transformed the venue into an early 2000s-inspired live experience, bringing fans inside the world of Branch’s new project.
The MBTV event followed a mysterious rollout across Los Angeles, where cryptic Michelle Branch billboards appeared ahead of the announcement. The billboards directed fans to a phone number featuring a voicemail message from Branch saying she “can’t come to the phone right now because she’s getting ready for her MBTV event.” On July 8, Branch officially announced the event on social media, giving fans the chance to enter to attend the special one-night-only taping.
The event transformed The Sun Rose into a TRL-inspired TV studio where Branch sat down with former MTV VJ Damien Fahey to talk about the new era of music. Fahey intro’d the event saying, “We are celebrating Michelle and she has a few awesome surprises in store!” The two chatted about how they met back in the day: “Not many people can say they met at the MTV Beach house! Did we time travel?” said Branch. Branch then broke the news on the new single and the upcoming Everywhere and Back Again EP. Then Gregg Alexander surprised Branch with a voicemail introducing the new version of “The Game of Love” and then they played a snippet of the song.
Fans sang along to every word as she performed “All You Wanted,” “Breathe,” and “Everywhere” and the live stream went wild as she announced she will be going out on the Everywhere and Back Again Tour kicking off on September 27th and making stops at nearly 20 venues across the country including: Los Angeles’ The Wiltern on October 3rd, New York’s Beacon Theatre on November 5th and more. Artist pre-sales begin today, July 15 at 10 am local time and general on sale begins Friday, July 17 at 10 am local time. See full tour dates below and at www.michellebranch.com.
Everywhere and Back Again EP Track List:
“The Game of Love” by New Radicals and Michelle Branch
“Everywhere”
“Breathe”
“Goodbye to You”
“You Get Me”
“All You Wanted”
“Are You Happy Now?
“The Game of Love Remix”
EVERYWHERE AND BACK AGAIN TOUR DATES:
September 27 - Seattle, WA - The Showbox
September 29 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom
October 2 - San Francisco, CA - The Castro
October 3 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern
October 4 - Del Mar, CA - The Sound
October 6 - San Luis Obispo, CA - Fremont Theater
October 8 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex
October 9 - Las Vegas, NV - Zouk
October 10 - Aspen, CO - Belly Up Aspen
October 11 - Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater
November 4 - Boston, MA - Royale
November 5 - New York City, NY - Beacon Theatre
November 6 - Asbury Park, NJ - The Stone Pony
November 7 - Nantucket, MA - The Muse
November 10 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
November 11 - Minneapolis, MN - First Avenue
November 12 - Milwaukee, WI - Pabst Theater
November 13 - Lexington, KY - Manchester Music Hall
ABOUT MICHELLE BRANCH:
Michelle Branch was seventeen years old when she signed to Madonna’s Maverick Records. In 2001, she released her highly acclaimed debut album, The Spirit Room, which featured the hit singles “Everywhere,” MTV Video Music Award Viewer’s Choice winner, “All You Wanted” and “Goodbye to You,” and ushered in a new era of young women writing and performing their own songs. The album went on to sell three million copies worldwide, and was certified double-Platinum in the US, Platinum in Japan, Gold in Australia and Canada, and Silver in the UK, among others.
Branch won a Grammy Award for her 2002 collaboration with Carlos Santana, “The Game of Love,” which peaked at No. 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100, No. 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and became a major international hit. Her second album, 2003’s Hotel Paper, debuted at No. 2 on the US Billboard album chart and was a top 10 hit around the world. Certified Platinum in the US, and Gold in Australia, Canada and Japan, it spawned the hit single “Are You Happy Now?,” which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Female Rock Performance. Branch was also nominated for Best New Artist.
In 2006, Branch found success with Jessica Harp as modern-country duo The Wreckers, whose debut Stand Still, Look Pretty was praised by critics for breaking down barriers between pop and country. The Gold-certified album spawned the hit single “Leave the Pieces,” which topped the Hot Country Songs chart for several weeks, and earned Branch her fourth Grammy nomination, as well as fan favorites “My Oh My” and “Tennessee.”
In 2017, Branch released her critically acclaimed fourth album, Hopeless Romantic, co-produced with Patrick Carney of The Black Keys. Paste said of it, “Sprinkled with gorgeous, transparent and colorful synths, Hopeless Romantic casts Branch as a newly matured lover and songwriter and is indeed likely to succeed at satisfying diehards and welcoming in new devotees.” In 2022, Branch released The Trouble With Fever, further showcasing the evolution of her sound and her grounded, relatable songwriting.
Recently, Branch announced Everywhere And Back Again, a new project celebrating 25 years in music by revisiting the songs, stories and cultural moments that have shaped her career. The project is led by “The Game of Love” by New Radicals and Michelle Branch, a newly reimagined version of Branch’s Grammy-winning hit. To celebrate the launch, Branch hosted MBTV Presents Everywhere And Back Again: Live in Front of a Studio Audience. This one-night-only event was inspired by the MTV and TRL era that helped introduce her music to a generation of fans.
More than a reflection on the past, Everywhere And Back Again marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Branch, setting the stage for more new original music to come very soon!
Michelle Branch Links:
ABOUT NEW RADICALS/GREGG ALEXANDER:
Gregg Alexander is a Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, and producer. He was the frontman and guitarist for the band New Radicals, who released their only album Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too in 1998 and disbanded shortly after.
Maybe You've Been Brainwashed Too sold over a million copies, and its lead single, “You Get What You Give,” is a multi-generational global hit, with approaching a billion streams on Spotify.
Shortly before the album’s 2nd single release, New Radicals disbanded, and Alexander shifted focus onto production and songwriting work for other artists who’ve covered his songs, including Geese, The Strokes, Sophie Ellis Bextor, Tina Turner, Gwen Stefani, Maroon 5, Rod Stewart, Jung Kook and others.
In 2002, Alexander won a Grammy Award for his contributions to the single "The Game of Love" by Santana and Michelle Branch. He also co-wrote and produced the songs for the film Begin Again, including "Lost Stars", which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
The New Radicals' nearly lost hit, “Murder On The Dancefloor" was originally meant to be their 1998 debut single, but instead sat in the vault until released as a 2001 single by Sophie Ellis-Bextor with production from Alexander. It peaked at #2 in the UK and was Europe’s biggest airplay hit of 2002. After being used in a pivotal scene in the box office and viral hit film Saltburn in 2024, the song had a resurgence, again reaching #2 on the UK chart, going platinum plus in America and making its first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 chart two decades after its initial release. The song also peaked inside 2024’s Billboard Global 200 top 10.
On January 20, 2021, New Radicals made global headlines by reuniting for the first time in 22 years for a viral one-off performance of "You Get What You Give" for Joe Biden’s inauguration.
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