"Everywhere" is the debutsingle released by American singer-songwriter Michelle Branch. It was written by Branch and John Shanks for her debut album, The Spirit Room. The song was produced by John Shanks and was released in July 2001 by Maverick Records. The song received positive reviews from critics praising its lyrical content and Branch's vocal performance. The song attained moderate success, reaching the top 20 in Australia, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. There are two music videos for the song; one features Branch singing the song inside a rundown building and shows Branch posing for The Spirit Room photoshoot. This video was exclusively available via enhanced CDs until it was made available on iTunes in limited countries. The official and second music video shows Branch inside her apartment spying on her crush who also seems to be spying on her as well. The two finally meet each other at the end of the music video.
Background and writing
Branch told MTV in 2001:
Music video
The music video for "Everywhere" was directed by Liz Friedlander. The video shows Branch stalking a man in the opposite apartment building while she plays her guitar in an empty room. Branch told MTV in 2001, "Before we made the video, it was a big deal for me to help find the guy . I was like, 'I'm taking over. Send all the photos to me. I have to pick the guy.' I was watching every WB show saying, 'He's cute. Can we contact him?' As a teenage girl, this was really exciting for me. They finally brought me the picture of the guy in my video, Jake Muxworthy. I was like, 'This is it. He has to be in it.' The scenes that he was in were so hard because I had this little crush on him. I would giggle and start blushing .... I think his girlfriend is probably going to track me down and kill me now."
Reception
Critical response
"Everywhere" received positive reviews from critics praising its lyrical content and Branch's vocal performance. Allmusic's Liana Jonas described the song "a lively and heartfelt song with electric-guitar power chords, spirited vocal delivery, and catchy chorus.". Sputnikmusic reviewed the song "...starts with a nice acoustic intro which is joined in by drum, then the whole band for the chorus. While the music generally falls under pop, this song has a rockier edge to it." IGN Music calls the song "...definitely catchy". Sean Richardson of the Boston Phoenix made favourable comparisons between "Everywhere" and Vanessa Carlton's debut single "A Thousand Miles", saying, "it's a good-natured reverie, with none of the troubled soul searching that characterizes the work of Tori and Fiona. The song rocks enough to live up to those expectations and pop enough to race up the charts. It starts off pretty glossy, with Michelle singing the word "you’re" down the scale in three syllables over a fancy trip-hop drum loop. Then the slashing electric guitars and gang-harmony vocals come in, and before long she’s belting out an unforgettable dream-pop chorus. It’s a flawless pop production and an auspicious chart debut."
Chart performance
"Everywhere" peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on the week ending November 10, 2001. The song stayed on the charts for 20 weeks. The song became Branch's first top 20 hit, as well as her third highest peaking single, after "The Game of Love" and "All You Wanted". "Everywhere" remains Branch's most successful single worldwide. It charted the highest in New Zealand, where it peaked at number two in December 2001, behind Alicia Keys' "Fallin'". "Everywhere" also reached the top 20 in United Kingdom and Australia, where it was her only single to peak within the top 20.
