Exclusive Premiere: Michelle Chamuel Battles the Odds in ‘Lottery’
Michelle Chamuel is best known for finishing second on the fourth season of The Voice, but before she made an impression on millions of TV viewers, the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist was earning views the old-fashioned way: covering the country in a tour bus with her band, Ella Riot.
After the group went on hiatus, Chamuel sang for Team Usher and made her own music as the Reverb Junkie. Now she’s preparing a new album, Face the Fire, for release on Feb. 10, 2015 via The End Records. Today Billboard is exclusively premiering “Lottery,” which appears on the upcoming full-length. Check out the song below.
To create Face the Fire, Chamuel connected with college friends (and former bandmates) Tyler Duncan and Theo Katzman. Working together, they wrote the album in just 3 weeks. “Lottery” is a stealthy song, starting as if it might become a lovelorn ballad. “I know you think that love is just a game for fools,” Chamuel sings. “Nobody plays it right, nobody knows the rules.”
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But this isn’t a lament — it’s a call to action. Before long, the track shifts gears and opens into a surging chorus driven by a barrage of synthesizers. The singer tells Billboard, “At its core, ‘Lottery’ is about the bittersweet thrill of taking a chance on love and the desperation of knowing the odds are against you.” The hook — “we’ll find out if it’s meant to be, if we both play the lottery” — suggests that there’s uncertainty involved, but Chamuel’s passionate vocal betrays no doubt: She’s all in.
You can preorder Face the Fire here. Chamuel is returning to her roots and hitting the road in December on the Turn It Up tour. See those dates below
Tuesday, 12/2 – Seattle, WA – Chop Suey
Wednesday, 12/3 – Portland, OR – White Eagle
Friday, 12/5 – San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
Saturday, 12/6 – Los Angeles, CA – The Mint
Sunday, 12/7 – Santa Ana, CA – Constellation Room
Thursday, 12/10 – Dallas, TX – House Of Blues, Cambridge Room
Friday, 12/11 – Houston, TX – Fitzgerald’s
Monday, 12/15 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
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