Michael Paynter (born 1986 in Melbourne, Australia) is a singer-songwriter and musician. He will release his debut album in early 2010, entitled This Welcome Diversion. He has released two singles from the album, "Closer" and "A Victim Song". To promote his album, Paynter supported Vanessa Amorosi on her national tour throughout July 2008, and served as the main support act for Shannon Noll on his National tour at the end of 2008. Paynter began playing instruments from a young age, playing the piano at the age of seven, and learning guitar and drums by the time he was 15. At the age of 16, he began playing in touring bands across the Australia. Regarding music, Paynter says that it "was always something I was going to do, because it fires up my soul like nothing else". He studied law for a year, but returned to music. Although Paynter liked law school and intends to return, he says the choice was either "tour the country and play guitar or study books", and the decision "was a no-brainer". Paynter says that playing drums makes him a better guitarist, playing guitar makes him a better keyboardist, and playing all three makes him a better singer. Michael has travelled the globe four times in as many years, and written with the finest in his field, from Guy Chambers [Robbie Williams] and Adam Argyle [Newton Faulkner] in the UK, to Toby Gad [Beyonce, Black Eyed Peas] and David Ryan Harris [John Mayer] in the US. Michael knuckled down in the US with famed producer Matt Wallace (Faith No More Maroon 5, Bic Runga) at Sound City Studios, where Fleetwood Mac, Nirvana, Johnny Cash and Tom Petty cut their classic records. Michael’s hard work paid off when his song Superheroes was chosen as the sounded for the hit television series Heroes. After releasing two acclaimed singles, Michael explains, “I set about touring, travelling and assessing what kind of artist I wanted to be. I spent a lot of time recording, writing, learning and listening to a range of musicians from Muddy Waters, Son House, Eva Cassidy, Sam Cooke and Robert Johnson. In the last two years I set about developing every set of skills I could. I played guitar for hours and hours a day, and I performed hundreds of gigs – it’s just been the best time of growth for me.” Apart from winning coveted support slots for Newton Faulkner, Vanessa Amorosi, and soul legend Seal, Michael’s personal highlight over the last couple of years have saw him performing at the emotional Bushfire Memorial Service with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and a 500 member choir. Although much has been said about this multi instrumentalist and his 'big' voice, it seems to be the songs, his fine band and his honest and entertaining live shows that are ringing the 'loudest' bells this time around. Michael has also embraced social media and the digital world with gusto, engaging with his army of followers on twitter regularly, and often uploading exclusive bonus content to his youtube and myspace accounts. Michael is invigorated by living, breathing and immersing himself in music, and his new EP, released on July 9, features the songs Are You Alive, as heard on Channel Seven’s promo for the final series of Lost, and Love The Fall, which features back up vocals from Michael’s good mates Lisa and Jess Origliasso. Michael explains, “I met Lisa and Jess when I performed at the ARIA #1’s in 2008. We caught up after the show and that day I made two of the most intensely loyal - albeit miniscule - friends for life. We ran into each other at various awards shows, and soon enough we were hanging out in LA when I was over there to write or record. They are the most genuine and musically gifted girls. We share such a musical affinity and definitely see the world the same way, so it is completely my honour to share my tune with them. They really bought it to life.” Love The Fall, whose spectacular video was shot in the Northern Californian forest was unleashed on June 14th. Love the Fall was the most added song to Australian radio in the first week of July, above all releases, including international. With shows scheduled in both Melbourne and Sydney in September, an unprecedented demand for interviews, TV performances and in-store performances, and a film clip that last week emerged in the top 100 YouTube favourites in 15 countries – 46th most viewed music video on YouTube worldwide – it’s an exciting time for this Melbourne singer/songwriter and his incredible young band, all of whom feature on the track. The Love the Fall 5-track EP will be released online July 9 and in stores July 16. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.