''Happenstance'' was the first full-length album by Rachael Yamagata. It was released on BMG on June 8, 2004 in the U.S., and May 16, 2005 in the UK. Three months after its release in the United States, on September 8, 2004, a limited edition including two bonus tracks was released in Japan.

As of August 17, 2007 the album has sold 143,000 copies.

The album was almost entirely produced by John Alagia, who previously worked with artists such as John Mayer and Dave Matthews Band. Only two songs were not produced by Alagia: "Paper Doll" (produced by Kevin Salem, with additional production from Alagia), and "Collide" (included in the Japanese limited release, produced by Doug McBride). - Wikipedia

"On her debut full-length release, Chicago singer/pianist Rachael Yamagata unleashes the fruits of a few years' worth of writing onto disc. With previous experience as vocalist for the funk band Bumpus, her scope is pretty broad and the variety of influences is clearly evident in her own music. Witty lyrics and a powerful delivery (partly due to Rachael's sultry voice) place the disc's fourteen tracks on the better side of the genre. While comparisons have been drawn to Norah Jones, Happenstance is more of a rock album with singer/songwriter overtones.

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