This country pop/rock band has come from nowhere to glory, making their name seem all too fitting. Cheyenne Kimball (19), Rachel Reinhert (20), and Tom (28) and Mike Gossin (25), started out playing to 100 people in small out of the way venues to touring with Taylor Swift and winning an American Music Award. BB chats to Cheyenne from Gloriana. A four member group with brothers Tom and Mike and the girls, who all started out in music as kids, they?ve come a long way and are definitely a band to watch!

BB: Each one of you has had an early start in the music business. Tell us about your journey.
I started out when I was 8, playing and writing, then playing live for while. I entered a contest called America?s Most Talented Kids when I was 12 and won. I was then signed with Sony Records at 13 and had my own MTV show ? about following my life story. Then by the time I was 15 I felt like I needed a break. I had been touring forever ? 3 years at that point. I just needed a break as I was pretty tired. I got a job in a tanning salon and kinda chilled and lived like a normal girl for a second. Then a year later I saw the band and I approached them after one of their gigs. I was really inspired by them and said I?d love to be part of the band. Rachel had seen my MTV show so she knew who I was. We ended up playing together and it all came together really well and so their three became four.

BB: Sounds like it was meant to be?
It was absolutely meant to be. When we started singing together it just worked. They weren?t looking for another member when I approached them but it just worked out.

BB: Has country music been the genre you were interested in pursuing at the outset?
When I was solo I did more rock/pop contemporary kind of thing but not far off from what we are doing now. We are country but there?s a contemporary new wave feel to it. People like Taylor Swift paved the way for us in terms of country being accepted into the mainstream and growing its audience base. My grandfather was a country singer so I grew up on country but never really got into it but now I just love it.

BB: You supported Taylor Swift on her tour. That is a pretty huge coup and must be amazing. How did that come about and how did you react?
We were so excited. We thought it was a joke. We were nobodies then and she had heard us play and really liked us so she approached us and said she wanted us to be her support act on her tour. We were playing in small venues, to like 50 or 100 people and touring in a little van, and then we get this call. It was amazing and unbelievable. We?ve now been touring with Taylor for 7 months, followed by a break, then Australia and then back to the States for another couple of months of touring.

BB: Is there a feeling of more pressure when supporting such a big name artist vs doing your own gigs?
Of course, we were so nervous starting out but after you do a couple of shows you enjoy it so much and it becomes comfortable. We went from playing to a few people in small bars to 20,000 people in a massive arena. So, it?s been an amazing journey. Cool thing is we are now starting to sell out our own shows, which is really special for us.

BB: You won the American Music Award for Best New Artist 2009. Tell us about that.
That was so amazing. We were up against people like Lady Gaga so we definitely thought we would not win, it was just amazing.

BB: What?s the best part of being in a band vs being a solo artist?
Having that support system and working towards a goal with three other people is really cool. We?re always pretty much on the same page when it comes to our music.

BB: What do you enjoy most ? performing live, writing, recording?
Honestly, all of it. It really is all amazing. You love when you are in the studio and then when you?ve done that for a while you can?t wait to get out their and tour. It all kinda goes hand in hand. Being really hands on as a band is so exciting for us.

BB: What are you hopes and plans for the next 12 months?
To get our CD out and played, keep playing and touring and meeting as many of our fans as possible. It would be great to win a Grammy ? of course!.

BB: You guys obviously work closely together, do you also socialise together?
Oh yeah we do. We spend so much time together that we do try to break away and do our own thing but we also have fun together.

BB Random questions

Fave TV show
Gossip Girl

Fave chill out
Sleeping

Dog or cat person
Dog

If you weren?t in Gloriana what would you want to do?
Fashion designer

BB: Oh, is that something we can expect from you:
I can?t talk about it a whole lot but I?m working on some stuff possibly to do with shoes ?..but can?t talk about it.

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