Forget everything you think you know about Gloriana. Most of what’s out there about the Emblem / Warner Bros. Records trio is based on misconception, gossip, and confusion.
As Gloriana’s new single, the fiery, fist-shaking “Trouble,” climbs into the Top 30 and the trio prepares to release its third album later this year, Rachel Reinert and Tom and Mike Gossin had their phenomenal early success soured by personal turmoil and lineup troubles. But the journey to overcome those problems has left them better bandmates, songwriters and, most important, friends.
“Every time we thought it should have been a happy moment, there was something going on behind the scenes that would set us back,” said Tom Gossin. “We’re finally at the point where this is the first album we’ve made as the three of us,”Reinert said. “We went through a lot of personal crap, and making this album was a lot of fun. This is the first time I’ve enjoyed making an album as opposed to dreading it. We’re in a very solid, settled, peaceful spot.”
It took a while, though. Things seemed great at first. The band officially formed in 2008 and signed to independent label Emblem Records. Gloriana’s first single, “Wild at Heart,” was the year’s best-selling debut. Emblem soon partnered with Warner Music Nashville to release the group’s self-titled album and Gloriana landed a highly coveted spot on the Fearless Tour with Taylor Swift for much of 2009-10.
Things really became surreal when Gloriana went on to beat Lady Gaga for the fan-voted American Music Awards Breakthrough Artist of the Year. And in 2011 they found themselves on stage with Stevie Wonder and many of the world’s top stars at the White House where they celebrated the legacy of Motown with President Barack Obama. Everything seemed pretty great, right? Behind the scenes, things were far from it. Tom Gossin likes to compare it to the travails of the fictional band Stillwater from the film “Almost Famous.” Any of the problems they encountered during their first half-decade would have scuttled most bands.
It started when they lost a member ... on the eve of an album launch. It made great tabloid fodder, but was terrifying for the three remaining members who’d spent years fighting for their moment. “We’d just shot a video with four band members and now we were a trio,” Reinert said. “To us it was the end. We didn’t know if the band would survive.”
Each time members of Gloriana experienced a professional peak, something would happen in their personal lives to darken the experience. The next time the band caught a break, when “(Kissed You) Good Night” reached No. 2 in 2012, Tom Gossin ended up undergoing vocal surgery a short time later after pushing himself too hard. That went fine _ except for the nightmarish post- operative problems. “I’m like, am I ever going to be able to sing again now that I’ve had a hit?” Tom Gossin said in his first public comment on the surgery.
And Reinert endured not one, but two very public breakups, details of which spilled out in public. “It was something Rachel never really talked about it until one day we were in a writing session much later on and I said let’s write a song about this,” Mike recalls.
The song that poured out over the next two hours is star-making turn for Reinert and a re-start for the band. “Trouble” immediately got the public’s attention. Billboard labeled the song feisty and A Taste of Country enthusiastically endorsed its edge: “The song is sassier than anything they’ve come with previously – the group look to be all-in with Reinert in charge.” “Trouble’ is looking back in some ways at the version of myself I wish I was at that time,” Reinert said. “I wish that I had the same strength that I have now in hindsight. It’s an empowerment song. It’s telling women that you don’t have to be afraid. And I think it’s also telling them if you’re in a bad situation, you either tell them to pack up their stuff and get out or you pack up your stuff and get out. If you’re in a bad relationship, if he’s cheating on you or is mentally or physically abusive, you have to get your power back.”
Too often in the past they were concerned with fitting in instead of just being themselves. “I watch the ‘Wild at Heart’ music video and I just want to punch myself in the face” says Rachel, now 26, with an open laugh. “No one has a handbook for this...we had to find ourselves” adds Tom.
But through perseverance and tenacity, Gloriana has emerged better and stronger. “We know what’s authentic to us,” said Reinert. With troubles behind them and a strong band friendship intact, Gloriana’s true journey may have just begun. “Our fans and friends at country radio are going, ‘Oh, my God, I had no idea you were like that, Rachel,’” she said. “We are finally comfortable being ourselves.”
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