Thank you for chatting with us Alyana! You recently released your new single, “Lone Wolf,” that you also co-wrote. Tell us about the writing process and where the idea came from. The process of co-writing “Lone Wolf” was very fluid. I came up with the idea and brought it to my co-writers Adam Kowal (my husband), Scott Barrier and Nancy Deckant. I’ve always kinda felt like a “Lone Wolf” throughout my life, and I wanted to write about it. We wrote the song that day, then came back another day and tweaked a couple lines. It just came so naturally to us, and I knew I had to release it.
What was the best piece of advice you've ever been given about pursuing a career in music? To absolutely fall in love with what you do, and the journey. Over time as it gets tougher, I see more and more how important this is.
If you could have penned a song in any genre what would it have been? Without a doubt it would be “The House That Built Me”, sung by Miranda Lambert. WOW, what a song. I really wish I wrote that one!
Aside from singing do you play any instruments? YES! I am self-taught on guitar and a classically trained pianist, though I don’t play it as much now as I’d like to. I’ve also taught myself a little bit of mandolin.
Do you have any pre-show rituals? Yes! Vocal warm ups, drink water and hot tea with lemon and honey.
Favorite music to listen to while you cook? I love to listen to country music while I cook! I basically just yell out, “Alexa, play country music!”
How do you drink your coffee? With a splash of creamer - that’s it!
What's on your pizza? Do you fold your pizza or eat it straight on? Ranch or no ranch? I love my pizza either with pepperoni or mushrooms. I eat the slice straight on, unless it’s really big then I will fold it! Every once in awhile I will add ranch, but normally not.
If I was a bartender, what would you order? Either a Bud Light or a Lemon Drop
If you could be sponsored by one food/drink brand who would it be and why? Hmmm that’s so tough! I guess I would say the drink “Body Armor”. I love these fun drinks, especially the Strawberry Grape flavor. And they have “lighter” versions with only 15 calories per bottle.
ABOUT ALAYNA:
Alayna left her hometown of Butler, Pennsylvania in the summer of 2011 with nothing but a few necessities and her favorite guitar to pursue a career in music. A few years later, she was writing with award-winning songwriters and playing Music City’s most prestigious venues including the world-famous Bluebird Café, Nissan Stadium, and The Listening Room. Classically trained in piano from age 7, Alayna always had a love for music, but it wasn't always Country. She grew up listening to Jewel, Brandy, LeAnn Rimes, Sheryl Crow. Now, she's mixing those childhood influences of Pop/Rock melodies with the honesty of Country lyrics, bringing a new flavor to the table. Alayna wrote her first song at 12 but it wasn’t until a few years later that she recognized her newfound talent and began to nurture it. During this time, Alayna taught herself to play guitar and kept up with regular piano lessons. Alayna currently has over 1 million YouTube views and nineteen independent cuts to her credit. She has played many prominent conventions and festivals including CMA Music Fest, Christmas 4 Kids Bus Tour, Muscle Shoals Songwriters Festival, National Cornbread Festival, Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival, Smoky Mountain Songwriters Festival, Sunbelt AG, and the Tennessee State Fair. She was named one of the CMA’s Emerging Artists in 2017; released her second fan-funded EP Wicked City; has received multiple awards over the years from TSAI (Tennessee Songwriters Association International), and released a fan-funded EP, The
Wrong Side, in 2015 with sales in thirty-five US states and twelve countries; charting at #30 on the iTunes UK Country charts. In 2019, Alayna released her first Christmas CD, Christmas Party, which she co-wrote all of and followed it up in 2020 with singles, "Play Dumb" and "Stereotype." In 2021, she released singles "Break It Down" and "Making Babies," following it up with a corresponinding music video for "Making Babies." In January of 2022, Alayna released her last single "Top of a Dream." Recently, Alayna had one of her songs included as an instrumental on season 18 of NBC's hit TV show, The Voice, and released her own version of the cover "Desperado" via an acoustic video on Country Rebel's (the world's largest country music network) Facebook page which is nearing 100k views in follow up to her cover of Martina McBride's "Broken Wing,"which has just exceeded 172k views.
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