Gloriana sings country harmonies from the "Heart"

By Ken Tucker

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - Four-part harmony group Gloriana is on the fast track to stardom. Less than two years after forming, the country quartet is finding success on the radio and in the coveted opening slot on rising star Taylor Swift's first headlining tour.

Propelling the group's strong start is the first single, "Wild at Heart," which is No. 21 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.

But for the group's members -- brothers Tom and Mike Gossin, Rachel Reinert and Cheyenne Kimball -- this is no overnight success. The Gossins are North Carolina natives who toiled as a duo for 10 years before moving to Nashville in 2007. There they met Reinert, who had relocated from California to pursue solo stardom.

"We found her on MySpace and really loved her voice," Tom Gossin says. "We knew it was a long shot, but we sent her a message saying, 'Do you want to get together with some strange dudes?' She showed up and we knew right away it would work."

After a performance at the Nashville club 3rd & Lindsley, the trio was approached by Kimball, who once had a pop deal on Epic and an MTV reality show, "Cheyenne." "The four of us got together and just clicked," Reinert says.

Gloriana is signed to Grammy Award-winning producer/label owner Matt Serletic's fledgling Emblem imprint, also home to Matchbox Twenty and Rob Thomas. Produced by Serletic, Gloriana's self-titled debut album follows in the harmonic footsteps of the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac. "The record takes you on a journey of four different voices that all come together," Gossin says. Slated for a late-summer release, the album will be marketed and distributed by Warner Bros.

In the meantime, Gloriana has been sharpening its performance skills on the road. The group had done shows with Brooks & Dunn, LeAnn Rimes and the Zac Brown Band before getting a call from Swift. "She said, 'I love your sound. I want to snatch you up before anyone else does,'" Reinert says. "None of us had even met her before."

Radio programer Lisa McKay of WQDR in Raleigh, North Carolina, says the group's appeal is timely. "There is a youth (movement) happening in country right now. New artists and groups are emerging as the front-runners for the next few years. Gloriana fits into that perfectly."

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)