reagan elizabeth halliwell is an american singer-songwriter. winner of four grammy awards, halliwell has released four solo albums and four ep's since the release of her 2001 self-titled album. she performed with oliver berne as [insert band name here] from 2009 to 2014. halliwell has also guest starred at janine beckwith on the showtime original series roadies, which was cancelled after it's first season.
halliwell was born and rasied in brentwood, tennessee, the oldest of two children to chirstian minister andrew halliwell and his wife, patricia halliwell. raised in a somewhat strict christian household where attending church on sunday and participation in church events and groups was not only encouraged but expected. while valedictorian of brentwood academy's class of 2000, class president and varsity volleyball player, halliwell was also an active member of her church's choir where she cultivated her love for music.
halliwell signed with reunion records, a christian music record label in the sony/bmg family based out of her hometown, when she was seventeen years old just during her senior year of high school. mixing the elements of contemporary christian music with her own more intimate form of pop, halliwell released her first, self-titled, album in 2001. her first album would go on to receive high praises in the contemporary christian music scene, leading to the much anticipated release of halliwell's second album by surprise the following year.
during the time she was recording her first two albums, both in new york and back in nashville, halliwell attended barnard college where she was studying comparative literature and music while participating in the cross-registration program with the manhattan school of music. through the private instruction halliwell received through the manhattan school, this marked an introspective time in the singer-songwriter's life, one that would eventually lead to her leaving reunion records shortly after the release of her 2005 album, genesis.
between her first three solo records with reunion records, halliwell went on to sell over 250,000 copies with multiple dove award nominations recognizing her achievements in the christian and gospel music genre.
following her graudation from barnard college in 2004, halliwell returned to tennesse, finding a more permanent home in nashville. after the release of genesis, halliwell transitioned into serving as a songwriter for other artists through warner/chappell music, as well as contributuing to monthly music and entertainment website, paste magazine. "i'm taking time for me," halliwell commented. "i'm traveling, having new experiences. i love music, i'll never stop creating music, but right now i'm focusing on finding my voice."
halliwell wouldn't return to pursuing her own solo career until 2009, releasing a series of eps under her own aesthetics music label created by herself and [insert husband here]. aesthtics music was created originally with the intention of it being an independent outlet for halliwell's solo music, though would go on to sign transitioning indie artists and bands. it was also during this time that halliwell started seeking licensing opportunities eventually leading to her songs being included in an oscar meyer marketing campaign and multiple television shows, including grey's anatomy.
2009 also marked the debut of halliwell's nonsecular, americana/indie folk collaborative project with fellow singer-songwriter oliver berne as [insert band name here]. halliwell and berne met in 2008 at a songwriter event after being randomly paired together during a workshop. "from the moment we met, we were finishing each other's sentences," halliwell said about the duo's first encounter.
the duo's debut album barton hallow, released in 2011, received significant critical acclaim, reaching #1 on itunes the first week it was released. it also charted at #1 on the billboard digital albums chart, #1 on the billboard folk albums chart, #2 on the rock albums chart, and at #10 on the billboard 200. the album also made appearence on the best of 2011 lists of npr music, rolling stone, entertainment weekly and time magazine.
they went on to spend much of the year touring the united states and canada before a two month stint in europe with adele prior to the international release of their album. also, recording a song for the hunger games soundtrack in one day with mega popstar taylor swift.
the following year, in 2012, while on their own tour in europe, the duo began writing songs for their next highly anticipated sophomore album. though, towards the end of the tour unexpectedly cancelled the last few shows citing internal discord, thus beginning the duo's brief hiatus. while the album did go on to be finished and recorded, during it's release in 2013, it became clear that the duo were pulling in different directions as they were only doing interviews in support of the release. [insert band name here] would disolve the following year amicably, though the true nature to their sudden breakup has been questioned.
over the three year period of time that the band was together, they were nominated for eighteen different awards, winning six, including: ASCAP vanguard award, grammy for best folk album, grammy for best country duo (twice), group of the year and grammy best song written for visual media.
since the split with berne, halliwell has gone on to collaborate with other artists for varying projects before announcing the release of her first solo album since her contemporary christian days. venus released in 2015, followed by an acoustic compelation the following year. halliwell also made her acting debut as janine on the showtime original series roadies. most recently, halliwell has released a cover of the popular chainsmoker's song don't let me down to be used in a short film by state farm.
while her career in music can be directly traced back to her time with her family's church, the older halliwell became the farther away she stepped from the church. though, not forgetting her faith completely, she doesn't feel the strong affiliation she did was she was younger believing that her brief success in christian and gospel music had much to do with her parent's, particularly her mother's, involvement in her musical career. it wasn't until taking time away from writing her own music, and consequently her family, that halliwell was able to gain a better understand of her relationship with her faith or lack thereof.
after leaving the contemporary christian music scene, halliwell felt a strain between herself and her parent's, adding to her need to travel and find who she was instead of continuing to force herself in the specific parameters put together by her parents and former label for her, about this halliwell has been extremely vocal over the years. it was during this time of self discovery that she met [insert husband here], marrying in 2007.
halliwell's personal life became increasingly more tension filled after the beginning of her collabortive career with ollie berne, as she felt like she was juggling two relationships at once, unable to please both at the same time. halliwell has always credited the pair's instant chemistry on and off stage as the reason for their sudden popularity and has admitted that this has sometimes caused a strain on her marriage. this seemed to be very apparent when the duo called it quits in 2014 with rumors of the true reason being the band's break up causing quite a stir, though none of the rumors were ever confirmed. "ollie is an amazing musican, nothing will ever compare to the music we were able to create together, it was a once in a lifetime oppurtunity." while both parties had nothing but kind words for each other, it's unclear if a reconciliation between halliwell and berne is possible. halliwell herself confirmed in an interview that since the release of their last album, she and berne were not on speaking terms.
at the beginning of 2017, months after it was rumored that halliwell and [insert husband here] were separated, it was leaked by an annoymous party that the couple of almost a decade were officially divorcing. halliwell remains unable to be reached for a comment. the couple share custody of their four year old son, noah.
halliwell currently shares her time between her ranch home in nashville, tennesse and her mailbu beach property throughout the year.
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halliwell is mostly known for having an extremely private personal life, keeping a very low profile, though has seemed to be open to answering some questions about her life in interviews. through various press engagements and live shows, halliwell is seen as a free spirited, lover of music. it would seem that she is at her happiest on stage as she interacts with her band, previously ollie berne, and the audience with not only her voice but her dynamic, on-stage chemistry. to some, she can be considered your typical sweet southern girl, though there were rumors towards the end of her time with [insert band name her] that tensions ran high and berne and halliwell could sometimes be found in heat arguements. however, in light of rumors regarding her very public musical breakup and recent divorce, it would seem that she isn't as perfect as she seems. |
» when visiting family in brentwood, she has been known to sit in with her church's choir, playing piano and singing along. however, she leaves shortly after the service. » strongly believes in charitable work and often volunteers or gives back to charities or organziations that share similar values to her. » privately, rumors about an affair between reagan and former bandmate ollie berne are correct. » privately, since the birth of her son, noah, she has never known for sure who his biological father was. at the time of his birth reagan and ollie were in the midst of their creative split and not wanting to uproot her child, has always claimed that [insert husband here] was the father. |
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since reagan halliwell was a child, she was a bit type a, hyper focused, organized and hardworking. in every definition, she was the epitome of the perfect daughter, finding time to not only be successful in school, but active in the community. naturally an introvert, preferring books and writing music alone to large crowds, she learned to be more extrovertive thanks to her constant involvement with her family in their church. not always comfortable in a large crowd, she has always been able to make the best of it by putting on a smile and having fun. despite her kind demeanor, reagan can be blunt, sometimes to the point of offending others. try as she might and not for lack of understanding or tact, she sometimes finds herself unable from speaking her mind about certain issues. close friends know her as extremely sarcastic and witty. also, while coming off easy-going, she can be quick to temper when she feel things are unjustly not going her way. however, she does strive to always put others before herself.
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