Brianna Rieffel

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Brianna Rieffel

Background information
Birth name	Brianna Marie Rieffel
Born	June 20, 1995 (age 11)
Origin	Mandeville, Louisiana, USA
Genre(s)	Country, Pop, R&B
Occupation(s)	Singer, dancer, actress, former beauty pageant contestant
Years active	2003–present
Label(s)	Unsigned
Website	briannarieffel.com

Brianna Marie Rieffel (born June 20, 1995 in Mandeville, Louisiana) is an American pre-teen singer-songwriter, dancer, entertainer and former beauty pageant contestant best known for performing as a member of the cast of the award-winning show Country Tonite^[1] and for writing and recording the critically-acclaimed Hurricane Katrina victim anthem "The Promise". ^[2]

1 Biography
2 "The Promise"
3 Personal Life
4 Beauty pageant wins
5 Discography
6 References
7 External Links

[edit] Biography

A former Louisiana Kids performer, Brianna started her professional singing career at age 7 by performing at various fairs and festivals in her home state of Louisiana as well as the Liberty Bowl college football game in Memphis for two years. ^[3] Originally a native of Mandeville, Louisiana (not far from New Orleans), she has since moved to Sevierville, Tennessee. Recently, she completed a one-year near-400-show run at the popular Country Tonite Theatre in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Before performing publicly, Rieffel was a beauty pageant contestant, beginning at the age of three until she was 7. At age 9, she recorded her first CD, Only In My Dreams...., which is a cover compilation of songs previously performed by such artists as Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, Sara Evans and Martina McBride. She sings both country and pop. It was released in 2005 on Mp3.com's Australian chart and climbed to #5 on their charts in just one week. It is also broadcast in prime time on many radio stations in Australia and New Zealand.

Brianna is currently in the studio recording new tracks for her upcoming CD Taking Chances due out sometime in 2007. Two of those tracks recently announced are titled "Taking Chances" and "Cajun Shuffle", which she wrote. However, official track listing has not be finalized. She also wrote and recorded her website-only track "Numbers Don't Lie" (which is rumored to be going on the new CD). "Numbers Don't Lie" made its debut at Boles Creek Wrestling on March 24th as the theme song at the event Deadly Game for Mike Summers, an announcer for Boles Creek. Summers is also the webmaster for the fansite, "Brianna's World".

[edit] "The Promise"

In 2006, Brianna wrote and recorded a special song dedicated to victims of Hurricane Katrina, which she and her family themselves were also victims of, called "The Promise". ^[4] "The Promise", composed by family friend Neil Preston, expresses the sadness and frustration of families who suffered tremendous loss from the hurricane seen through the eyes of a child. Proceeds from sales of that CD go to help rebuild Louisiana schools affected.^[5] In a news columm posted at Brianna's World, a fansite, she explained the reasons for writing the song. She stated that she thought a lot about Toby Keith when she wrote this song and that he was a role model to her because "he's not afraid to stand up for what he believes in."^[6]

According to an entry on Democrats.com, Rieffel stated there were radio stations that were hesitant about playing "The Promise".^[7] Though she makes clear in her Brianna's World column, "People say it has a real strong political message, but that's not what it is about. It's just about my feelings on what I saw happening after the storm."

"The Promise" is also a rumored track to be added to her upcoming CD Taking Chances.

[edit] Personal Life

Brianna currently lives in Sevierville, Tennessee (birthplace of Country Music Hall of Fame legend Dolly Parton) with her parents (her mother Sharon serves as her manager) and her older brother Brandon. In a video on YouTube and her fan site Brianna's World, she says that her favorite singer is former Mouseketeer Christina Aguilera because of "all of her emotion and feeling she puts into her songs... and she has great songs."^[8]

[edit] Beauty pageant wins

Over the years, Rieffel has won different titles in several beauty pageants across Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, and North Carolina. In total, she has won more than 20 titles. Here are a few of them (not the complete list):

Year	Name of Pageant	Crown	Result
2003	Alabama Diamond USA	Alabama Diamond USA Grand Supreme	Won
2003	America's Model Miss	America's Model Miss Mississippi Southern Babe Supreme (with fellow pageant winner Channing Foster)	Won