Kimberly Perry

A country singer with an expressive and often fiery vocal style, Kimberly Perry is best known as the leader of the lively, Grammy-winning country-pop outfit the Band Perry with her siblings Neil and Reid. The trio not only reached the upper echelons of the Billboard country albums chart but the Top Five of the Billboard 200 with The Band Perry (2010) and Pioneer (2013). After releasing an EP, Coordinates, in 2018 that completely abandoned country for electronic pop, the trio went on hiatus to pursue solo projects. Kimberly Perry returned with a more reflective country-pop EP, BLOOM, in 2023. Although the group officially formed in mid-2005, the Band Perry -- siblings Kimberly Perry (lead vocals, guitar, and piano), Reid Perry (bass guitar), and Neil Perry (drums, mandolin, and accordion) -- had been singing together at home and in various configurations and bands since their childhood in Mobile, Alabama. Kimberly joined and fronted her first band when she was only 15 years old, and used her brothers Reid (then ten years old) and Neil (then eight) as roadies. Eventually, the two brothers formed their own band and often worked as an opening act for their sister. All three still sang together at home, though, perfecting their three-part harmony style and occasionally writing songs. Merging elements of country, pop, and rock into a sharp contemporary sound, all three officially joined forces in 2005 as a working band and found themselves on the New Faces of Country tour. Three years later, the group met Garth Brooks' manager, Bob Doyle, who liked what he heard from the group and moved the threesome into the studio to work on songs. The recordings caught the attention of Scott Borchetta and Jimmy Harnen of the newly formed Republic Nashville label, which quickly signed the trio in 2009. A debut single, "Hip to My Heart," was issued in November of that same year, which saw the Band Perry begin working on their debut album with producers Nathan Chapman and Paul Worley. A self-titled EP was released in May 2010, followed by a full-length of the same name later in the year. The Band Perry's eponymous full-length debut was one of the big country hits of 2010, rising to number two on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart while reaching as high as number four on the Billboard 200 thanks to the country number ones "If I Die Young" and "All Your Life," plus the Top Ten single "You Lie." These singles kept the Band Perry on the charts into 2012, by which time the trio was attempting to record a second album with producer Rick Rubin. During the sessions, they abandoned Rubin for producer Dann Huff, who helmed the finished album, Pioneer, which appeared in April of 2013 on the heels of country chart-topping single "Better Dig Two" and the Top Ten-charting "Done." The album went all the way to number one on the country albums chart, hit number two on the Billboard 200, and was supported by months of touring throughout North America and Western Europe. The following year, their cover of John Hartford's "Gentle on My Mind," a song that had won Glen Campbell two Grammys in 1968, was featured on the soundtrack for the documentary film Glen Campbell: I'll Be Me. The Band Perry version went on to win a Grammy in 2015 for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Their original song "Live Forever" appeared in middle of 2015, but the trio left Republic for Mercury/Interscope and announced a gradual switch to pop music before releasing more material. 2016 brought "Comeback Kid," which crested just inside the Top 40 of country airplay. Early in 2017, the Band Perry announced a third album and issued a preview single, "Stay in the Dark." The album never materialized, though, and by the middle of 2018, the group had parted ways with Mercury/Interscope. In September of that year, they issued the Rick Rubin-executive-produced electro-pop EP Coordinates on their own Artrat record label. While the EP managed to crack the Billboard independent albums chart, its singles failed to chart. The Band Perry didn't officially go on hiatus until early 2023, by which time Kimberly was ready to release her first solo collection, the EP BLOOM. A more mature, reflective set of country songs that still incorporated elements of rock and pop, it was produced by Jimmy Robbins (Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris) and released by RECORDS/Columbia that June.
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