When it comes to new music, nobody loves it more than us. Finding a new artist/music, that's fresh and exciting is literally why we're here, so, when we found Kristina a few weeks back, it's safe to say we were VERY happy. You may recognise her from our 'New Music' feature, and following on from that, we decided to go behind the music and meet the person. Read on as we get to know one of our new favourite artists, Kristina Halloway.

Hey Kristina, thanks for taking time out to chat with us. How are you?

“Thank God I'm doing good, thank you for asking! Pretty busy, getting prepared for upcoming shows and the release of my album next month!!! And playing with my dog "Chewey"!”

WOW! That sounds BUSY! People don’t see that side of being an artist, they just see the glamour of being on stage with the lights and a big crowd of people. Being an artist takes a lot of hard work as we can see here with Kristina, but that’s good because the fruit it produces is song’s that minister to us and the level of excellence God requires.

We always love getting to know artist’s more and we know you (our reader’s) do too. Kristina, you’re a new artist to us but as we are getting to hear more of your music and getting to know you more as an artist, we wanted to know the real Kristina, the Kristina that friends and family know.

So, what is an ordinary day in the life of Kristina Halloway like?

“Thanking God Giving him praise for allowing me to wake up, I start out with a prayer and read my daily word and my bible. Then off to emails, twitter, MySpace, texts, etc. I spend about an hour responding to everything. Then headed to the Gym putting about 2hrs of work out time, go to vocal class spend about 2 hrs there, then back home. If I don't have any shows or meetings I'm home relaxing, writing and singing or watching the golden girls!! LOL!”

It's great how you start off your day with devotion. We may have some readers who are new to the faith or possibly even been saved a while that struggle with devotion and setting time apart for God in their day. Take some time and explain to them (in a practical way) the importance of daily devotion.

I have to give God my all, in everything.. I really thank him! Would you get into a car that doesn't have gasoline?? Would you choose to drive down a bumpy road or a smooth road??... Prayer and meditation is the vehicle that prepares me for the road I travel. The benefits of it, is that its keeps you steady, keeps you focused and it allows you not to be hasty in actions.”

Those are some great analogy’s. Spending time with God is a great thing. When you encounter the presence of God, it changes you, it changes your out-look and it puts things in perspective and gives you the strength and even wisdom to face your day.

Can you share a little about who you are, your music, who/what has influenced and influences you and how you’ve got to be where you are today?

 “My name is Kristina Halloway and I've been singing since the age of 3 at my church. God has truly blessed me with lots of opportunities that involve music. The type of music I do we call "Gospop"! Its Gospel lyrically with a Pop feel!! Very Awesome!! What influences me are people that are driven; I like to surround myself with positive people that have great drive!! Lol! I love Beyonce, Karen Clark, Kelly Price, Billie Holiday, Alicia Keys and Faith Evans. Speaking of Faith, the single “It’s Only You” was originally written for Faith but I got my hands on it and wouldn’t let it go! The list goes on and on... Determination has got me to where I am today and, oh yes, there is a WHOLE LOT more of things I want to do and accomplish! I'm just getting my feet wet! Matter fact I'm just getting my toes wet!”

We’re never surprised by the amount of gifted singers and musicians that come out of the church. It’s great to see Kristina still singing for the Lord many years on.

You explain where you’re at now as just getting your “toes wet” (in relation to the things you want to do) but that’s still a great achievement and we commend you for that. The fact that you’re using your gift and you actually releasing an album is great. It can’t have been easy though and you must have had many challenges from the time you started and even throughout your journey to where you are now.

Are there any challenges that come to mind?

 “Working with likeminded people is a big challenge; just finding the right mix of people. Honestly. It’s a lot that you have to sacrifice and give up to be in the position that you want, especially if everyone isn’t on the same page as you. But in this business you have to have dedication!”

It’s never easy finding the right people to work with but in God’s time He sends the right people for the right time.

We (Adam and Matt) can say that dedication is truly needed in any area of ministry. Working with people who can’t see your vision or doubt what God says He’ll do can sometimes get you down. One thing we’ve learned though is that you have to press on. When you know who you are and what God says about you and you truly believe that God is NOT a man that will tell a lie but a Sovereign God who CAN’T lie what other people say doesn’t seem to matter so much. We encourage every one of you to be dedicated to what God has called you to do. Whether it’s big or small, God will honour you and He’ll position the right people around you to support you in bringing the vision He has given you to life.

Knowing that you’re called and actually believing it is also necessary to overcoming challenges and also knowing that you are called to minister in the way God wants you too.

Kristina, tell us how you came to know that you had a call on your life and how you felt when you knew?

 “At the age of 8 I had the opportunity to sing at the COGIC Jurisdictional Convocation, under the leadership of Bishop Frank O. White, and I was able to sing in front of 2,500 people. I thought it was a million at that age. I sang my signature song "He Promised Us" and my parents and grandmother was more nervous than me! But to sing and have all eyes on you and be surrounded by such talented musicians on stage was an AWESOME feeling! I got such a rush! Ever since then I knew I wanted to do this fulltime! Not to mention my grandmother said that I was going to be the singer of the family.”

WOW! That must have been awesome. You had a great start to singing and also a great environment in which to learn. Know that you’ve grown up and are actually a part of the Christian/Gospel music industry how have you found it and what would you change about it if you could?

 “Well, I grew up on Gospel/Christian music; I come from a musical family. Gospel music is my roots! More so from traditional Gospel or the new aged Gospel or Christian music of which I truly love. I’m pleased that the new movement in Gospel music is being more accepted than ever before. It allows people such as myself to show a different side. I'm very grateful. I wouldn't change anything. “

That’s great. It’s good to see that the Gospel/Christian music industry works for all kinds of people and as you said, all sorts of new genre’s are being accepted. All of our Christian rap, garage, pop, techno, rnb and rock fans will know that 10+ years ago (in some cases 5) these types of music weren’t accepted and some even classed them as un-holy. Thank God for change!

Yeah, change is always good. One massive change over the last few years has been in media and marketing with more and more websites and social networking sites. You’re very hands on with your social networking sites (facebook, myspace, twitter etc) and that’s great.

Why is controlling your social networking site’s so important to you and why should it be important to other artist’s?

“Because no one can speak for me except me. LOL! I love speaking to people overall, it makes me understand what my fans like and dislike. Hey; I'm a fan to a lot of artist as well, and when they speak with me or give me encouraging words, I get such a warm feeling and I want to give my fans the same!!!”

If only more people (artist’s) would understand that, things would be a lot better, they would see their fan base’s grow and even their record sales go up. People love feeling connected to their favourite artist’s. FACT! Getting to know your fan's is important too. If you can give them what they want they'll come back and recommend you too!

We weren’t expecting the “Bee Gees” or the Ferrari. The Ferrari is cool though. When we hit the US, we’ll be expecting a ride. LOL

Through speaking with you we learned that you’re a Pastor’s Kid (P.K) just like us.

What kind of church did you grow up in?

“I grew up in my father’s church. Your basic Pentecostal church, but there were great opportunities for me to express my talents and my gifts. Very traditional, but I love it! I can do without the 14 hour long Sunday’s!! LOL!”

LOL, we’re from the same kind of background. "Good old sanctified church" as Fred Hammond would call it! Just thinking about it takes us back to those 4 hour sermon’s! LOL

So how did you find being in a "traditional" church and then going into GosPop? How was it received by your church and those around you?

“Well even though they are traditional they are open to change which I'm so grateful for. Even the style of music is shifting. We still do the old hymns and older songs because that's our roots, that can't change, but we do a lot more of the up to date praise and worship in the church. When I started doing GosPop they greeted it with open arms! I was shocked!! You still have some who are set in their ways, but little do they know I see them tapping their feet or moving their heads once GosPop is played! LOL!! So I’m cool with that!!”

That's great! We love the hymns and the traditional song's too. They'll always have their place.

So, we’ve established that you’re a P.K. Give us 2 things you loved about it and 2 things you hated about it growing up. We could probably write a few pages worth of stuff for the things we didn’t like! LOL – Seriously though, the benefit’s have been great and we’ve had many great men and women of God stay in our house, speak and prophesy into our lives and encourage us.

Likes:
 1) When my dad is preaching a really good sermon and the people are getting with him, I feel like a proud daughter and receiving the word at the same time!!

2) Being a part of the ministry fully and not be looked at any way.

Dislikes:
1) Having to always be there!!! Always.. LOL! Just kidding...

 2) I hate having people thinking I'm on a pedestool!! As if I can't do any wrong, listen everyone is human!! God is my judge!”

We hear you there Kristina. There’s always that proud feeling when we see our dad or mom preaching a powerful word that touches us as well as everyone else in the church. It’s amazing to see such a great anointing on them and it’s a privilege to be their kid’s.

We remember ALWAYS being there so we totally understand you there. First in and last to leave. LOL – It’s all good though. We (Adam and Matt) and our big sister Rebecca are still in the church serving God and know Him for ourselves so it can’t have been that bad! LOL

So getting back to your music. What’s next for you? What plans do you have for 2010?

“In 2010 Expect to see me EVERYWHERE!! (smile) I just want to share what God has given me. My album (“FREE”)is coming out this Spring so I will be doing a lot of shows and touring. They will expect good music and music full of HOPE. It’s a message of hope I'm bringing to all!”

That’s great, we’re excited about “FREE” and also what the future holds for you.

What can we expect from you over the next five years?

“Recording over five (5) albums, selling a over ten million worldwide; gaining as many awards as possible including a Grammy, AMA, Stellar, Dove and even CMA awards. Taking on different business ventures, acting, helping out artists that want to get started in music, and starting a girl youth group for pregnant, abused, and lost teens, those young girls that have lost all hope in their lives.”

That’s great. Sometime’s artist’s can forget that they’re minister’s but what you are doing is great and hopefully it will inspire not only artist’s but people of influence to use their influence for the good of the community and those in need.

Our website (or online magazine as some people are starting to call it) has been going less than a year but so far it’s had great success and has drawn millions of people from all around the world. What do you think about www.m-briomusic.com?

“I think m-briomusic is awesome!! To have two brothers start up this website it fantastic! To feature upcoming artists and main stream artists is great and allows for wonderful exposure to many! Again, I thank you for taking an interest in me and allowing me to take part! I pray you have many blessings upon blessings!!”

Thanks Kristina. It great working as a team as brother’s. It’s exciting and a lot of fun. It’s a good job we enjoy each other’s company too. lol

Can you let all of our readers who are hearing about you for the first time know where they can hear your music and also get to know more about you as an artist.

“Sure, you can check me out on www.serum-music.com, www.myspace.com/serumusic,
www.myspace.com/kristinahalloway, www.facebook.com/kristinahalloway and twitter:  www.twiter.com/tinasings”

Well Kristina, it’s been a pleasure interviewing you and we hope to hear great things from you in future?

Anything else you want to say?

 “I just want to thank m-briomusic for giving me this opportunity; really, thank you very much! I do appreciate it. As I always say "To God Be The Glory" and now "Let's get it"!!”