This past summer, the high energy all-star remixes of Laura Bryna’s hit single “Stars are Falling” worked something of a high-impact musical miracle, giving us a much-needed burst of hope and inspiration (and yes, fun!) during a difficult, anxiety-ridden time. With her latest track, the infectious dance/pop jam “Way That It Was,” the veteran singer takes the “anthem that meets our collective moment” concept one thematic step further. Encapsulating our emotional exhaustion with this crazy new normal and hopes for future restoration, its words were originally written about a broken relationship but now have powerful universal applications: “Both of us knew it’d come back around sooner or later. . .Back to the Way that it was/It shouldn’t hurt but it does/Back to the way that it was.”
The song was co-written and produced by Grammy Award winner Damon Sharpe (Ariana Grande, Pitbull, J Lo, Anastacia, Nelly), who also co-wrote and co-produced “Stars Are Falling” and “Sweet Revenge,” Laura’s 2019 hit single that established her fresh and innovative hybrid
country, New Wave and electronica vibe after years of success as a mainstream contemporary country artist that included touring on bills with superstars of multiple generations – including Taylor Swift, Emmylou Harris, Clint Black, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean and Luke Bryan.
“Stars Are Falling” reached #2 on the UK based Music Week Commercial Pop Chart and #7 on France’s NRJ chart. Its Eli Sokhn directed video, which illustrates the power of love and human connection amidst an eerily prescient apocalyptic landscape, has nearly two million YouTube views. Its rise was propelled in part by a dynamic package of remixes by Dave Aude (Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Beyonce), Klaas (Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike), Kalender, Chris Cox (Christina Aguilera, Mary J. Blige, Michael Jackson), Drew G (Ed Sheeran, Madonna, Beyonce), Ray Rhodes (Fifth Harmony, Lady Gaga, Rihanna), Dave Matthias (J Lo, Jennifer Hudson, Toni Braxton), Slim Tim and Brixxtone. Likewise, “Sweet Revenge” has amassed 2.1 million YouTube views and its remix by Aude hit #10 on the Billboard Dance Chart.
Please see here for the amazing music video with nearly 2 million views:
Citing musical mavericks like Grace Potter, Chris Stapleton and Etta James as inspirations, the Los Angeles based artist feels she’s coming into her own, establishing herself as an artist unafraid to venture outside typical genre norms and expectations. She credits meeting Damon
Sharpe through a mutual friend with opening her creative eyes to exciting new sonic possibilities. “Nashville will always be number one in my heart, but my love for so many kinds of music led me to a point where I wondered, ‘What else do I want to say?’” she says. “Listening
to all these different styles made me who I am as an artist, and with so many opportunities coming my way, I thought, why not take the plunge and create my own thing?
“Damon comes into our collaborative process from the electronic dance world, and I come as a country girl,” Laura adds. “I like to say we are ‘smushing’ our individual styles together. I love that he didn’t want to change me but broaden my horizons and take my artistry a step further. When we met, he knew I was country at heart, but in his forward-thinking way, he envisioned what we could create if we married dance and country together. We clicked immediately and I knew that the songs we recorded were the perfect response to my question about what to say next as an artist.”
Prior to this latest batch of hit singles, Laura was perhaps best known for her military tribute “Hometown Heroes,” a track from her debut solo album Trying to Be Me which she wrote with Grammy-nominated songwriter Jeff Batson for a national campaign for the Air National Guard,
where she’s an honorary member and spokesperson. The song’s intention was to make people aware of what heroes in this branch do, from their work in Afghanistan to assist Border Patrol and hurricane relief.
Years after the song debuted on Monday Night Football in 2008 and she sang it on the field at a Pittsburgh Steelers game, she sang it multiple times during a 2019 USO tour that went to Kuwait, Germany, Spain, Kosovo, Jordan, and the African country of Djibouti. The military-related causes Laura has supported and/or raised funds for include Folds of Honor, Walter Reed Medical Center, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Homes for Our Troops and the National Guard Youth Foundation. She is also an active participant in the Make-a-Wish Foundation, whose impact she witnessed firsthand when her brother suffered a brain aneurysm at the age of 13. Her single “Make A Wish”; debuted at #7 on the Billboard Steaming Chart and led her to become a board director for the organization.
While studying music, theatre and dance at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, the small-town Maryland native remembers her music theory teacher telling her: “Never say no to an opportunity. If it seems outside your comfort zone, put a pot of coffee on, stay up all night and
learn it.” Laura’s not a coffee drinker, but she’s tapped into that wisdom to drive a multitude of unique multi-media activities sometimes related to but that often extend beyond her musical career.
Laura occasionally hosts “That’s America To Me,” a talk show carried on PGA Tour Radio’s #1 talk show “Golf Talk America,” where she’s interviewed notable people such as Larry King, Vince Gill, and country music legend Bill Anderson. She describes her show there as a “fusion of golf, music and lifestyle in one show.” Her other hosting gigs have included “Serving Your Country” (alongside famed country DJ Ramblin’ Ray Stevens) and “True Country” on the internet platform True Country TV, where she interviewed many of her country music peers.
A gifted writer, Laura has also recently penned a series of children’s books with several writer and illustrator friends based on her three parrots that are familiar to her longtime fans, Tyler, Harmony and Snuggles. She has used the pandemic-related lockdown time wisely and creatively, feeding off her partners in the venture via Zoom and Skype calls. She plans to launch the (thus far) four book series (which she affectionately calls “my passion project based on my crazy birds’), including her recently finished Christmas book, in mid-2021.
“I look at my life and career like a tree with many branches that keep sprouting out with new opportunities to be creative and make a difference,” Laura says. “I want to continue making music and seeing where the dream takes me. I’m prepared for whatever life has in store.”
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