Gardiner Sisters: Meet Hailey, Allie, and Mandi!
The Gardiner Sisters, a group made up of Hailey, Allie, and Mandi Gardiner, made a name for themselves with their incredible harmonies and relatability. They posted their first YouTube cover more than four years ago and have since acquired more than 175 thousand subscribers!
The Gardiner Sisters are the oldest three siblings in a family of eight children who all grew up singing together. Hailey, Allie, and Mandi were each born a year apart from the next sister.
"It's what we've always done for fun," the sisters said. "Our mom taught us from a really young age to sing a cappella three part harmonies, so we would sing in church and at local festivals."
The sisters finally decided that they wanted to start writing and recording their own music after winning a local talent competition in Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina, where the girls grew up.
"As family members, we have a unique blend that we've tired to perfect and hone throughout the years," the sisters said. "We started writing our own music in high school and have really wanted to make catchy and relatable original music to share through YouTube as well."
The girls are very well known for their incredible covers, and much thought goes into choosing the songs that will represent them.
"We typically just choose songs we are listening to currently, or songs that we really love harmonizing with," they said. "We try to pick upbeat, positive songs with good messages so that we can stay true to our easy going and happy personalities when we sing."
The eldest sister, Hailey, wrote the original song "One Man Show" about a break-up.
"The guy I was dating was a clueless boyfriend, so it was my way of giving him a wakeup call and trying to draw things to his attention that weren't working," Hailey said. "Ultimately it didn't work out, but a good song came out of it!"
Hailey said that, as the oldest sister, she is a leader and usually takes charge or new project. She admitted that she can be bossy, but her determination helps the sisters always follow through with their plans.
She also said she's a bit of a hippie. She loves the great outdoors, including camping, hiking, and spending whatever time she can enjoying nature. She also adores traveling and has been to Africa and South America.
"I feel so much peace from taking time to just sit outside and meditate and absorb what's around me," Hailey said.
Hailey is also the groups primary songwriter.
"What I feel I contribute best to the group is my songwriting ability," Hailey said. "That's definitely my passion and what I want to do for the rest of my life."
The girls said that they find inspirations from many aspects of their lives, including current events, feelings, and past and present relationships.
"Our music is honestly like reading through our thoughts or our diaries, we are super honest and straight forward in the way we write," the girls said.
The second oldest sister, Allie, said she's the goofball of the group, and also the sister with the shortest attention span.
"I love to make my sisters laugh though, so perhaps my role is to keep them happy," Allie explained. "I also love writing and arranging music! It's therapeutic for me."
Allie isn't just interested in the music that she and her sisters perform.
"I've secretly always wanted to be a DJ," Allie admitted. "There's something about loud music that I absolutely love. I love music that makes you want to get up and dance!"
Allie said she's the artsiest sister, who loves painting, drawing, and dancing.
She added that she loves creative cooking.
"I love being creative in the kitchen," she said. "I never follow a recipe exactly, I kind of just go with the flow."
Mandi is the youngest sister in the group, and said she has a very special role in the singing trio.
"I am in charge of bringing the fun to our practices and keeping the peace," she joked.
She loves arranging harmonies for the group to sing, and has recently taken up the piano, which she hopes to put to use in more of the girls' covers and live shows.
Mandi said that food plays a huge part in the lives of the Gardiner Sisters.
"I come from a family where we love food more than life itself," Mandi said. "I am a total foodie. All of us love to eat, but I have a passion for cooking."
Like her sister Allie, Mandi spends a lot of her free time cooking new dishes.
"I love different cultures and it's really fun for me to try and recreate dishes from around the world," Mandi said. "One day I would love to travel to all these places and learn from some great chefs!"
Mandi is also a nature lover who loves to run and hike while listening to all of her favorite music. She also loves photography and capturing some of her favorite moments in nature.
The Gardiner Sisters are currently working on their first EP of all original songs. It will release later this year!
Learn a little bit more about the Gardiner Sisters in their own words below, and make sure to check out their social channels!
Do you have a favorite cover that you've performed with yours sisters?
Hailey: My favorite cover changes all the time, but I think I loved singing "Kiss You" by One Direction because we got to sing with our little sisters. That song has such great energy and it's so fun to be able to sing it as a family.
Allie: I love both of our Justin Timberlake covers ("Mirrors" and "What Goes Around Comes Around") I really connect to the lyrics to those songs so I really enjoy singing them.
Mandi: My favorite cover is "Wide Awake," by Katie Perry! We all just really feel that song when we sing it, but I think why I love it the most is because we learned and performed it in Hawaii, and it brings back really great memories! I also am a huge country music fan, so I love when our covers allows us to show off our inner country!
Who are your personal inspirations as a musician? Are there any artists you would really love to collaborate with someday?
Hailey: I absolutely love singer-songwriters like Sara Bareilles, Colbie Caillat, Gabrielle Aplin, Ben Howard, and James Morrison. I would listen and study Sara and Colbie's voices, along with Adele, and try to sing like them. That's kind of how I developed my vocal style. We grew up listening to country music so I have always admired the way country artists can be comedic and witty in their writing, so I would love to collaborate with someone like Hunter Hayes or Rascal Flatts.
Allie: My inspirations come from everywhere. I love how relatable Taylor Swift is. I love Andrew Belle's voice. I love the way Hunter Hayes writes. I draw from so many artists and love so many different types of music. If I could collaborate with someone, I'd have to choose Hunter Hayes. I've really studied the way he writes. He's amazing- He's so talented and so passionate about what he does. I really look up to him as an artist! Also, I may or may not have a small crush on him. š
Mandi: I have always admired Natasha Bedingfield and her amazing songwriting, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flats, Michael Jackson, and Britt Nicole. I think it would be so amazing to collaborate with Lady Antebellum, Hunter Hayes, Taylor Swift, and secretly Justin Bieber because I love him!
What has been your most memorable experience as a singer?
Hailey: I would have to say getting to perform at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. It was incredible to be in the middle of a gathering of the most hard working artists and athletes from all over the world. The energy was amazing!
Allie: A few years ago, we got to meet the Jonas Brothers. I'll never forget it. Their family was so kind to us, and the boys were so down to earth and genuine. We got to sing for them as well. It was such a cool experience!
Mandi: I would have to agree the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics were absolutely amazing! However, we also recently performed in the same show as Merrill Osmond. We grew up listening to the Osmond's and watching The Donny and Marie Show, so we were so honored and excited to even be in the same room as Merrill. We were able to meet him afterwards, and were all completely star struck, and it was definitely one of the greatest moments of my life!
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