Often in my life I have been asked what brought me to this desire of becoming a singer/songwriter. The truth is that I have always been told I am a talented writer, the thing is that words have always come easily to me but music was something I had to put in the work for. 

Ever since I was a small child, I have always loved music and wanted to make music. I was often faced with discouragement from my family, who saw my sister as the more naturally talented vocalist in our home. I used the disparaging remarks and lack of confidence they had in me as fuel to do better. I remember managing to work hard enough to get into our school choir and have our teacher tell me “You have a voice in there, it just needs some dedication and work.” He always told me “Don’t give up.” I also remember taking the albums of Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Avril Lavigne, Alanis Morissette and Evanescence into my room; singing along over and over again until I felt like I had made some form of improvement. 

In highschool, I continued to pursue this dream both on and off stage. I competed in a junior singing competition on CMT and YTV, to be honest with you I completely tanked my audition because I had not been prepared to audition in front of hundreds of other contestants. But hey, they gave me a half-second of screen time when it aired! My family’s continued lack of confidence in me did not help my self-esteem; even during the waiting time for my audition I had to endure demeaning comments from my grandmother. After my audition, I was told by my family how I was a waste of time in attempting it at all. But I remember as the host (I believe it was Paul McGuire?) walked me off the audition set, he turned to me and said “I have never seen someone recover like that. You were really shaky at first, but by the end of it you did really well.” I had sang The Chicks “Wide Open Spaces” as my audition song, because it deeply spoke to me at that time in my life. (Upon further research I think it was Karaoke Star Jr.)

A couple of years later I would attempt our local/hometown version of “Canadian Idol” but did not make the cut. Then I would be encouraged by my theatre teacher to audition for the local  community theatre production of “Les Miserables”, auditioning for the part of Eponine and singing Lea Salonga’s rendition of “On My Own” as my audition. Yet again, I completely ruined my first audition due to a lack of confidence and nerves. However, when I returned some days  later because they had not yet cast the part, I remember the judges saying, “This is a familiar face, but this is not a familiar voice!” I had done much better on the second attempt, but unfortunately the production was later changed due to a lack of certain cast member demographics, and I did not participate. 

I made sure to take the lessons I was learning along the way with me. Somewhere along the way, my younger sister and I would team up to audition for a local City Kidz talent and fashion show with a double vocalist act. We auditioned with Rascal Flatts “My Wish For You” which earned us a spot in the show. We spent weeks preparing to perform P!nk’s “Dear Mr President” together, unfortunately just days before the show we would be informed that due to rising political tensions we were no longer permitted to perform this song. We were asked to perform Donny and Marie Osmond’s “A Little Bit Country, A Little Bit Rock n’ Roll” instead. We did, but sadly I became very ill and hardly had a speaking voice on the night of the show. This prompted some of the adults to make demeaning comments about my performance, but I still remember the woman in charge defending me and explaining to them that I was not in my best shape to be singing at all. I have never forgotten how that kindness made me feel like one day I would be confident and in top shape to perform in a professional capacity.

When I entered my twenties, I found myself letting that dream sit on the back burner in favor of pleasing a man who didn’t give a damn about my dreams and ambitions. Now ten years later, in my thirties I have slowly been rediscovering my love for singing and songwriting. This would ultimately lead me to meeting the man behind RodGunx Records. When he got a peek at my songwriting vault, he wanted to explore the possibility of working with me in the future. But when he heard me sing something I was very comfortable with performing? He immediately offered me a spot with his independent label and encouraged me to pursue this dream once more. He took time to really get through to me that I am talented, capable and ready for the next step in this journey. We discussed it for some months, and then I signed with the label in early 2025. Now I’m here and working away on my first single and laying the groundwork for my first album, with his encouragement and support helping pave the way for me to succeed. The past few months have been spent reviewing my past songwriting material and writing new material to fuel the upcoming projects we are collaborating on as vocalists, musicians, and producers. 

It has been a long 15 to 17 years since the auditions I failed to secure due to a lack of confidence and support, but now I can look back on that young girl and thank her for ever having the courage to try at all. After so many years of discouragement, failures, heartbreak and self-doubt, I don’t think she knew that she was laying the first bricks that would ultimately build her up into a woman that didn’t fear failing or having to learn and evolve. I thank that girl every single day for holding on through that disappointment and that pain; for never giving up on herself even when everyone told her she should. She never could have known that one day, someone was going to see her worth and offer her a chance that could change everything.

Thank you, RodGunx Records, for believing in me and for giving me this amazing opportunity to prove them all wrong and to prove to myself that it was never wasted time or effort. Thank you for giving me the ability, tools, platform and the encouragement to do what I have always loved. You aren’t just giving this thirty-something-year-old a chance to make waves, you are giving that little girl everything she was denied from those closest to her. You are giving her a second chance to be everything she knew she could be. I look forward to what we are building together.

Until we creep again, Crypt dwellers. This is Abbey Grymm bidding you a ghoul’d night.