Since their debut, there has been a sea of female vocal groups, but none with the unique sound of the Kinleys. As twin sisters, Jennifer and Heather possess an innate sense of harmony, and their vocals have never sounded better than on their latest release, All In The Family.
The sisters first attracted attention with their debut Just Between You and Me. Their first single, "Please," was an impassioned plea and remains the highest debuting single by a female duo in country music history, while the album's title track was a top ten smash. The album was certified gold and is now approaching the platinum sales mark. They were named the Best New Duo by the Academy of Country Music and garnered more than 20 nominations from the Grammy's, the Country Music Association and the American Music Awards. They also scored a hit with the inspirational "Somebody's Out There Watching," from the Touched By An Angel soundtrack, which to date is multi-platinum. The song was also a cut on their sophomore project, The Kinleys II.
"We love to sing separately, but there is something that is exhilarating about putting our voices together," says Jennifer. "At certain points when we're singing, the two of us really do become one sound. It's hard to explain, but it's an amazing feeling." "It's like we're connecting on another level," continues Heather. "We know each other so well that we thought that was impossible, but when we bring our voices together, it's a different kind of bonding experience."
Life following The Kinleys II brought a lot of changes, like the twins' departure from Sony Records and their joyful embarkment into motherhood. After years of touring to support their first two records, Jennifer and Heather decided to take a few years off to start their families, which have inspired their lives, their music, and the title of their latest album, All In The Family, which is on their newly formed record label, Identical Records. To further the family connection on this project, The Kinleys turned to Jennifer's husband, singer/songwriter/producer Adam Hughes, to produce, and with Heather's husband, Mark Mendenhall, leading the management team, All In The Family, truly does mean, All In the Family. "Working with Adam in the studio brought a comfort level and an exciting exploratory production style that we never had before," Heather said. "There is a fine line between over and under producing any artist. My personal relationship with these girls and my knowledge of their musical styles really helped me to find the balance for this new project," says Hughes. "They challenged me to help them finally make a record that was all them, full of the variety of music that embodies who they are. I think we've covered the bases on All In The Family. "
The twins grew up in Philadelphia, and have been performing together since they were 8. They sorted through their parent's records and found themselves singing a wide range of music, from the Andrew Sisters to Tammy Wynette, to the Everly Brothers. They learned how to hone their harmony craft by imitating those Everly sounds they loved so much, and eventually started listening to the local country radio station. They soon became huge fans of the family harmony of the Judds. "We didn't categorize what we were singing, we just sang what we loved. And we still do that today," says Jennifer.
"I love where we are right now in our lives," says Jennifer, and in typical twin fashion Heather rushes to finish the thought with, "Things couldn't be better, and we are truly, truly blessed."