Reggie Peninger is building herself a life in country music.

You’ve probably never heard of Reggie Peninger, but there’s no question that she’s ready for the prime time.

Hailing from aptly-named Alto, New Mexico, the 26-year-old singer/songwriter has so far been honing her craft, putting her talent on display everywhere she can find a venue, and working hard towards that one big break that can make a career.

“I used to sing with my sister Andrea on the trunk of our ‘79 olds.,” Reggie told It’s All About Music, “and sing to the tourists that would come into town,” in Cloudcroft, NM. She was about six years old at the time, but that’s not when she started singing. You’d have to go back four years earlier.

“I first started singing at the Church of God of Prophecy in Vivian, LA at age two. I still love that good old gospel music,” she said.

Few deserve that big break more. Though talent at her level isn’t common, the music business is as rough as it comes, and sometimes luck matters more than anything else.

But hard work is an integral part of any successful career, and Reggie has that in spades, along with the support of her loving family, fast friends, and adoring fans. And it’s easy to see how she gets the latter – blessed with a wonderful voice and commanding stage presence, she also possesses an engaging personality just made for extending that personal touch with fans. She seems to make friends as easily as she walks and breathes.

Reggie attributes that skill to her upbringing. “It’s my family and how I was raised up, as a southern belle. Experiences in life have taught me that I’m no better than anyone else, and they’re no better than me either.”

That even extends to her rivals at singing contests, some culminating in a first-place finish like Karaoke Enchantment in New Mexico, from which she’ll advance to the national Talent Quest 2009 competition in Laughlin, Nevada in September.

“Even when I’m competing against people, it doesn’t mean we can’t get along,” she said. “I’m making my childhood dream of being a singer a reality – I didn’t think about it as competing against them, there are a lot of good singers out there, and I just want to be one of them.”

And as an emerging singer, she’ll need all those skills and more. With her sights firmly set on making the big time, Reggie knows how important it is to keep every fan happy.

“It’s very important, they’re the reason I do what I do. They’re the ones who let you know if you’re doing it right,” she said. “If there’s something they don’t like, then you need to fix it. There are a lot of people who would love to do what we get a chance to do, so I’m kinda doing it for them too – the ones who might not get a chance, or can’t do it at all.”

“Everyone dreams about being somebody, and I dream just like they do.”

That’s especially true in this age of instant digital distribution. For a singer/songwriter who is just beginning to make her name known, modern miracles like the internet can be both a blessing and a curse. Being able to make your best material instantly available anywhere in the world is a boon to young talent without a distribution contract, or major label interest to distribute for them. At the same time, one or two bad reviews – and they can come from anyone, a spurned fan, a disinterested listener, a random website visitor – can reverberate endlessly.

Reggie is only beginning to discover how important the digital world is to getting a signal through the noise. Although she has some older material up on YouTube, she’s still in the process of putting up her MySpace and Facebook pages. Twitter is something she’s only just learned about.

Whatever the method of delivery, Reggie’s genuineness comes through immediately.

“I am always myself; I don’t try to be anything else, whether it’s in person or on YouTube,” she said. “You can’t be anything else. It’s important to be yourself, that way the fans know they’re getting the real you.”

“I’m not perfect, nobody is. I’m not going to be able to make everybody happy all the time. But always being yourself will make sure that people don’t feel they’re being misled.”

“I’m never going to change that. I wouldn’t know how,” she said. “There are a lot of sides to me, but never anything fake.”

That’s easy to believe, and it’s also why Reggie never fails to stop and talk to fans whenever she gets the chance. In fact, watching her work a crowd can be an eye-opening experience. Usually, by the time she’s done, even folks who haven’t heard her sing are well on their way to claiming her as their own.

But when you do hear her sing, oh my. Her voice is immediate, soulful, and so very real. It doesn’t seem to matter what material she turns her hand to, it sounds natural and right, from traditional country, to pop standards, and even classic disco.

“Anything I’ve ever wanted to sing I’ve been able to do, and I’m very fortunate for that,” she said. “I can do everything from Loretta Lynn country to Latin opera,” she said, adding with a laugh, “People get fooled from my low speaking voice.”

She credits her incredible range to her influences. “I started listening to Elvis Presley when I was about three, he’ll always be my idol,” she said, and her Elvis-bangled earrings shook as she chuckled.

Her love for country music is the strongest, though. “Modern artist sound good to me, but a lot alike,” she commented. “I guess that’s the style of music nowadays. I absolutely love Miranda Lambert, and Carrie Underwood is good too.”

But her fondest love is reserved for the classics of country music. She constantly watches tapes at home of the old Wilburn Brothers television show, along with Hee Haw and Pop Goes the Country.

“I love the music nowadays, don’t get me wrong, but back then everything told a story, the songs had feeling,” she said. “You still hear that sometimes nowadays, but not with every song like you did back then.”

That doesn’t mean she’s turned her back on the modern country sound. “I have faith in country music more than any other kind of music. I know it will get back to what it has been – I give it a lot of credit – I’m not putting it down at all.”

That’s especially true of another idol of hers, Gretchen Wilson. “I think it took a lot of guts for her to come into the spotlight, knowing what she was going to get from a lot of people, the original redneck woman,” Reggie said, a self-described “coon-ass” from Louisiana. “We’ve been known as racist people, but that’s not what it is at all.”

That faith and admiration are part of what keeps her going, but mostly it’s her determination to be a part of the world she has wanted to inhabit since she was a little girl singing to tourist on the trunk of a muscle car.

“I want to be a part of country music, have for my whole life, I intend to be a part of it,” she said. “I have a family that I love very much, and that has driven me to do this more than I’ve ever been driven.”

The drive to success is as much a part of her as her incredible voice. “I was born with this – the drive to succeed. Talent will only get you so far, and you’ve got to have the rest to go with it,” she said. “I’m glad that I’ve had the bad experiences I’ve had, because I’ve learned from them – I wouldn’t change anything at all.”

That impetus should serve as a fine role model for her children. “I want my five-year-old daughters (twins Harley and Shyrelle) to know that they can do anything – they were blessed enough to be born in a country where that’s still possible.”

Making herself into a country music hallmark is her goal, and it’s hard to imagine Reggie taking her eyes off the prize. But she’ll keep using the best of what she hears elsewhere as well.

“There are a lot of genres that I’ve borrowed from in singing country, that’s why I don’t sound like your typical country singer, and all that stuff’s in there for a reason,” she said. “But of all the other kinds of music that I love, country music is where I want to be, because that’s home.”

A home she’s building for herself, one glorious brick at a time.