Aly & AJ

Sisters Aly & AJ started off their musical career at a young age, recording teen pop for Disney Channel movies, then as they matured pivoted to making left-field pop music created on their own terms. After achieving platinum status with their single "Potential Breakup Song," off 2007's Insomniatic, the duo spent years trying to escape the teen pop pigeonhole, even changing their name to 78violet. After a decade of trying, they successfully reinvented themselves with a strong run of singles like 2017's "Take Me" and 2020's "Joan of Arc on the Dancefloor" that explored both vintage synth and modern electronic pop. The duo then delivered a pair of albums that reinforced their position as artists first, pop stars second: 2021's very California-sounding, '70s rock-influenced A Touch of the Beat Gets You Up on Your Feet Gets You Out and Then into … and 2023's country-tinged With Love From.

Aly & AJ -- whose full names are Alyson and Amanda Joy Michalka -- showed a passion for both kinds of performing at a very young age: they started playing piano at age six and began acting classes soon after. Born in L.A., the Michalkas moved to Seattle in the early '90s, where their parents exposed them to a wide variety of music and supported their excitement about both acting and making music. As the girls learned piano and guitar, they also landed acting and modeling gigs, which prepared them to pursue both careers more seriously once the family returned to Southern California.