The casting directors of the hit show Nashville had a moment of genius when casting the roles of Rayna James’s daughters. They selected none other than the Canadian sisters Lennon and Maisy Stella. Who are they you might ask? Well, Lennon (16) and Maisy (12) started their singing career by performing covers for hit songs such as “Call Your Girlfriend” and “Ho Hey” on their YouTube channel. So, lets take a closer look at these young stars.
Born into a musical family, with both parents in the music business, the girls became interested in the music world from a very early age. Lennon even got her first guitar when she was five. Her father, an experienced guitarist taught her how to play and from then on she was hooked. The most surprising fact about the sisters is that neither of them has ever received lessons or professional vocal training, they both play numerous instruments and sing in two-part harmony without prior instruction. The girls have written songs together in their early years and played at various shows and festivals alongside their parents before being discovered by Nashville.
Although music was the girls’ true passion, Maisy had always been interested in acting and decided to try it out. She had been featured in several different commercials and music videos growing up so acting became her second love. When her agent became aware of a role in a new ABC show that was being filmed in Nashville, Maisy immediately saw it as a a sign and auditioned. During the final stages of the auditioning process, the casting agents discovered that Maisy had an older sister, Lennon, and decided that the girls would be a dynamic duo on the show. Lennon & Maisy began starring in the ABC drama Nashville in October 2012 and have become a nationwide hit. Their sweet and innocent sound as captivated viewers. They have truly become some of the most popular young artists in the Nashville scene. If you haven’t heard them sing before, trust me you will be listening for hours.
Their first hit, Lennon and Maisy’s cover of “Call Your Girlfriend” by Robyn and Erato showed their potential as artists and hooked viewers on their sound. Using empty containers of butter as musical instruments, the girls displayed an aspect of creativity that was hard to match.
Their cover of “I Wont Give Up” by Jason Mraz shows the range of their voices and the beauty of their two part harmony.
Finally Maisy’s performance of “Have a Little Faith in Me”, by John Hiatt, shows the 12 year olds ability to harmonize with any voice.
I hope you have become interested in these young artists, because trust me they are taking not only the country music world, but entire musical kingdom by storm.
This was a great post! I heard about Lennon and Maisy a couple years ago, but never would have classified them as the country type. I should probably start watching Nashville! You are so right when you say their sound is sweet and innocent. They have voices of angels. Since they are both at such a young age, I wonder if their voices will change. I wish my sister and I were as musically and vocally talented as they are. The combination of Lennon’s deep and Maisy’s high voice really balances really makes a soothing and calming sound that is very enjoyable to listen to.
I watch Nashville religiously and LOVE these two girls but knew nothing about them until now. The fact they’re Canadian and are playing the role two homegrown Southern girls blows my mind. I would have never guessed they weren’t from the South. I also had no idea they were actually sisters, it makes sense though because they play the role of sisters so well. It’s clear that they are going to be very successful in the music industry, even if it’s not in country music. I just hope that they don’t fall into a downward spiral like some child star’s.
Great post! I have seen a couple of episodes of Nashville, and need to start watching it more consistently because everyone who watches it seems to love it! I think this back-story is so cool, especially because they are real-life sisters! It’s also a great plus for Nashville as a show because their casting is so authentic. It’s awesome that even without professional training or anything that they have such a natural talent. That is such a unique situation to read about and I liked that you included several videos. Their harmonization is amazing! I hope when they’re older they consider recording and maybe they’ll release an album!
My roommate is watching Nashville and she was so excited when she saw these girls on it because she had seen them on youtube before. It is amazing how talented they are at such a young age. Also, this shows the power of social media and the new user generated content era. Becoming famous for youtube, vine, Instagram, and other platforms is emerging and allowing people to get their talents noticed. They are so cute and such good singers and I have a feeling they will make great careers out of this. I hope they stay normal though because child actors don’t always turn out the best.
This was a very entertaining post to read. I had never heard of this duo before but I’m very glad I got to read about them today. I watched the videos you embedded and I was extremely impressed with their singing. I love that they are young sisters because there is no one else in the industry like them. And the fact that they landed acting jobs together makes them all the more interesting. I want to start watching Nashville after reading this! They seem very down to earth, so I hope they will be successful in the industry. It would be a shame if Nashville is the last we hear from them because they are both insanely talented.
I had never heard of these girls and I’m so glad you posted about them. They are both incredibly talented! I can’t harmonize like that little girl and I’m 20 years old with years of training. She does it with such ease and I’m very envious of both their stage presence and talent, I really can’t wait to see what they can do when they get a little bit older! I imagine they’ll be around for a while.
Wow! Like most others who have posted on this, I had not heard of these two girls! It’s crazy how good they are! Listening to these videos, I can only imagine how good they are going to be as they grow older and continue to get better! In the first video it looks like they have a couple of microphones but I don’t see anything else (even though there might be some equipment where we can’t see it) and for them to sound this good without being in a recording studio is crazy. I liked them more and more as I listened to each video. The performance of “Have a Little Faith In Me” is amazing, she sounds NOTHING like 12 years old. I can’t wait to hear more now!
YESSSS! I’m so happy someone posted about these two! When I first started watching Nashville, I thought maybe these two were just actresses with some voice-help for the show. I thought there was no way they were really that good. Then, all of a sudden, along with the show blowing up, these two started popping up all over social media and I would get chills every time I heard them sing. I still do. It’s insane that they have such amazing, well-developed voices for such young girls. Great post!
Dear Claudia, these girls definitely deserve some attention! I remember watching them on the show and being very impressed. It’s interesting learning how they got their role on the show. It’s amazing how youtube is transforming lives of musicians everywhere. I never saw some of those videos and they were fun to watch. I remember seeing Lennon and Maisy perform at one of the country award shows and they are sure getting valuable experience as young entertainers. I’m excited to see where their careers go as they grow up.
I love Lennon and Maisy. They are the cutest sister duo in country music, and I can’t wait for them to get more recognition. I’m a huge Nashville fan, and I was shocked when I found out that they are actually aspiring artists. Even the names Lennon and Maisy…you can’t really get more country than those names. Although Maisy is pretty young and hasn’t fully developed her own voice unlike her sister Lennon, there is still so much potential there. I can’t imagine that Lennon hasn’t already had offers to become a solo artist but the fact that she’s still sticking with her much younger sister is so sweet and inspiring. They are a perfect family duo, and there’s no doubt that they will be at the top of the charts one of these days.