Jeanne and Lauren are juniors at Towson with the most bubbly personalities I think I’ve ever seen. They are both members of Her Campus Towson but of course that’s not why we’ve featured them here. Jeanne and Lauren have been singing since they were three years old. Recently, Jeanne and Lauren gained a lot of coverage on their YouTube Channel after Britney Spears posted their cover of her song “Perfume” on her personal Tumblr. We spoke with the girls to see what that experience was like for them and to get a little background on their singing.
Her Campus Towson: When did you gals start singing?
Jeanne & Lauren: “We started singing when we were three. Our grandpa was a professional singer and taught us how.”
HCTU: What’s the best part of singing together?
J&L: “The best part of singing together is the fact that it just comes naturally. Its our place of comfort when we sit down and sing or write a song. it also just makes us happy and takes us out of our worries and lets us just be in the moment.”
HCTU: How did you get onto Britney Spears’ Tumblr?
Jeanne: “Well I follow her on Tumblr and I was scrolling through my dashboard. I saw a screen-cap of the cover Lauren and I did of Britney’s new song “Perfume” and realized Britney had posted it! I freaked out and called everyone I knew.”
HCTU: What was the attention from that like?
Jeanne: “After Britney posted that, our views increased a lot. The video went from having 100 views to 2,000+. It is still increasing today {about 3,000 when I checked}. The attention was cool because I got a lot of positive feedback from people all over the world who commented on that video. It made me feel really proud.”
HCTU: About how many of your own songs have you written?
Jeanne: “Overall we have written probably over 30 songs. We put out an EP in 2011 and it had three of our original songs on it. Lauren writes more then I do. I think she has that songwriting gift but I love to do it as well. I wish I had more time in the day!”
Lauren: “I’ve filled up over 4 or 5 notebooks with songs. I don’t have a count on them but I try to write everyday. It’s therapy for me.”
HCTU: Where do you get inspiration for these songs?
Jeanne: “The inspiration I get for writing my songs is life experiences I have had. Boys, of course, but I also like to experiment and write about different things. I wrote a song called ‘Take It All In,’ which is about dreaming. We dream every time we sleep and in the chorus of the song I sing ‘This moment cannot be replayed again so take it all in. And hope you don’t wake from this dream.’ Some of the dreams I have are almost like living in this perfect world and I do not want to wake up. When I do, I wake up feeling disappointed. The mood of the song is somewhat sad, but life sometimes can be cruel to people. Dreams can be some form of escape. A lot of the songs Lauren and I write are about hardships or heartbreaks but brighter sides and the really good things in life too. Our song ‘Smile’ talks about how although life may sometimes be hard, we get through by smiling and looking at the bright side of things.”
Lauren: “I get inspiration from anything. Sometimes lyrics pop up in my head at 2 am and I have to type it in on my phone. A week ago I was writing the Towson shuttle and had to get out my notebook to write down a few lyrics. I get inspiration from anything and everything.”
HCTU: How do you pick a song to cover?
Jeanne: “The songs we pick to cover definitely vary from Pop to Country. Lauren loves a lot of types of music while I’m a Pop girl. The funny thing is I kind of forced Lauren to cover the Britney song and when we got that exposure she was thankful I did that. But I think it’s good to sing from different [genres] and different artists.”
Lauren: “I love Taylor Swift, Colbie Caillat, Jack Johnson, Kacey Musgrave and Ingrid Michaelson.”
HCTU: How many videos do you have on YouTube?
J&L: We currently have 30 videos on our YouTube channel.
HCTU: Where do you want your singing career to go?
Jeanne: “We have always had that dream to become somewhat well-known or at least make a living off of singing, what we love to do. If that ends up not working out, I truly believe we will always sing together no matter what.”
HCTU: What are your plans for the future? (Musically and outside of music?)
Jeanne: “We are trying to make another EP for this upcoming summer or fall. I’d like to write more songs this year as well. Lauren is taking a songwriting class at Towson, which I’m sure will be awesome. I will be studying abroad in England at University of Sunderland for the spring semester.”
Be sure to visit their YouTube Channel and check out more footage of the girls singing.