The Veronicas

The Veronicas
The Veronicas.
Background information
Born	25 December 1984 (age 25)
Origin	Brisbane, Australia
Genres	Pop rock electropop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, actress
Years active	2004–present
Labels	Sire, Warner Bros. Records, Pony Canyon
Website	Official Website
Members
Jessica Origliasso – Vocals, Guitar, Bass Lisa Origliasso – Vocal, Synths George "Jungle George" – Guitar (2005–present) Vik Foxx – Drums (2005–present) Mike Sherman – Bass (2007–present)
Former members
Ethan Roberts – Guitar (2005) Josh Paul – Bass (2005–06) Robert J. Guariglia – Guitar (2005–07) Paul De Vicenzo – Bass (2006–07)

The Veronicas are an electropop pop-rock duo based in Australia. Twin sisters Jessica and Lisa Origliasso formed the duo in 2004 in Brisbane. They have their own line of clothing which was released in 2007.

They have released two studio albums, the first being The Secret Life of... in 2005. It peaked at #2 on the Australian charts and gained an ARIA certification of four times platinum, for 280,000+ sales. The Secret Life of... spawned five singles, including three top ten singles in Australia.

The Veronicas released their second album Hook Me Up in 2007; it peaked at #2 on the Australian charts and earning a certification of two times platinum. The album has had four Australian top ten singles released from it to date. The album's title track, "Hook Me Up", was The Veronicas' first number one single in Australia.

History

Early years

Born to Italian-Australian parents Colleen and Joseph, Jessica became the older one by one minute ^[1], they grew up in Albany Creek. Jessica and Lisa also performed in small parts on various television shows, including a recurring role in the short-lived 2001 Australian children's series Cybergirl. They later appeared on the American Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody where they portrayed twin sisters 'Sapphire' (Lisa) and 'Emerald' (Jessica). They have also appeared on Neighbours, the Aussie serial drama. On their 18th birthday, Jessica received her first guitar, at which time the sisters began writing and singing songs. They formed the group Teal with friends Tracy Woods and R. Viknes.^[2] The group experimented with different sounds and genres working with songwriter producer Shaneal and Anthony Martin, releasing a song called "Baby It's Over" which received minor airplay in Brisbane.

Background

In 2004, Lisa Origliasso and Jessica Origliasso were introduced to the Music Director of The Bell Hughes Music Group (BHMG), Hayden Bell. After producing some demo recordings with the twins, Bell invited them to sign a publishing agreement with Excalibur Productions (a subsidiary of BHMG). In the process, Bell helped facilitate their progression in musical style from acoustic pop to the more rhythmic rock pop approach that is now their trademark. On the strength of these demos, Bell took them to meet the executives at Engine Room (a subsidiary of PBL (Packer) Group) and they were immediately signed to a production deal.

To further develop their song writing skills, Bell connected them with several internationally acclaimed songwriters and producers including Clif Magness (who has written for Avril Lavigne), Billy Steinberg (Madonna, Cyndi Lauper), Max Martin (Britney Spears, Katy Perry, P!nk), Eric Nova, Dead Mono and Vince DeGiorgio, where they created a catalogue of over 50 songs.^[3]

Meetings were then arranged with Warner Bros. Records in the USA. Seymour Stein and senior executives recognised that Bell had indeed discovered and developed a musical talent, signing them quickly to a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records/Sire America, for a reported sum of 2 million dollars.^[4]

Bell then took one of The Veronicas' songs titled "All About Us" and placed it with the Russian girl group t.A.T.u; it became a massive worldwide hit. In Australia, he placed the song "What's Goin' On" with Casey Donovan and the song "Faded" for Kate DeAraugo. Both of these artists were winners of the Australian Idol Competition.^[5] "What's Going On" was also placed by Bell on the Japanese pop singer Miz's album.^[2] And "Faded" was also placed on German electronica group Cascada's album Perfect Day.

Band name

Issue (#167) of the Veronica comic book which featured The Veronicas

Regarding how they chose their name, Jess Origliasso stated: "The name is something we thought about for a short time, and we wanted it to be a girl's name, but we didn't want it to be 'the Jesses.' We were very conscious of not wanting to make it a twin thing, because we don't think that's really cool." "We didn't want it to be called 'the Lisas,' either," singer Lisa Origliasso added. "So one day we saw the movie Heathers, and there's a line where Christian Slater asks, 'Are you a Heather?' and Winona Ryder's character answers, 'No, I'm a Veronica,' and so we went with that, because she was this kind of cool, unique chick with an attitude."^[6]

However, some believe that Archie Comics character Veronica Lodge had some influence on the naming, including people at Archie Comics themselves, who launched legal action against the group for trademark infringement, in an attempt to stop them from using the name.^{[7] [8]} Archie comics had asked Warner Music Group to hand over all publicity rights and to pay US$200 million dollars in damages.^[9] Of this amount $20 million dollars was for damages and $180 million as a penalty against Warner.^[9] In a statement with New York Times Michael I. Silberkleit, chairman of Archie Comics Publications, Inc. stated,

The importance is the image of Archie, which everybody knows is good, clean, wholesome stuff,[...] Preventing unauthorized use of the name will protect both the characters and customers who have paid for licensing rights[...]"^[9]

A settlement was reached that included a cross-promotion deal, including an appearance in an issue of their namesake Veronica's comic book.^[10] The issue (#167) featured a card with a code allowing a free download of their single "4ever" in MP3 form.^[11] A few months later, Archie and Friends (#100) featured The Archies meeting The Veronicas.^[12] The next issue of Archie and Friends (#101) also featured The Veronicas, with Archie as their biggest fan.^[13] TOURINGThe Veronicas are set to tour in Australia and New Zealand in 2010 between June/July :)

Music career

2005–2007: The Secret Life of...

The Veronicas debut album, entitled The Secret Life of..., was released in Australia on 17 October 2005, entering the ARIA Album charts at the position of #7.^[14] Since then, it has peaked at #2 and gone 4x Platinum.^[15] Due to the success of the album, five singles were released in Australia: "4ever", "Everything I'm Not", "When It All Falls Apart", "Revolution" and "Leave Me Alone". The song "4ever" was featured on the website of Curly Grrlz Skateboards.

The Secret Life of the Veronicas spent a year in the ARIA album charts without leaving the top 40.^[14] In September 2006, the album was nominated for three ARIA awards including; "Best Pop Release", "Highest Selling Album" and "Best Breakthrough Album".^[16] They won "Best Pop Release" but lost the other two to other nominees.^[17] The girls also performed their 2nd single "Everything I'm Not" on the night.^[18]

The album was released in the US on 14 February 2006; it debuted at #133 on Billboard 200 and #3 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.^[19] Only two singles were released in the United States off the album. A special DVD was released with the US version as a limited edition exclusive. The limited edition included two extra songs and videos, and was only available online. However, copies have been found to have been shipped to several stores in Australia as well. Other releases in the US include Sessions@AOL which features their songs "Heavily Broken" and "Revolution" live in the AOL studios,^[20] also released was The Veronicas: Mtv.com Live EP which also features live performances of their songs including a new song, entitled "Stay".^[21]

The album has also had success in other countries such as New Zealand where it debuted at #5, #75 on the Dutch Album Charts and #11 in Belgium.^[22] Due to their chart success in Belgium, they won the award for Best International New Artist at the TMF Awards of 2006. "When It All Falls Apart" spent a record of 17 weeks of MTV Asia's Pop 10 Chart, in which 7 of them were at the number 1 spot. The song was recorded in Simlish and is featured in the Sims 2 expansion pack Seasons.^[23]

Lisa and Jessica are the faces of Choice Calvin Klein^[24] and Australian hair product company nu:u.^[5] Blender magazine named included them in their list of hottest women in rock in 2006.^[25] The sisters sang the title song on the short-lived television show Related which had featured songs from their debut album. They appeared in an episode that aired 6 February 2006.^[26] In March 2006, their debut single "4ever" was featured in the Amanda Bynes comedy She's the Man. It was featured in the promotional television spots, the film itself and the soundtrack.^[27] Their song "Revolution" appeared in another Amanda Bynes film, "Sydney White", in 2007.

The girls also appeared on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody episode "The Suite Life Goes Hollywood" as guest stars and performed their song "Cry".^[28] The twins have also created a fashion line called "The Veronicas for Target" which was released in stores on 25 August 2007 in Australia.^[29][30]

On 2 December 2006 The Veronicas released a CD/DVD, entitled Exposed... The Secret Life of The Veronicas in Australia which features live performances from their Australian 2006 Revolution Tour and a DVD featuring parts of the sisters' live performances throughout 2005–2006, including footage that had previously not been seen, and their music videos.^[31] The album debuted at #6 on the ARIA DVD Charts accrediting platinum in its first week. The second week it rose to its peak of #3^[32] and was accredited Double Platinum.^[33]

2007–2009: Hook Me Up

In 2007, the Veronicas began work on their second album. The album was written and recorded in Los Angeles with Toby Gad, Billy Steinberg and John Feldmann.^[34]

Hook Me Up was released in Australia on 3 November 2007. The album debuted at number two on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart with sales of 9,531 copies in its first week, and was certified Gold.^[35] It has since gone 2x platinum.^[36] The album became the twenty-eighth highest selling album in Australia for 2007.^[37] Hook Me Up was released in the UK on 12 October 2009 and has peaked at number thirty-five.^[38][39]

The lead single from the album, "Hook Me Up", was added to Australian radio on 27 August 2007, but was physically released on 22 September 2007. It debuted at number five, eventually reaching number one after seven weeks on the ARIA Singles Chart, making it their first number one hit in Australia.^[40]

The Veronicas in concert during their Revenge Is Sweeter tour in Melbourne

"Untouched" was the first single to be released from their album in the United States, Canada, Europe and New Zealand. The song reached number 2 in Australia^[41] eventually reaching platinum accredation^[42]. The song became their first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 first debuting at number sixty-two^[43] and eventually peaking at number seventeen making it their first top twenty hit in the United States.^[44] They became the first Australian artists to have a single Certified Platinum in the U.S. with over 1,000,000 paid downloads.^[45][46] It was also their debut single in the UK, peaking at number eight and in Ireland peaking at number one, their first international number-one single^[47]

Their third and fourth singles "This Love" and "Take Me on the Floor" were both top ten hits hits in Australia^[48] and were both certified Gold.^[42] "Take Me on the Floor" was released as their second single in the U.S. but only peaked at number eighty-one^[49]. On 11 October, their fifth single, "Popular" was released digitally in Australia. It has only gained heavy airplay and peaked at #11 on the Australian Airplay Chart.^[50]

Their debut single "4ever" was released as their second single in the UK and Ireland on 21 September 2009 and has peaked at number 17 in the UK and twenty in Ireland^[51].

In support of the album, The Veronicas embarked on their third Australian tour The Hook Me Up Tour in 2007. The tour, which began on 30 November and concluded on 12 December, was held in eight major cities around Australia.^[52]

On 16 October 2008 The Veronicas announced their second tour for the album, Revenge Is Sweeter tour,^[53] which was their first tour to extend into New Zealand, United States, Canada, UK and Japan beginning on 13 February 2009 in Newcastle, Australia and ending on 24 September 2009 in Manchester, UK^{[54][55][56][57][58]} as well as a European promotional tour which included France, Germany^[59] and Italy. As part of their tour in Japan they released a two disc compilation album called The Veronicas Complete featuring all their songs from their first and second albums as well as three bonus tracks on 18 March 2009.^[60] On September 2008 the nominees for the 22nd annual ARIA Awards were announced, with The Veronicas receiving four nominations. Hook Me Up received 2 nominations for Best Pop Release and Highest Selling Album and Untouched and Hook Me Up (single) received a nomination for Highest Selling Single each. The Veronicas performed their hit single "Untouched" at the event, but left with no awards.^[61]

2010-present: Third studio album

Writing for their third studio album had begun while on their Revenge Is Sweeter tour during May but an official announcement was made on twitter on 8 October 2009 by Jess that work would begin on the up-coming album.^[62][63] The album will have a different sound with them confirming that they will work with Suzi Quatro and Streamer Bendy.^[64][65] On Christmas Day they posted a clip online to wish fans a Merry Christmas and accompanied the clip with a preview of a song that will be on their third studio album.^[66] The song is called "Could've Been" which is a ballad which they did a live acoustic performance for on the clip.^[66] Lisa also confirmed that recording for the third album would commence in January of 2010.^[67] According to Jess they are writing and recording in Brisbane with Jungle George, citing influences from artists such as The Subways, The Dead Weather, Mazzy Star, Ladytron and Peaches.^[68]

Personal lives

Currently both members live in Los Angeles and in their hometown of Brisbane, Australia, when not touring or travelling.

Lisa

Lisa dated singer Ryan Cabrera in 2005, though their relationship ended in mid-2006.^[69] The line "You're on the way down" from the song "Revenge Is Sweeter (Than You Ever Were)" comes from Cabrera's single "On The Way Down". In April 2007 she began dating former Australian Idol contestant Dean Geyer and they announced their engagement in April 2008.^[70][71] Lisa's relationship with Dean, including their engagement, ended abruptly in June 2008 with the pair releasing a joint statement, saying, "[...] our careers demand we be in different parts of the world now and in the future, and the pressures associated with this have forced us to make this very difficult decision".^[72] She is currently dating actor/singer Reeve Carney of the band Carney. ^[73]

Jessica

In 2008, Jessica was seen kissing MTV Australia VJ Ruby Rose Langenheim at the 2008 Cleo Bachelor of the Year Awards after party.^[74] Although the Australian media has described the pair as "genuinely keen on one another,"^[75] Langenheim denied a romantic relationship in a live blog, stating that the two are "really good mates."^[76]

In August 2008, Jess had images of her leaked onto the internet through US porn site Fleshbot.com. The "series of four photographs, taken three years ago, has also been sold to two local gossip magazines," with a Warner Music publicist telling the celebrity department of the Herald Sun, Confidential, "The portrait photograph of the girl looking at the camera is obviously Jess but, although the photos appear to have similarities in style and setting, I'm confident that the girl in the topless photograph is not her."^[77] Legal action has been taken against a former lover of hers, who allegedly sold the photos.^[78] Prior to the Australian ARIA Music Awards in 2008, Jess noted, "We are not up there [on stage at the ARIAs] because my boobs were flashed all over the world." ^[79]

Philanthropy

In 2006, The Veronicas joined Steve Irwin's Wildlife Warriors Worldwide, a charity that deals with the protection of animals and their natural environments.^[80] The band was also featured in an Australian public service announcement campaign against music piracy targeting schools, labeled Australian Music In Tune. Other successful Australian artists included were Powderfinger, Jimmy Barnes and Silverchair.^[81] . Work for this charity has included a texting competition to reach two-thousand text messages in the hopes of raising one thousand dollars.^[82] In January 2009, it was announced Jess would pose nude for PETA after getting attention from a member of the organization.^[83]. Lisa also marched alongside Drew Barrymore, Pete Wentz, Kathy Griffin, Janice Dickinson and other celebrities in support of gay marriage in California at a May 2009 march in Los Angeles protesting the 26 May 2009 decision of the California Supreme Court ruling upholding Proposition 8.^[84] They also joined a "Wear it with Pride" campaign to reform same-sex laws in Australia for the 85 legislative changes made in 2010 to overturn discrimination against same-sex couples and their families. The campaign involved them wearing numbered T-shirts representing each legislative change.^[85]

Products and endorsements

The Veronicas range of endorsements have included Australian hair products Nu:U^[86] and were also chosen to be the faces of the fall 2005 promotional campaign for Choice Calvin Klein range.^[87] In 2006 they entered into a co-marketing deal with shoe brand Keds for their first US tour.^[88] The deal included web promotions and in-store acoustic performances at selected stores.^[88] On January 27, 2010 they announced via twitter that they had signed a deal with cosmetic brand Flirt!, a division of Estée Lauder, to be the faces of their "Rock-n-Rebel" fragrance.^[89][90] They will become ambassadors for the fragrance with the deal to include a multi-million dollar promotion during mid-2010^[91][92] which also includes giving make-up tips via the Rock-n-Rebel website and they will judge a beauty contest where young women will be asked to submit photos of their "ultimate rock star style".^[93]

On 25 August 2007, The Veronicas launched their self-titled fashion line at Target Miranda store and is available in stores around Australia.^[94] According to the girls the fashion line was created to reflect their style which had been sought after by their younger fans and what they would like to see younger girls wear.^[95] Aimed at seven-fourteen year old girls Lisa described the fashion line as "[...]punk princess, mixed with rock 'n' roll," and Jess described it as "[...] princess and cute."^[95] The colours used for their fashion line include black and white and also features cherries, pirate motifs and love heart details.^[96] The current clothing range includes day-wear and pyjamas.^[97]

Discography

Awards and nominations

Tours

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Veronicas

• Official Website