Classy. Soulful. Elegant. These words come to mind when I think of YouTube sensation VanJess24. Since 2008, these sisters have graced YouTube with their jaunty and modern twists on famous songs and lively mashups. Along with their edgy and graceful voices, they have become Internet hits. Boasting celebrity fans such as Perez Hilton and a fan base which spans across the globe, these young women from Nigeria carry with them the tradition of amazing talent to be unearthed on YouTube, and boy do they live up to the competition!
The stats – Sisters Ivana (20) and Jessica (18) have racked…
- up over 200,000 subscribers
- over 44 million views on their videos. Their most popular video has just under 5,000,000
- 46,000 likes on Facebook
- 21,000 followers on Twitter
So, who are the girls behind these stats? I asked VanJess themselves to find out more…
What are you musical influences? What made you get into singing?
We are influenced by many people, ranging from Cyndi Lauper to TLC, Madonna to Salt-N-Pepa. We're influenced a lot by 90s R&B acts, but mostly just the love of music!
Who do you aspire to be like? Who are your idols?We aspire to be as successful as an artist like Beyonce, who is one of our idols. She is an amazing performer and we look up to her a lot!
What made you upload videos to YouTube?Just watching other youtubers like Esmee Denters and feeling like, "Hey, I think I can do that too!"
How has YouTube helped you to pursue your singing, and do you think it is a good platform for rising talent?YouTube has paved the way for us in a great way! Without it I don't think we would have had the opportunity to reach so many people all around the world! It is such a good platform!
What does 2012 hold for VanJess? Any plans to record a CD?2012 is going to be an amazing year. Just be on the lookout for us! A CD is a possibility - just keep watching and be patient with us!
What is your favourite cover you've recorded and why?hmm it will have to be 'Thinking about/Headlines''. It was so fun to make and both those songs just went together really well.
Do you like much music in the UK? Who are you liking at the minute and what songs do you love? Any real guilty pleasures?
Oh yes! We love The Saturdays!! hmm guilty pleasures would have to be Lipstick and Hulu! Who is most annoying?
haha I would say we both annoy each other equally!
Where do you see yourselves in 10 years?Travelling the world entertaining and performing for those who wanna be entertained by us - our amazing fans!
What's your favourite food/TV show?hmm we both love sushi and right now our fave show on television is Revenge
Iphone or blackberry?Team Iphone
Who do you like/subscribe to on YouTube?
We love Deshawnraw he is super funny!
Tell us something interesting we don't know about you?We love listening to Korean pop music
Where does the '24' come from in your YouTube page?Jess was born on the 24th of April!
So there we have it! VanJess like Korean pop music and might release a CD! Judging by their addition of original music to their YouTube channel , a CD would go down a storm! These girls seem genuinely down to earth, nice people, and mix that with their amazing voices and you have a recipe for success! I don't think it will be to long before these girls really get going in the music industry, and I wish them every success in the future. I would once again like to thank both Ivana and Jess for taking the time to talk to me.
If you have any questions for VanJess please comment below and I will relay them to the girls.
Thanks for reading,
C.
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