“I’ve listened to this countless times. Still makes me cry EVERY time.” Sisters Lennon and Maisy Stella, aged just 12 and 8 years old, spellbound 12 million viewers with their yearning harmonies on their cover of Jason Mraz’s “I Won’t Give Up.” Lennon plays guitar and sings, and when Maisy harmonizes, something absolutely magical happens. Fans couldn’t believe such a young duo could touch hearts with such a powerful performance. The sweet bond the sisters clearly share just made the duet all the more special.
It’s quite remarkable that at 12 and 8, Lennon and Maisy are both such accomplished singers and musicians. What’s even more impressive is that they really put their stamp on the song. They added an authentic country and folk feel to the ballad, rather than the more pop-oriented feel of the original recording. The Music Man has to say that it’s no surprise that Lennon and Maisy went on to find career success as a duo!
Lennon and Maisy uploaded their take on “I Won’t Give Up” to their YouTube channel on March 28, 2012, where it became their fourth-most popular video. Viewers gave major props to the sibling duo and added comments such as “It’s been 12 years. I’ve listened to this countless times. Still makes me cry EVERY time” and “I have never seen an 8-year-old being able to hold such notes and support a lead singer. That is seriously impressive. Both are incredible.”
Lennon and Maisy have produced a number of viral videos with their unique duets. Another gorgeous cover from the same era is their take on Stephen Foster’s “Hard Times Come Again No More.” Lennon and Maisy harmonize throughout the whole song, creating so many magical vocal moments. I’ve never seen a duo who have such a developed artistic identity at such a young age.
Lennon & Maisy are a Canadian country pop duo from Oshawa, Ontario. The pair began uploading duet performances to YouTube in February 2010. The Music Man readers won’t be surprised to hear the sisters’ duo format was an immediate success. Their first duo upload, a cover of Ingrid Michaelson’s “You and I,” hit 2.5 million views. From 2012 to 2014, Lennon and Maisy contributed six songs to the soundtrack of the American musical drama TV series Nashville. These songs were issued by Big Machine Records through a series of soundtrack albums. Lennon and Maisy’s most successful single in the US was their Nashville soundtrack contribution “Ho Hey,” which charted at 107 on the Billboard Hot 100. They also enjoyed overseas success when their 2014 single “Love” hit number two in Sweden and remained there for three consecutive weeks.