Lennon and Maisy

Lennon Ray Louise Stella, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor (born 13 August 1999 in Oshawa, ON); and Maisy Jude Marion Stella, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, actor (born 13 December 2003 in Oshawa). The daughters of country music duo The Stellas, the sister act Lennon and Maisy rose to fame in 2012 after their cover of Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend” earned more than a million views online in just a few days. They also landed supporting roles in the ABC drama Nashville (2012–). With their sweet and soulful covers of popular folk-pop and country songs, they have garnered close to 680,000 subscribers and more than 72 million views on their YouTube channel.

Early Years

Lennon and Maisy were born in Oshawa, Ontario, and grew up on a 170-acre farm near Claremont, Ontario. Born to musical parents, Brad and MaryLynne Stella, Lennon and Maisy learned to sing and play a variety of instruments at a young age without any formal training. In 2009, the Stella family moved to Nashville after Brad and MaryLynne earned a spot on the CMT reality show Can You Duet? (2008–09). In 2010, Lennon and Maisy began posting cover songs to YouTube.

“Call Your Girlfriend”

On 29 May 2012, MaryLynne Stella uploaded a video of Lennon and Maisy performing Robyn’s “Call Your Girlfriend.” The sisters originally prepared the song for a school talent show. Inspired by a cover by the Swedish band Erato, they harmonize and use empty margarine containers as percussion. The video earned praise from stars such as Amy Poehler and One Direction member Harry Styles. As of July 2015, their cover of the song has more than 26 million views.

In 2012, they released the three-track EP Lennon & Maisy (Live YouTube Sessions), which features their original YouTube covers of “Call Your Girlfriend,” Jason Mraz’s “I Won’t Give Up” and Imogen Heap’s “Headlock.”

Nashville (2012–)

Maisy originally auditioned alone for Nashville, months before “Call Your Girlfriend” was posted to YouTube. After learning that Maisy often sang with her older sister, the show’s producers asked Lennon to audition as well and tailored the ages of the characters, Daphne and Maddie Conrad, to suit them. During the first season of Nashville, Lennon and Maisy performed The Lumineers’ “Ho Hey,” the single of which cracked the Top 40 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. The song continues to be the most downloaded song from Nashville; and Lennon and Maisy have sold more singles than any other cast member. Due to their popularity, their roles were expanded from supporting parts in season one to series regulars in season two.

YouTube and Other Singles

Since the popularity of “Call Your Girlfriend,” Lennon and Maisy have had a number of other successful covers: “That’s What’s Up” by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros has more than 10 million views and “Boom Clap” by Charli XCX has more than 6 million views. In 2013, they performed several times at the Grand Ole Opry, and played Taylor Swift’s “You Belong with Me” at the Country Music Awards.

In 2012, they released “Christmas Coming Home,” an original holiday song written by their parents, Brad and MaryLynne. The song was later included on the Nashville cast’s Christmas record, Christmas With Nashville (2014).

In 2014, Lennon and Maisy recorded “Love” for the Swiss organic food company Coop Naturaplan. The song reached No. 1 on the Swiss iTunes chart and was certified gold in Switzerland. That same year, the sisters released a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “Big Yellow Taxi,” which was featured in the HBO documentary series Saving My Tomorrow.

"In the Waves"

On 28 April 2015, Lennon and Maisy published a children’s picture book through HarperCollins Publishers entitled In the Waves. The book is based on an original song the sisters wrote playing in the bathtub as young children. Lennon and Maisy released the song “In the Waves” in conjunction with the book’s release, and performed on Good Morning America and The View.