Lennon and Maisy Stella, Ontario singing YouTube stars, to perform on ABC’s ‘Nashville’
In July, Canadian YouTube singing sensations Lennon Stella, 13, and Maisy Stella, 8, announced on Twitter that they would be joining the cast of ABC's new musical drama "Nashville" this fall.
Together, they play Maddie and Daphne Jaymes, the daughters of show lead Rayna Jaymes, portayed by "Friday Night Lights" alum Connie Britton. And on Wednesday, Oct. 24, the Stella Sisters will make their singing debut on the new show.
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Centred on Jaymes' struggle to stay relevant in a changing country music world, "Nashville" also stars acting firecracker Hayden Panettiere as singing rival Juliette Barnes, whose song "Telescope" is the track Lennon and Maisy cover at a school talent show in Wednesday's episode, "Someday You'll Call My Name."
Daughters of Canadian country music act The Stellas (consisting of husband and wife duo Brad and MaryLynne Stella), Lennon and Maisy moved to Nashville with their parents in 2009, reports CBC.
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In addition, The Hollywood Reporter notes that the sisters landed the roles on the ABC drama before their YouTube video cover of Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend" went viral, amassing nearly 9.6 million views at press time after being posted in May 2012.
"When Maisy auditioned for us we were completely blown away," said "Nashville" executive producer R.J. Cutler. "Then she told us she had a 13-year-old sister named Lennon and that the two of them often sang together. So we asked them both to come in and audition."
He added, "Even though the parts of Rayna and Teddy's [Eric Close] daughters had been written for a six- and an eight-year-old, we decided on the spot to change the roles to fit Maisy and Lennon's ages. Listening to them sing literally brought tears to our eyes. I'm not just saying that. Their voices moved us to tears. We knew we had to cast them -- and this was months and months before they decided to post a video to YouTube."
Catch Lennon and Maisy tonight on "Nashville" on CTV Two in Canada at 10 p.m. EST and listen to their cover of "Telescope" featured in tonight's episode below.
