Aly & AJ Spill on New EP 'Ten Years,' First Dates & Social Media (Exclusive)

It’s been 10 years since Aly & AJ last released music under their eponymous name but they’re ready for a major comeback!

The sister duo shared their new single “Take Me” earlier this summer and are getting ready to debut their EP Ten Years soon!

Just Jared recently went behind-the-scenes of Aly & AJ‘s Refinery29 shoot and caught up with them about everything from inspirations to growing up Disney and social media.

Here’s what Aly & AJ had to share:

JJ: Are there any other major life events in the past ten years that have informed your new music?

Aly: I think moving out of our family home, having our parents go through a divorce and then my marriage 2 years ago were all big events that affected this new music. We’ve always been artists that write about personal experiences so it’s something that’s bound to happen when getting into the studio.

Click inside to read the rest of our interview with Aly & AJ…

JJ: What situations did you find yourself in that served as impetuses for writing your single “Take Me?” Were they guys in real life? Hiding behind dating apps?

Aly: Well, I’m married now so it was very much inspired by AJ‘s dating life at the time and some of our girlfriends as well. When we started writing this music back in May of 2016 AJ was newly single and feeling very frustrated about the dating scene in LA, not to mention the dating app she was on at the time called Raya. We kept talking about how these guys just kept beating around the bush. They’d never initiate any sort of set time to get to know one another…..hence the creation of “Take Me.”

JJ: Have you found it hard to balance music and acting? Will acting take a backseat now as you concentrate on music?

We still love acting. But at this point, it will take a backseat. We’re ready to focus on music and it deserves as much attention as we can give without ignoring acting obligations altogether. We’ll be able to tour during the hiatuses from our shows.

JJ: You grew up on the Disney Channel. How did that mold you into who you are today?

Aly: It’s funny because everyone sees us as having grown up on the Channel, even though we were really only there for 4 years. I started Phil of the Future when I was 14 and that went on for two years, then I did my first DCOM and then another one around 17 with AJ…the rest were all music videos being played on the channel. Those tween years are very impressionable at that age whether it’s in a negative or positive way, so yeah I’d say they did. But I wouldn’t say they molded us into the artists we are now, if anything they would have stopped our growth if they had the chance to control that.

JJ: Would you ever sing “Potential Break Up Song” or “Like Whoa” at a future Aly & AJ concert? They have a combined 100 million page views on YouTube!

AJ: I can totally see us singing a song from the past at a concert. I wouldn’t hold your breath when it comes to “Like Whoa” though…that song really drives me and Aly nuts. But for sure Potential…or Rush….or Chemicals.

JJ: Can you tease the name of the upcoming EP and/or album title? What’s the next single called and what’s it about?

The EP is called Ten Years….because that’s how long it’s been since we’ve released anything under Aly & AJ. We have no idea what the second single would be….but it’s between two songs right now that we really love.

Are social media apps helping or hurting people’s chances of finding true love? Has it helped or hurt your dating life?

AJ: I don’t think it’s helped or hurt. It’s done nothing in a way. I’d rather meet someone naturally so I’ve given up the idea of dating apps. It really has worked for some people but it’s just not right for me. Fans of ours have actually met through past Aly & AJ Online Forums which is pretty cool.

Do you remember where you went out on your first date?

AJ: It was in a dumpy bowling alley in the middle of nowhere, we were on tour at the time.
Aly: Somewhere in Santa Monica? That’s all I really remember. My mom actually dropped me off cuz I wasn’t old enough yet to drive myself.