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Sisters Aly and AJ Michalka together make up one of today’s greatest pop sensations. But don’t expect just another teen duo. These girls can rock out on their guitars, and have vocals that match up to their musical ability. Don’t forget the fact that they write their own songs.

Both under 18 (Aly is 17, AJ is 15), these girls only get better with age. With their latest release “Acoustic Hearts of Winter” coming in plenty of time for the holiday, and another album in the works, Aly and AJ are keeping busy, and they wouldn’t have it any other way!

THE STAR SCOOP:
What do you like most about working with your sister?

ALY MICHALKA:
I think just being with somebody who is on the same page, we get each other, we don’t really have to explain anything, we understand. We feel for each other, we’re really supportive, so that’s always been cool, because you always have somebody that’s right there for you.

AJ MICHALKA:
I think we work really well together. We’re both really creative, so when we get together, it’s ridiculous. I think we both have really good ideas, we balance each other out really well, and we are alike so it works, but we’re also different, so we both bring different things to the table. We work really well together, not only in the music business, but in movies, like when we did that movie Cowbells, that was a lot of fun for us. I think because we’re sisters and we’re really close in age, and we’re pretty much best friends, I think it helps working together. We do enjoy each other’s company, which I think is really important when you’re working with somebody.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Why did you want to record a winter album?

ALY MICHALKA:
I have to say that Christmas is one of our favorite times of the year, and it’s something that you can play every season and, you can pass it on down to your kids, and their kids. It’s something that’s really timeless. They’re just so magical in a way, we really wanted to put out something during the holidays, that would help just kind of bring some kind of joy to this whole season. Not that there’s not already a bunch of joy, but just a little bit more.

AJ MICHALKA:
Aly and I, ever since we were little, have always bought Christmas records during the holiday season. We’ve always been into listening to just great Christmas music, every year. So, we decided that we wanted to put out a Christmas record and tell people about Christmas. Hopefully it will inspire people, like our past records have, which is really, really cool for us to see. I think the fact that Aly and I did this record is really just to put out some Christmas holiday spirit with kind of our own flair on it, which I think will be really fun. It’s got a bunch of classics that a lot of people know, and it also has a couple original songs that Aly and I wrote for the record. One called “Greatest Time of The Year,” which is going to be used for The Santa Clause 3 coming out.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What was the process for writing new music, and choosing which old songs to do covers of?

AJ MICHALKA:
Aly and I just sat down, and we were like, okay, what songs are some of our favorite holiday songs that we want to redo and kind of put our own flair to? We picked favorite songs that we always remembered listening to growing up, and we were like, let’s do that. Also we thought of favorites from people we know, like our Dad, his favorite song is “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” so we wanted to record that, and then our Mom’s favorite is “Silent Night,” so we wanted to put that on the record, and you know, bringing that together. And also, favorites of Aly and I.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What is the difference in recording a winter album as opposed to a regular release?

ALY MICHALKA:
We definitely wanted to stay true to the songs, especially the classics. We had to be careful not to put too much change into them. We also wanted to make sure that the album sounds very real and honest, especially being a Christmas album, because a Christmas song is a Christmas song, but you have to work extra hard not to make it sound cheesy. We wanted to be in the Christmas spirit while making the album, it was fun.

THE STAR SCOOP:
What does “Acoustic Hearts of Winter” mean to you?

AJ MICHALKA:
When we thought of that title, it’s almost like, it’s our hearts into this record, and it’s an acoustic record basically in the sense that it’s beautiful, and beautiful strings, and wonderful instruments, vocals that are just awesome. It’s our hearts singing, almost, it’s our hearts speaking to the world. That’s kind of what Aly and I are all about.

THE STAR SCOOP:
You released the deluxe edition of “Into The Rush”, have “Acoustic Hearts of Winter” coming on October 26, and another album in the works. Do you ever stop working?

ALY MICHALKA:
Yeah, it’s been nice, we’ve been home for a couple weeks. That’s been actually really good for us. We’re kind of always working, but it’s a fun kind of work. I would never trade this and stop doing what I love.

THE STAR SCOOP:
How have you grown as an artist since your first release? Will we see this on your album?

ALY MICHALKA:
Yeah, definitely. Being on the road, meeting different people, it opened our eyes to different writing material that we can use on the second album. We’re really looking forward to being able to somehow reinvent a little bit our sound, without changing who we are. You’re definitely going to hear some stuff that’s a little heavier musically, it’s going to be a little bit more rock, and have a little bit more of an edge, but it’s going to be the same Aly and AJ, without compromising anything.

AJ MICHALKA:
I think so, definitely. Musically, we definitely grow, being on the road, and Aly and I got off the road a couple weeks ago, and we headlined our first tour for three months. It was awesome, it was so much fun. Just, meeting new people, and traveling to different places, and playing guitar and piano every night and really perfecting the craft, I think that’s really happened in the past months, sure. We’ve really been able to perfect our writing. The next record is going to have more of a rock feel, production will be a little different; it’s still going to be Aly and I, it’s just going to be kind of a more grown up Aly and I.

THE STAR SCOOP:
How do you manage to be a major pop sensation and an actress at the same time?

ALY MICHALKA:
We just take it one day at a time. When we’re on the road, we focus on our music and performing, and when we’re back home, we’re auditioning, reading scripts, going into meetings, things like that. We keep it separate somewhat, without forgetting about the other one. You always try to somehow balance those at the same time.

AJ MICHALKA:
We just really make sure that when we’re doing music, we’re totally focused on music, and then when we’re doing acting, we’re totally focused on acting. We try not to blend the two, really. We like to focus on one at a time. We love both so much. I really couldn’t pick a favorite. I love acting, because it’s totally different from music, and I love music because it’s totally different from acting. You get two awesome worlds. You can’t really compare them, they’re both really, really different. We love doing both, we make time for both, for sure.

THE STAR SCOOP:
Why should we all go out and buy this new winter album?

ALY MICHALKA:
“Acoustic Hearts of Winter” is definitely an album that I feel is truly universal and timeless because it has the classics, and it has our own originals on it, and it’s definitely broken down. It’s not overly produced, the vocals are very raw and in the forefront. The musicians that have played on the record are amazing, so the instrumentation is really beautifully arranged. The whole album has a lot of spirit in it, and I think that it will put you in the mood for the holidays.

AJ MICHALKA:
I think it will be cool to hear Christmas music, but done by Aly and I, because I think it will be different, it will be kind of a young opinion on these songs. I think just the production is really fun, a lot of the songs have a really nice energy, and getting the record and hearing new Christmas songs will be really cool. I think it will be fun to listen to how we put our own spin on Christmas songs.