Interview with 96onedream!!!

Left Vannessa Rodgers right Holly Murray.

Hello everyone! I have been So excited for this blog post. Incase you hadn't guessed by the title this is the second installment of my interviews. (you can read my first one here). Any who the reason I was so excited for this one is because it is wtith two of my favourite youtubers Holly Murray and Vannessa Rodgers better know as 96onedream.. Vannessa and Holly are two 18 year old friends from Newcastle. It was by complete chance that they agreed to do this interview after wanting to do another one I decided on these to lovly girls and I couldnt be happier that they agreed to do this (thanks for the follow by the way) If you have been reading my blog for a while you would have seen me mention them in this blog post. I stumbled upon these two girls almost a year and a half ago after scrolling through youtube looking for a good cover of Ed Sheerans gold rush. Who did I happen to come across? Only these two lovely girls of course. The girls have done incredibly well.They first met as friends when they went to theatre school together. It all started back on the day of the royal wedding (April 19th 2011) When Vannessas drunk father suggested they put singing videos up on facebook. Youtube followed shortly afterwards. Since then the girls Youtube chanel has done extreamly well racking up over 40,000 subscribers and 3 million views! But it doesnt end there not only have they atracted the atention of thee Cher Loyd but they were recently discoverd by Inception (mastermind behind Pixie Lott) and signed a recording deal. They are currently working together to release there very own E.P . Which Im sure not only myself but fellow dreamers are so excited to here. So without further ado I give you my interview with 96onedream.!

what made you want to start singing together?

We used to compete at dance competitions and we got given a duet together when we were about  11. We did ‘You’re the one that I want’ from Grease. Vanessa was Danny and Holly was Sandy. Thats when we did our very first tiny little harmony. It was quite funny how bad the overall performance was but we really enjoyed singing together. We had the duet for two years then when that was over we realised we missed doing it a lot. Getting the duet was what made us close. We weren’t in very many of the same dance classes but we were in the same friendship group and from then we just became best friends. 

Meaning behind the name Dream?

We were a bit stupid and young when we picked the name Dream and we soon didn't like it. Our youtube channel was named ‘96Onedream’ because ‘Dream’ wasn't available. When we got signed up with Inception we knew it couldn’t be Dream and our producer said we should go with ‘96Onedream’ because its weird and not like anyone else’s name. The 96 part comes from the year we were born in. 

who is your biggest inspiration?

V- My dad is mine because he is a musician and without him i don't think i would have the confidence or help i needed to learn instruments or get up on stage. 

H-

who are your favourite artists?

ONE DIRECTION 

5sos 

The 1975 

Nina Nesbitt 

Iggy Azalea 

V- Jake Bugg because of the guitar riffs and production of his music. (holly doesn't like him)

how did inception discover you both?

Ryan who works for Inception discovered us on youtube when we were 15 and we did an audition with him over skype. He seemed to really like us but thought we were to young and too far away. He gave us loads of tips and we took them all on board. He emailed us a few times after the Skype call but after that we didn't hear from him. Randomly just after we turned 17 he emailed us asking us to go down to London and spend a day in the studio. He said he had been keeping an eye on us and just waiting till he thought we were old enough. After that he decided he definitely wanted us to sign the contract so thats where we are now. 

when will This is the sound be released?

This is a question that is up in the air. The video should be out soon. We are filming 2 videos in the middle of september down in London with a film maker. One of them will be ‘this is the sound’ so hopefully it wont be long after that. 

when will the new E.P be released?

Another question we don't really know the answer to. We haven't set a date yet but I'm sure it will be discussed when we see him next. 

what's your favourite album by another artist?

Midnight Memories - 1D 

Peroxide - Nina Nesbitt 

when did you start writing songs?

We only started when we got signed with Inception. It didn't come naturally but we actually really enjoy it now. 

when did you start singing?

We have both been singing since we were really young. We both have home videos of us when we were about 3/4 belting out songs at the top of our lungs. Holly was always in a paddling pool. 

who would you like to be as famous as?

For us it’s not even about being known by everyone in the world. If we had enough fans to do tours it would be the best thing in the ever. (but who doesn't want to be as famous as Beyonce haha) 

when did you start playing guitar?

V- My dad started teaching me guitar when I was 7 but at that time i was more focussed on dancing and it slipped away. I’ve only recently picked it back up again so i have a lot of work to do haha. 

H- I’ve been playing air guitar since I was 3 and a half actually.

   

what was the name of the first song you ever wrote and who/what was it for?

The first song we wrote on our own was called ‘Walking With You’. We wrote it for Ryan and recorded it in the studio. But it got ditched cause we didn't like it. 

favourite song(s) ?  

H- Heart Out - The 1975

     Mambo Number 5 - Lou Bega

     Greenlight- 5sos 

     Why Don’t We Go There - 1D

     Can’t Remember To Forget You - Shakira ft Rihanna

     Mr C - Nina Nesbitt

V- Moments - 1D (actually want some of the words as a tattoo) 

     You and I (piano version) - 1D 

     Greenlight - 1D

     Why Don’t We Go There - 1D

     Bed Shapped - Keane 

     Mr C - Nina Nesbitt

    

Our joint fav song which we both cry at is ‘For Good’ from the musical Wicked. (its about 2 best friends) (CHEESE) 

favourite memory of each other?

Too many we literally cant think of one haha. It’s not really a memory but our favourite thing is performing to and audience cause we get all hyped. 

celebrity crush?

V- LOUIS TOMLINSON

H- HARRY STYLES 

I'd like to say a huge thank you to the two girls for agreeing to do this and for giving such good answers aswell! There origional track 'This is the sound' is also available for free download Ill leave the link below. I'll also leav the link to there twitter instagram and facebook incase you want to give them a follow1

96onedreams links facebook/twitter/Hollys instagram/Vannessas instagram/Youtube/This is the sound

Befor I bid you good bye I am going to leave you with my personal favourite cover of there She looks so perfect by 5sos.

Thanks for reading I'll be posting soon bye x

Interview with Megan Collins!

Megan Collins!

Pull the party poppers, ring the bells I'm on time this week! You may be thinking ''has Izzy finally got her life together?'' sadly no. The reason I am on time this week (for once) is because I was so excited for this weeks post. This weeks post is an Interview with the fabulous Megan Collins. Megan is a 17 year old (and ten months) singer/songwriter/guitarist for county Cork. I first came across Megan when I saw her cover of Peroxide by Nina Nesbitt (y'all know how much I love her) on her youtube channel. The minute I heard her sing I was blown away by her outstanding vocals and brilliant guitar playing and absolutely flawless original songs I instantly knew I was going to love this girl's covers. Fast forward a few months and I saw one of her vlogs and noticed her fabulous Irish accent. Me being Irish blogger and her being an Irish youtuber I instantly thought I need to interview this girl. I had wanted to interview someone for my blog for a long time but could never find someone who fit the bill until I stumbled across Megan. After watching her vlog I sent her a quick Tweet to see if she'd be interested . She replied very shortly afterwards. After a week of many twitter conversations and E-mailing each other back and forth I give you my interview with Megan Collins.

what inspired you to start playing guitar/singing/writing songs?

I think, for me, singing was just a natural occurrence and it just kind of happened! Guitar was more of a "I need something to go with my senseless lyrics" type of thing, but I really loved it from the moment I picked up a guitar at 11 years old. As for songwriting, I'm still not sure where it came from. I was a curious human and still am to this day! So I was always wondering where songs came from and how they were made and what instrument made a certain sound. I guess I just developed it from my curiosity. 

who is your biggest inspiration?

My biggest inspiration, to date, without a doubt, is definitely my mother and my grandmother. They've both been through so much, but they still keep their heads held high and they both love selfishly. I really admire them for that. 

who are your favourite artists?

This is the type of question that someone asks you and you suddenly forget everything you know about yourself... I listen to different varieties of music but these days I'm LOVING Nina Nesbitt, George Ezra, Kodaline, Hozier, Ed Sheeran, Mike Dignam and Taylor Swift. 

when will the new E.P be released?

The EP is still in the process of being recorded. We have the basic structures of the tracks and so it's all just a matter of building on things and piecing them together, so we can hopefully get everything down as soon as possible. I'm aiming for the end of the summer for it to be released, but we still need to discuss those types of detail. 

what's your favourite album by another artist?

It's definitely a tie between Nina Nesbitt's 'Peroxide', Kodaline 'A Perfect World' and George Ezra's 'Wanted On Voyage'. I'm a horror for choosing just one!

when did you start writing songs?

I started writing songs when I was about 9 years old. They weren't very good and were a bit mellow-dramatic, but I started taking it seriously since I was 12 or 13. 

when did you start singing?

I can't remember a time when I wasn't singing! As I mentioned before, it was just a natural occurrence to me, so I started quite young with that. However, much like my songwriting, I wasn't very good at the beginning. I only took it seriously from the age of 8 or 9, onwards. 

who would you like to be as famous as?

I'm not really a girl that would look for fame. I just want to be known for my music and not who I'm dating, what my diet plan/workout routine is (not that I have one, pfft!)/what the latest scandal in my life is. All I really look for is to be heard and have some support behind me throughout that journey. 

when did you start playing guitar?

I started playing the guitar when I was about 11 or 12 years old. I still have and use my first ever guitar that I bought in a local toy shop! 

why did you decide to start you tube?

I watched YouTube for years before I started uploading. I would see these people that post makeup tutorials and I vlogs and I would sit there forever, just fascinated by these people. Then I came across the music side of YouTube and saw that people would cover songs and post their own song and at the same time, they would get free feedback that would be brutally honest. I begged and pleaded my mam if I could post covers/originals every day, however she didn't really approve of putting her 13-year-old daughter on the World Wide Web. Eventually, on the 25th of November, 2011, I was granted permission to post my winning school talent show performance. We were both on such a high we felt that it was a good time to post it. And thus, my YouTube hobby was born! 

what was the name of the first song you ever wrote and who/what was it for?

The first song I had ever written was when I was 9 years old. It was called 'Life' and it should never be heard by anyone that roams this planet, ever. I don't remember much of it other than the opening lines of "Step one: step away from me. Step two: keep dreamin' on." I was so proud of it, I actually hung it up on my bedroom door for 4 years. *Cringe*

favourite song(s) ?  

Again, I have suddenly forgotten everything about myself... I have been listening to my favorite artists a lot and I've just recently purchased George Ezra's new album. (NO REGRETS.) I really like 'Budapest' and 'Blame It On Me'. I also like Nina Nesbitt's 'Some You Win' because it's ridiculously relatable. 

name of the E.P? 

I still need to decide on a name for this EP! I honestly have no idea what to call it. 

when did you first perform one of your original songs live?

The first time I ever performed an original song live was at my school talent show back in 2011. I was 15 and it was a song called 'Argue'. It was the first proper song that I wrote by myself and I performed it without realising until a few minutes before I went on stage that the person it was about was in the crowd! But I came first and that performance turned out to be my first ever YouTube video, so I must have done something right.

what other careers did you consider pursuing ?

It was always in the back of my mind that music isn't always an easy thing to break into and it's not always 100% financially supportive, so I decided to look at other options. I quite like drawing and getting creative, so I looked into graphic and media design. I also looked into child psychology. I even considered dog grooming! There's just something so therapeutic about grooming a dog! 

who influenced you to start music?

This question is definitely answered with my family. I grew up in a household of different music and so they all had an impact on my musical tastes and influences. The music would range from UB40 to Alanis Morissette to Spice Girls to Bob Marley to Joe Dolan. There was the occasional Irish traditional music thrown into the mix as well, so I think my family are definitely to blame for that!

were is your dream venue to headline?

I would absolutely LOVE to headline Live At The Marquee in my hometown or O2 academy in Dublin. I'm not quite there yet, but with hard work and determination, I could be! 

celebrity crush?

Zac Efron. Hands down.

I would like to say a big thank you to Megan for agreeing to do this. I had so much fun E-mailing her and tweeting her. I'll leave the link to her twitter/instagram and facebook page if y'all want to give her a follow. You should all definitely check out her youtube channel that link will also be below.

I hope you all had fun reading this post as I had writing it and hopefully I'll Be on time next week (who knows maybe Megans interview will encouraged me to be time from now on) 

-Izzy

Megans links.

Twitter/Facebook/Instagram/Youtube

I will leave you with a video of Megan singing her original song 'funny how that works'. I chose this one because it is my favourite song by her. Well so far I'm sure when her E.P is released it'll be jam packed with even more flawless songs.

Nina Nesbitt album review- Peroxide.

Hello everyone sorry for the lack of posts this month I've been super busy. As you all are probably aware at this stage I am a huge fan of Nina Nesbitt. She released her debut album 'Peroxide' last Febuary and it is safe to say that I absolutely adore it. I have been a huge fan of Nina's since the 'Apple Tree E.P' I stumbled across it one day on youtube and fell head over heals for her music the minute I heard it.Afterwards I looked up more of her E,P's and loved all of them. I started to do more research and soon began to love everything about her from her style to her to her personality I adored.

Nina has literally written about a lot of different topics from drinking in a bus shelter to a very observant night out in London. The album is jam- packed with catchy tunes. It has something for everyone on it everything from slow piano love songs (hold you) to an upbeat sixty's style tune (he's the one I'm bringing back ) The album consists of alot of her well known singles such as selfies and stay out. But it is mainly made up of brand new unheard songs. There isn't a single track that I don't love off the album. Every track has something new to bring to the table.

As I said earlier there is something for everyone on her album. But if you are only now listening to her music I would recommend ' Stay Out , 18 candles, Mr.C, Peroxide and Some you win'. But if you want to start off with something more toned down and more guitar/acoustic style of music why not try some of her E,P's ? She has had 5 E.P's out all together. The names of her E,P's are (in order of release) 'The live take E.p, The Apple tree E.p, Boy E.P, Stay Out E.P and Way in the world E.P'


 

My favourite songs off the album change all the time but  at the moment they are ' The Outcome , He's the one I'm bringing back, Tough luck, Peroxide and some you win'. I mentioned earlier that each song has something new to offer The proof of that statement is in those five songs I just mentioned above. ' He's the one I'm bringing back' is a sixty's style song based on a girl who is sick of everyone looking down on her because of the fact that there is a age gap between her and her boyfriend. The song is basically telling everyone that she doesn't care about the fact that there is an age difference and to put your eyes on someone else. Tough luck as Nina described as the ' angry song ' on the album. It is very different from any other song she has ever written. I really like this track because I think that Nina really gets her emotions of how she felt at the time across. The reason I chose to compare He's the one I'm bringing back and Tough luck is because it shows how versatile Nina's music can be.





One track that sticks out a lot for me is The people. When I first heard this track I was blown away by it. The title is pretty self explanatory on what it is about. The people and humanity in general about how we treat life. Its quite a difficult track to explain so I would recommend listening to it. I promise the song will do all the talking. One of the reasons I was so impressed with this track is because it started off as just another song she had written in her bedroom at the age of 15 before she had even been discovered to this massive 5 minute song with over 5000 voices on it.. It is without doubt one of the best tracks she has ever written.




I hope you all enjoyed that and i shall be posting soon
Izzy-x

Befor I forget my lovly cousin Emily has started a blog  you can read it by clicking here

were to stalk me

twitter instagram

Steal his style Matty Healy!

Matty Healy.

Not only is he number one on my husband list but this man really knows how to dress. Matty is the lead singer from a popular band known as The1975. The band consists of four members Matty, Adam, George and Ross. This band has completely managed to turn the face of pop music all because of there number one hit chocolate. I first came across this band because of Nina Nesbitt ( I also wrote a S.HS. on Nina Nesbitt you can read it here ) When I first saw her cover chocolate I instantly loved the song. I eventually got around to looking them up. The minute I started listening to there music I completely fell in love. I was shocked to find that  there wasn't a single song I didn't love off there album. Along with falling in love with there music an uppsesion soon developed. When I started looking up pictures of Matty I couldn't get over how well he dressed. Everything from his hair to his shoes was just perfection In my opinion he definitely has the best sense of style out of everyone in the band so thats why I chose him for todays ' S.H.S'.

Matty is extreamly fond of  the colour black come to think of it I don't think I have ever seen him in any other colours besides grey, black and white. Matty really take's '' dressed in black from head to toe'' to a whole other level. To get Mattys look the first thing you'll have to do is stock up on black skinny jeans. He is also a big fan of monochrome more so in the summer though. One of Matty's signature look's is his oversize black knitted jumper with skinny black jeans and lace up boots. This is an outfit that almost anyone can create. It would look just as good on men or women though I would mainly recommend it for men. At festivals Matty is often seen wearing Elton-John-Style sunglasses.If you would rather go for the monochrome look then simply swap the knitted jumper for a black and white T-shirt or a plain white T-shirt. Matty tends to go for a more comfy shoe like Doc martens or converse but in all fairness to him he does love a good chelsea boot hear and again. To sum up his style you could probably say he likes very plain outfits that consist of alot  of black. I think Mattys style would be best recreated on someone who still wants to look stylish but not to out there at the same time.

Mattys hair.

If you know anything about Matty you will know about how glorious his hair is. The only word I can think of to describe it is original. Its completely different to anything else you would usually see.It consists of a long-ish mo-hawk type thing...............( you can tell I've never tried to describe his hair before) It is quite an easy look to achieve you would just simply grow your hair long-ish and shave both sides of your head

                                     

So over all I think we can agree that everything from his tattoos to his hair to his clothes is pure perfection

I hope you enjoyed that and I shall be posting again soon bye

-Izzy x

P.S before I forget my lovely friend Niamh has started a blog you can read it by clicking here I would recommend it as she is fab.

Steal her style: Haim

HAIM.

Hello everyone. I think its time for another S.H.S. As I have not done one in a while. Today it is going to be about the fabulous Haim  sisters. I discovered these girls last year from someone else's blog. Oh! How I  love this adorable three-o. For those of you who aren't aware Haim is a band from America made up of 3 sisters. It includes Este, Danielle and Alannah. It's not just their music I adore their style is perfection. I am going to talk you through each girls style individually. Starting with Alannah.....

Alannah.




Alannah Haim more commonly known as ''Baby Haim'' is the youngest of the 3. She has quite a laid-back style. If you want to full on copy her style then I suggest you pick up a pair of her signature black Calvin Klein shorts. She is seen wearing theses more than any other piece of clothing in her wardrobe. She wears them everywhere on stage or out and about. She usually pairs them with black ankle boots and T-shirts or oversized denim t- shirts. When your picking a  t-shirt don't go to crazy with the design pick something simple and keep it in the black, grey or white family.




Danielle Haim.

 Danielle Haim is the middle child of the three sisters she is also the lead singer. Danielle definitely has the most tom-boy look of them all. She tends to wear a lot of  black some elements of her style cross over with Alannah. Start off the look with an oversized leather jacket .For the summer a short sleeved leather jacket. She usually goes for simple all black outfits but mixed with a lot of different textures . For example a leather jacket cotton T-shirt black jeans topped off with biker boots. She sometimes mixes it up with a denim shirt or shorts. Sometimes she would wear denim shorts and T-shirt mainly in the summer.

Este Haim.

 Este Haim is the oldest of the 3 and is by far the most girly. She ( in my opinion ) definitely has the best sense of style out of the three. She is girly but edgy. She doesn't just wear plain skirts or dresses she often wears bra tops with her skater skirts. When it comes to her dresses she can be quite versatile first she will be at a festival in a white lace dress next she'll be rocking out on stage in a black skater dress. She is also quite a big fan of florals her bra tops are usually floral and she also sometimes wears floral dresses. For her shoes she is quite similar to her sisters in the fact that she mainly wears ankle boots but if she is at a more casual event she is often seen in converse.

Hair and Makeup

Haim are very well known for their hair they all have the same style long with no layers. But Danielle has quite dark hair whilst Alannah is much lighter. Este's hair colour is more similar to Alannah's but she has blonde ombré in her hair . For there makeup they all keep it really natural they don't wear much no eye shadow no blush. Este often wears red lipstick but besides that its all the same.

To top off the Haim look start growing out your hair learn to play guitar teach yourself some dance moves . Next thing you know you are being mistaken for  Haim sister.

I hope you all enjoyed that post and I will be back with more soon

-Izzy x