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The Veronicas are an Australian pop rock award winning singer/songwriter duo composed of identical twin sisters Lisa Marie and Jessica Louise Origliasso (born 25 December, 1984 in Brisbane) who are of Italian (Sicilian) descent.

Early Years

Born and raised with older brother Julian in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia in the suburb of Albany Creek to parents Joseph and Colleen, the sisters got their first taste of the show business at an early age of 5 years. Jessica and Lisa were first simply known as the Origliasso twins. Singing at various events-such as award shows- boosted the twins confidence in the industry and in front of audiences and drew attention of agents and talent agencies. In their teenage years, they released 3 pop albums under the name of "Lisa & Jessica". One of the Veronicas' early acting roles was at Ferny Hills State Primary School (from where they graduated in 1998) where they performed the musical "Oliver!". Jessica played the title character and Lisa the minor character of Mrs Sowerberry. They attended Wavell State High School.

Jessica and Lisa also performed in small parts on various television shows including a recurring role in the short-lived 2001 Australian children's series "Cybergirl" where they portrayed twin sisters, Lisa played the character Sapphire, while Jessica played the character of Emerald. On Jessica's 18th birthday she received her first guitar, with this the girls started to become singer/songwriters. They became "Teal" and began to experiment with different sounds and genres, releasing a song "Baby It's Over", this only received very minor airplay in Brisbane.

In 2003, Lisa and Jessica were introduced to the Music Director of The Bell Hughes Music Group (BHMG), Hayden Bell. After producing some demo recordings with the twins Hayden invited them to sign a publishing agreement with Excalibur Productions (a subsidiary of BHMG). In the process, Bell helped facilitate their progression in musical style from acoustic pop to the more rhythmic rock pop approach that is now their trademark. On the strength of these demos Bell then took them to meet the executives at Engine Room a subsidiary of PBL (Packer) Group and they were immediately signed to a production deal.

To further develop their song writing skills, Bell connected them with internationally acclaimed songwriters and producers including Cliff Magness (Avril Lavigne), Billy Steinberg (Madonna, Cyndi Lauper), Eric Nova, Dead Mono and Vince DeGiorgio, where they created a catalogue of over 50 songs.

Meetings were then arranged with Warners Bros. Records in the USA. Seymour Stein and senior executives recognized that Hayden Bell had indeed discovered and developed a unique musical talent, signing them quickly to a recording contract with Warner/Sire America, for a reported sum of 2 million dollars.

Hayden Bell then took one of The Veronicas songs titled "All About Us" and placed it with t.A.T.u, the Russian girl group, and it became a massive hit in Europe. In Australia, he placed their song “What’s Goin’ On” with Casey Donovan and the song “Faded” for Kate DeAraugo. Both of these artists were winners of the Australian Idol Competition. Another track was also placed by Bell on the Japanese pop singer MIz’s album.

The name

Their name came from Archie Comics character Veronica Lodge; when Archie Comics found out, they sued the duo for trademark infringement over their band name, but the two parties settled and have agreed on a cross-promotion deal. At some point it has also been mentioned they were named after the movie Heathers which also has a character named Veronica. An alternative possible source is the movie Clueless in which there is discussion of whether particular characters are 'Veronicas' or 'Betties'.

The group was featured prominently in an issue of their namesake Veronica's comic book as a result of their cross-promotion deal with Archie Comics. The issue (#167) featured a card with a code allowing a free download of their single in MP3 form.

A few months later, Archie and Friends (#100) featured The Archies meeting The Veronicas. Then the next issue of Archie and Friends (#101) also featured The Veronicas, with Archie as their biggest fan.

2005-2007: The Secret Life Of...

The Veronicas debut album, entitled The Secret Life Of..., was released in Australia on October 17, 2005, entering the ARIA Album charts at the position of #7. Since then it reached the peak of #2 and went 4x Platinum, because of the success of the album, five singles were released in Australia. The Secret Life Of... spent a year in the ARIA album charts without ever leaving the top 40. In September 2006, the album was nominated for 3 ARIA awards including; "Best Pop Release", "Highest Selling Album" and "Best Breakthrough Album". The Veronicas won "Best Pop Release" but lost the other two to other nominees, the girls also performed their 2nd single Everything I'm Not on the night.

The album was released in the U.S. on February 14, 2006, it debuted at #133 on Billboard 200 and #3 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart, only two singles have been released in the United States off the album. A special DVD was released with the US version as an exclusive as limited copies were pressed. The limited edition included two extra songs and videos, and was only available online. However, copies have been found to have been shipped to several stores in Australia as well. Other releases in the U.S. include Sessions@AOL which features their songs Heavily Broken and Revolution live in the AOL studios, also released was The Veronicas: Mtv.com Live EP which also features live performances of their songs including a new song, entitled Stay.

The Album has also had success in other countries such as New Zealand where it debuted at #5, in Switzerland a peak of #61 and it also reached the position of #75 on the Dutch Album Charts. In Belgium the album reached the peak of #11 and the girls won the award of Best International New Artist at the TMF Awards of 2006. In early 2007 The Secret Life Of... will be released worldwide to countries such as Asia and the UK.

Lisa and Jessica are the faces of Choice Calvin Klein and Australian hair product company nu:u. Blender named included them in their list of hottest women in rock in 2006. The sisters sung the title song on the short-lived television show Related which had featured songs from their debut album. They appeared as The Veronicas in an episode that aired 6 February 2006. In March 2006, their debut single "4ever" was featured in the Amanda Bynes comedy 'She's the Man'. It was featured in the promotional television spots, the film itself and the soundtrack. The girls are scheduled to appear on an upcoming episode of The Suite Life of Zack and Cody as guest stars. The twins are also have a fashion line in the making to expand their empire and because of their interest in fashion, which is to be released sometime in 2007. On December 2, 2006, The Veronicas released a CD/DVD, entitled Exposed...The Secret Life Of The Veronicas in Australia. This release features live performances from their Australian 2006 Revolution tour and a DVD featuring parts of the sisters' lives throughout 2005-2006, including never seen before footage and their music videos. The album debuted at #6 on the ARIA DVD Charts accrediting platinum in its first week. The second week is rose to its peak of #3 and was accredited Double Platinum. There is no word on whether or not this album will be released overseas.

On March 2007, the Official MySpace released a new track called "We're Not Gonna Take It" Download Free in the site.

Discography

Albums

* Australian DVD Chart

Singles

• The Dutch positions are for the Mega Single Sales chart.

Year end positions

2005

• "4ever" #15 (Top 100 Singles), #4 (Top Australian Singles).

• The Secret Life Of... #46 (Top 100 Australian Albums), #18 (Top Australasian Albums).

2006

• "When It All Falls Apart" #11 (Top Australian Singles), #28 (Digital Tracks), #32 (Top 100 Physical Singles), #42 (Top 100 Singles).
• "Everything I'm Not" #13 (Top Australian Singles), #38 (Digital Tracks), #39 (Top 100 Physical Singles), #48 (Top 100 Singles).
• "Revolution" #30 (Top Australian Singles).

• The Secret Life Of... #7 (Top Australian Albums), #10 (Top 100 Australian Albums).
• Exposed...The Secret Life Of... #15 (Top Music DVDs)

EPs

• Sessions@AOL
• The Veronicas: Mtv.com Live EP

Awards

Tours

• In late 2005, The Veronicas supported American musician Ryan Cabrera on a tour through the U.S. along with The Click Five.
• In early 2006, The Veronicas had their first headlining tour in the U.S. supported by October Fall and Jonas Brothers. This tour was sponsored by shoe company Keds who The Veronicas are also campaigners of.
• In April 2006, The Veronicas had their first Australian tour, in which all their shows were sold out.
• In June 2006, The Veronicas performed at a showcase in London in front of only 200 fans, which was their first UK show.
• In June 2006 The Veronicas were an opening act (along with Ashley Parker Angel) for the Ashlee Simpson U.S. summer tour, but after the first few shows Lisa and Jess had to pull out after Lisa got throat nodules and needed to rest.
• In August 2006, The Veronicas returned to Australia for a line of Promotional appearances and a new tour, Revolution Tour, in bigger arenas, celebrating 1 year of being in the Music Industry since the release of 4ever.
• In October 2006, The Veronicas were part of the Coca-Cola Live Tour in Australia with Evermore, End Of Fashion, After The Fall and The Hot Lies. They played before Evermore, so they were not headliners.

Trivia

• Jess is one minute older.
• Everlife did a re-make of "I Could Get Used To This", and "Faded" which was writen by The Veronicas.

References

1. "http://www.blender.com/guide/articles.aspx?ID=2295&src=blender_ed
2. http://ninemsn.video.msn.com/v/en-au/v.htm?g=5ab5023e-6dae-4700-8c6f-f13a92cc0acc&f=imbot_en-au&fg=rss

External links

• Official Site
• Official Myspace
• Official Forum

• Australian female singers
• 1984 births
• Living people
• Italian Australians
• People from Brisbane
• Sicilian Australians
• Australian pop singers
• ARIA Award winners
• Australian singer-songwriters
• Sibling duos