Aly & AJ Dug Themselves Out From the Past

Aly and AJ Michalka, better known by their alliterative stage name Aly & AJ, wanted to avoid a sophomore slump. It was 2007, and the sisters had already cultivated a groundswell of young listeners thanks to their involvement with the House of Mouse and a 2005 rock-heavy debut, Into the Rush. But their ambitions were bigger than what their corporate overlords could provide. “It wasn’t sexy for the radio to be playing artists that were on Radio Disney,” AJ now explains. So they made a strategic decision to pivot their next album, Insomniatic, and embrace a poppier sound. “We thought, If we really want to hit mainstream radio, we have to go more in the electronic-pop space. That’s why we wrote ‘Potential Breakup Song’ and ‘Like Whoa,’” AJ says.

“Potential Breakup Song,” is, of course, Aly & AJ’s most enduring hit, which the duo later retooled as an explicit millennial anthem. But it’s been almost 20 years since the original. The sisters have since steered that career into becoming independent artists with two stellar albums on their own label, and a third, Silver Deliverer, dropping sometime this spring. The hope is their old fans will keep coming along for the ride. “We’ve always felt like we were very much stuck in the past,” says Aly during a conversation about the evolution of the duo’s lead singles. “A lot of that was because of growing up in the public eye at a young age. There’s a part of us that’s always going to be there and not change, but we’re not Aly & AJ from the Disney Channel any more.”

The Song

Aly Michalka: The most important thing about creating this record was making sure we had a hand in writing it. We didn’t want songs delivered to us by a group of songwriters. They had to be written solely by us or in a collaboration with others.

AJ Michalka: I remember being at the studio with Dan James and Leah Haywood, who wrote “Rush” with us. We were sitting at a piano. Dan started playing this beautiful line, and Aly and I hummed along. All of a sudden, the verses took form. Aly and I were really inspired by U2’s Joshua Tree. We felt like “Rush” had a beautiful backdrop to it in the sense that the dialogue was empowering for the underdogs. We felt like, We’re young teens in a world where some people don’t feel like they belong. How do we write a song that makes them feel like they’re seen and heard?

The Bet

Aly: It was pretty obvious to us that “Rush” was supposed to be the first song.

AJ: We got really lucky with Hollywood Records. They trusted us because they knew we were writing all of our material. That got muddied a little bit later, but they were like, We signed these girls for a reason. It wasn’t normal having that power.

The Payoff

Aly: We were hoping this would chart. It was definitely something that mattered to us. But we knew it was going to be an uphill battle given that the radio wasn’t playing artists as young as we were. We were only getting played on Radio Disney, which was frustrating because we knew that the song deserved to be heard beyond that.

AJ: It was an exciting time because that’s where Aly and I got recognized for our music. We weren’t like, Oh, we’ve got to take a song down on Radio Disney in order to get play on the mainstream. It was more like, Well, it’s working over here, so let’s stick with what’s working. More importantly, though, we’ve had instances where artists we love told us “Rush” inspired them. We had a cool encounter with H.E.R. where she said “Rush” was where she got her excitement toward electric guitar. Beach Bunny decided to start a band because of Into the Rush.

The Song

Aly: We always laugh because there isn’t a specific story linked to the inspiration behind the song. We hadn’t dated much. We were still under the age of 20.

AJ: The beauty behind “Potential Breakup Song” is that it’s not about someone. We would’ve already revealed who it is. A part of me is like, It’s so cool we can have a song that doesn’t give that power to the guy.

Aly: It was also one of the first times we worked with a beat initially to inspire a song, because we wanted to sound pop.

AJ: You lose your autonomy a little bit on the second record. Not only are you trying to make sure you don’t come out with a dud of an album, but you want to beat what you already put out. It was actually a bit of a battle with what we wanted to do creatively.

Aly: You taste a form of success and you want to maintain that. So the label starts getting their hands involved in a way they didn’t the first time around.

The Bet

AJ: It did feel obvious that “Potential Breakup Song” was incredibly hooky. But Aly and I originally were pushing for a song that was leaning a little more rock, like “Insomniatic.”

Aly: I wanted “Bullseye.”

AJ: The head of the label told us “Potential Breakup Song” would bring us the most success. I’m glad it turned out that way. But it makes you wonder what would’ve happened if we chose a rockier song. Would it have done as well and steered our career in more of the authentic direction we were wanting?

The Payoff

Aly: I wish we had stayed more organic in our production like Into the Rush and hadn’t followed this electronic-pop phase that labels were encouraging artists to partake in. It was a sore spot for us because it still didn’t get the radio love we were hoping it would get, and it was trying to fight against the preconceived notion that we were very young women in this space writing music. The growing pains around that were being felt, which were exacerbated by “Potential Breakup Song.” But the label was happy. We also didn’t like that the second single was “Like Whoa.” We weren’t a big fan of the song when it was finished.

AJ: “Potential Breakup Song” got some interesting accolades from adult-friendly publications. It wasn’t just about Radio Disney feeding the teenhood. Time had written about the song very complimentarily and Rivers Cuomo, from Weezer, said he thought it was one of the best pop songs of the year. Aly and I were like, What the hell? 

The Song

Aly: The demo was written without knowing that the pandemic was right around the corner. It was faster and it was very ’80s. Then we did a big rewrite with our producer, and he saw something in the song that made him feel like we could tune it up a bit. At the beginning, I wasn’t a big fan.

AJ: The reason she wasn’t a fan was because of that demo. It would have felt so inappropriate if we released that vibe in the heart of the pandemic. Once we got in the studio and slowed it down, it was a no-brainer that “Slow Dancing” was going to be on the record. It felt so timely because it was like, if you have a loved one that you’re not living with, how do we figure out a moment to capture on a song that would define a relationship where you can’t be with them right now?

Aly: It was also a big deal to have such a long outro with the saxophone because that was never something we’ve done. It felt like a risk for us to take.

The Bet

Aly: We agreed because of the message behind “Slow Dancing.” It spoke to what was happening in the country at the time. But if the pandemic hadn’t happened, it wouldn’t have been the lead single. We probably would’ve chosen “Pretty Places.”

AJ: It totally would’ve been “Pretty Places.” Here we were as an indie act being able to make these decisions on our own. But the pressure was still on in the sense that I really love all this material, so what do I even start with? It didn’t feel like “Pretty Places” was the right move in terms of the lyrics and what the song stood for. We weren’t in a pretty place at the time.

The Payoff

Aly: We measured it with the fact that “Potential Breakup Song” was having a viral moment on TikTok, which coincided with us releasing “Slow Dancing.” That helped drive awareness to the song in a way that might not have had as many eyeballs on it. I think people were pleasantly surprised we put out an album that was fresh and didn’t feel like it was stuck back in the early 2000s.

The Song

AJ: It’s a greeting and it’s a method to part ways with someone. It was a special message to our fans who had stuck with us for so long. Aly and I have lived our lives on tour. We didn’t go to regular school. It’s hard to encapsulate what that feels like in a song, but I think “With Love From” does that. It’s our version of a journey song.

Aly: There’s one line, “I told you that I’d change, but I guess I never did.” With relationships, there’s a lot of times where you tell your partner you’re going to change this thing about yourself and assume you’ll get around to it. Sometimes you do, and other times you don’t. There’s an interesting sentiment about growing up and realizing that maybe you’re going to let yourself and others down, and other times you’re going to surprise yourself with growth and change.

The Bet

Aly: The other song we thought about as a lead single was “Blue Dress,” only because we thought the album was going to be called Blue Dress. Then we came to the idea of an overall message of “with love from” that made more sense as a symbolic gesture.

The Payoff

AJ: With Love From gave us something beautiful with our touring career. It brought in new audience members. Aly and I were able to play at incredible venues on that tour that were never offered to us in the past. We sold out the Greek Theatre and the Ryman Auditorium. I credit the record and “With Love From” for reigniting it all.

The Song

Aly: There’s still so much misogyny that exists in this industry and country. We’ve all seen that since the election. It’s relevant to all women’s lives. “What It Feels Like” is about embracing growing older and womanhood in whatever way that might mean to someone.

AJ: The year we wrote this song, it was the first year where I was like, “I’m in my early 30s now, my jeans fit differently, my skin has changed.” All these things I thought had remained the same and were going to continue were actually different. There’s nothing wrong with that. So how do we embrace that as women? It’s a song that feels more time-capsuled than others we’ve written, to be honest. We want to bring on the excitement of what the future holds. We’re not afraid.

The Bet

AJ: We’re able to make our own decisions independently. This song just felt right, especially with Aly being a new mom and me being an aunt — us experiencing life through the eyes of a child and understanding what that’s going to look like for us when we go back on the road. It was a comfortable place to land as our lead single.

The Payoff

Aly: We’re no longer concerned with the charts. And we know the magic of the music is because of our relationship as sisters. A lot of times, the reason why bands break up is because of egos, which is such a shame. But we’re not going anywhere. We know that we add to each other as artists, writers, and singers, so why take that component away? I don’t see us doing solo music in the future. It always felt like it’s supposed to be us together.

AJ: I couldn’t agree more. I would never want to do this alone.