AJ Michalka
AJ Michalka is an American actor, singer-songwriter, and guitarist born on April 10, 1991, in Torrance, California, whose work spans both the music and entertainment industries.
She trained at Young Actors Space, and her career has developed across television, film, and voice acting. Her work as a television actor and film actor has kept her active on screen, while her voice acting credits add another dimension to her performing career. She has also worked as a model, making her one of the more versatile figures to come out of the early 1990s generation of American entertainers.
On the music side, Michalka works as a singer-songwriter and guitarist, and her output touches on several genres including pop, pop rock, acoustic rock, and electropop. She composes as well, giving her a hand in shaping her material from the ground up rather than simply performing songs written by others. Her authorized recording name includes Amanda Joy, which she has used in connection with her music work.
Her range across pop and rock subgenres — from the electronic textures of electropop to the more stripped-back feel of acoustic rock — reflects the breadth of her musical interests as a performer and composer.
Quotes by AJ Michalka
A couple of fans followed my sister and I all the way to the airport from a live show that we did in Canada. Our driver had to pull over and fake a turn to lose them, but they actually showed up in the airport just before we went through customs.
We love U2, adore their music, just blown away by who they are as artists. They just seem like really good people.
We hope to win over new listeners who would normally never listen to an Aly & AJ record. That's our greatest expectation we've set for ourselves.
We had experienced so much as kids, and I kind of feel like we learned a lot about the industry that put a little bit of a bad taste in our mouth, whether it was a couple of people we worked with or whether it was just trying to find the right inspiration or what have you.
I barely listen to the radio, to be honest. I don't want anything infiltrating my ears that I don't want to possibly put out in my song.
We got lucky because we both happened to land TV shows. It was easy to ride that wave as long as possible because making music takes up so much time.
It's amazing what happens when you're confident as an artist. The writing completely changes, and you're no longer depressed about your sound or what it's going to be or if people are going to like it.
I'm sure it's 10 times easier to handle the criticism and the paparazzi and all of that stuff with somebody by your side that you can share some of that with.
I feel bonded to 'Take Me.' I'm proud of it. It's empowering, and at the end of the day, it's a pretty solid pop hit.