Aly & AJ is a teen pop duo consisting of sisters Alyson Renae "Aly" Michalka and Amanda Joy "AJ" Michalka. They were born in Torrance, California, but spent part of their childhood in Seattle, Washington. They are both actresses, singer-songwriters, and guitarists. MTV also premiered their latest movie, Super Sweet 16: The Movie, on July 8, 2007.

Aly & AJ are co-chairpersons for the Children's Advisory Board of the AmberWatch Foundation, and have performed at a benefit concert to raise money for the charity.

Huckleberry Toys released Limited Edition Hello Kitty Aly & AJ dolls to selected Target stores. Toys R Us is currently selling a line of the dolls which will be available November 15, 2007.

Early years

Aly and AJ have had an interest for music since they were very young. "I think it started when we were three and five. Just singing in church together and in school plays," Aly said. That later moved onto just AJ as Aly started to act very early, when AJ was nine years old. The sisters both live in a gated community in Calabasas, California with their parents. Their mother, Carrie Michalka, used to sing in a Christian group called "J.C. Band". Alyson also had a starring role in Phil of the Future on the Disney Channel alongside Ricky Ullman.

Music

Aly & AJ's debut album, Into the Rush, went Platinum as of May 2007. The song "No One" was featured in the Disney motion picture Ice Princess. The song "Do You Believe in Magic", written and originally recorded by The Lovin' Spoonful, added a rock edge. This cover was used in the soundtrack of the made-for-TV Disney Channel original movie, Now You See It, in which Alyson held the starring role of Allison. Also, their cover of Katrina and the Waves' "Walking on Sunshine" was used in the Disney motion picture Herbie: Fully Loaded. They have been involved in various Walt Disney Records projects, some of which are covers. These include soundtracks and compilations and are primarily "Rush" was also featured on Movietunes.

The "Aly & AJ Concert" took place on July 24, 2005 at the Henry Fonda theater located in Hollywood, California. The aired concert was cut to five songs and interviews (filmed October 15 and October 16, 2005). The concert included songs from Into the Rush. Aly and AJ opened for The Cheetah Girls in December 2005 on the girls' "Cheetah-licious Christmas Tour".

On September 19, 2006, Aly and AJ were nominated for "Contemporary Inspirational Artist of the Year" (also known as Christian Artist of the Year) for the 2006 American Music Awards, which were held on November 21, 2006. They did not take home the award. Gospel R&B artist Kirk Franklin took the award for his first time instead. Besides being nominated for an award, they introduced Nelly Furtado's performance of her new song ("Say It Right") along with 2006's Dancing With the Stars runner-up Mario Lopez.

On September 26, 2006, their album, Acoustic Hearts of Winter was released. On this album, Aly and AJ perform traditional Christmas songs, including "Joy to the World" and "Silent Night", as well as original songs, "Greatest Time of Year" and "Not This Year".

On May 8, 2007, they released a brief clip of their new single called "Potential Breakup Song". The full song is currently available for request on Radio Disney, and available for download on iTunes as part of their new album, 'Insomniatic'. The album was released on July 10, 2007.

AJ has stated that the song "Something More" is about her and her first boyfriend.

Aly & AJ and the Christian music scene

Along with making music for the mainstream audience, Aly & AJ, who are both very open about their faith, have become significant in the Christian music rock scene. "Never Far Behind" was only released on Christian rock radio. It went to #1 on Radio & Records (R&R) Christian CHR.

Although Aly & AJ are both very open about their Christian faith, they do not want to be labeled as Christian music artists. In an interview with Blender magazine in June 2006, the girls said that their music comes from a Christian perspective. "We don't ever wanna preach or shove anything down people's throats, but we want our music to be inspiring."

In an interview with Blender magazine, the two expressed their disbelief in the theory of evolution, with the interviewer asking what their thoughts were, with AJ saying- "no," and with Aly saying: "Are they teaching that in schools now?" When told that it had been taught for the last quarter of the century, she replied, "I think that's kind of disrespectful, anything that has to do with anybody's beliefs on religion, that should stay out of the classroom. I mean, I think people should be able to pray in school, if people were into that. Everybody should just do their own gig", and AJ added "Evolution is silly. Monkeys? Um, no."