Macedo is a musical duo consisting of identical-twin sisters Michelle Alicia and Melissa Ann Macedo.

Early life

Twin sisters Michelle and Melissa were born in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

. Growing up in a musical family, the sisters began playing piano at age three and Michelle began playing classical guitar at age 11. The duo's primary songwriter, she began writing at an early age. Melissa is responsible for the vocal harmonies and melodies. The girls' musical influences included

Zero 7 Zero 7 are an English musical duo consisting of Henry Binns and Sam Hardaker. They began as studio engineers and in 1997 formed the group Zero 7. Their debut album, '' Simple Things'', was released in 2001 in which their song "Destiny" stayed ...

, Feist,

Ella Fitzgerald Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917June 15, 1996) was an American jazz singer, sometimes referred to as the "First Lady of Song", "Queen of Jazz", and "Lady Ella". She was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing, timing, in ...

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her sta ...

and

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop si ...

. They attended an all-girl Catholic high school in Pasadena, where Michelle wrote most of the songs for her solo album ''La Luna''.

Musical career

2007-2010: ''La Luna'' (Michelle}

During her first year of college Michelle recorded and produced her debut solo album, ''La Luna'', for by OutTake Records in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. She recorded the album in ten hours, playing every instrument. The sisters separated for the first time when they attended different colleges. Melissa attended Columbia University (Barnard College) in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where she received dual BA degrees in Gender Studies and Theatre. Michelle attended

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

, receiving a BFA in

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

2010-2011: ''Flags & Boxes''

In 2010 Michelle and Melissa founded MoonGold Records, and release their music on that label. While they were apart Michelle wrote their first album, ''Flags & Boxes'', recorded primarily in Boston with producer Kush Mody and engineers Nils Montan and Andrew Oedel at Emerson College radio station

WERS WERS (88.9 FM) is one of Emerson College's two radio stations (the other being campus station WECB), located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Programming features over 20 different styles of music and news, including live performances an ...

. The album was mixed by Justin Gerrish (

Vampire Weekend Vampire Weekend is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 2006 and currently signed to Columbia Records. The band was formed by lead vocalist and guitarist Ezra Koenig, multi-instrumentalist Rostam Batmanglij, drummer Chris Tomson, ...

, RaRa Riot). Its songs were inspired by the girls' college experiences and their travels in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. Each sister sings and plays several instruments,}. In live performances Michelle plays piano and guitar, and Melissa plays violin and sings. After the release of their first album,

Maria Menounos Maria Menounos (, gr, Μαρία Μενούνος ; born June 8, 1978) is an American journalist, television presenter and actress. She has hosted ''Extra'' and ''E! News''; she was a TV correspondent for ''Today'', ''Access Hollywood'', and co- ...

of ''

Extra Extra or Xtra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper * ''Extra!'', an American me ...

'' told

944 Magazine ''944 Magazine'' was a regional fashion, entertainment and lifestyle publication that operated in the United States from 2001 to 2011. History The original 944 Media company was founded in Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix in 2001 by Marc S. Lotenberg, ...

that Macedo was her favorite musical group. Their music is noted for its vocal harmonies and instrumental range of instruments, including

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

and

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

. and the album was reviewed in ''Vogue India''.

2014: ''Paper Doll''

Met with praise, Michelle and Melissa Macedo released their EP ''"Paper Doll"'' on February 4, 2014. A single from the EP, ''"Your Skin"'', was premiered by

WNYC WNYC is the trademark and a set of call letters shared by WNYC (AM) and WNYC-FM, a pair of nonprofit, noncommercial, public radio stations located in New York City. WNYC is owned by New York Public Radio (NYPR), a nonprofit organization that di ...

's ''

Soundcheck A sound check is the preparation that takes place before a concert, speech, or similar performance to adjust the sound on the venue's sound reinforcement or public address system. The performer and the audio engineers run through a small port ...

''. ''Soundcheck'' praised the single, saying "And with whipsmart lines like ''"I handed you a sentence you would never forget"'' and later, ''"I'm about to kiss my worst critic"'', "Your Skin" proves to be an equally catchy and emotional break-up kiss-off anthem.". "Paper Doll" was co-produced by Khris Kellow (

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

Patti LaBelle Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American R&B singer, actress and businesswoman. LaBelle is referred to as the " Godmother of Soul". She began her career in the early 1960s as lead singe ...

) Another single from the EP, ''"Like Me Most"'', was premiered by '' LadyGunn Magazine''. ''LadyGunn'' describes their music, "While they look great on screen, it's their music that shines through the most. They have been compared to

Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She has released five albums from 1996 to 2020, which have all reached the top 20 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Apple has received numerous awards an ...

meets

Regina Spektor Regina Ilyinichna Spektor (russian: Регинa Ильинична Спектор, ; born February 18, 1980) is a Russian–born American singer, songwriter, and pianist. After self-releasing her first three records and gaining popularity in ...

and at times have R+B influences and hooks that make you sing them out loud, full volume like you are saying all the things you never could to an ex.". The third song featured was ''"17"'', which was premiered by ''

Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...

''. ''Paste'' says the twins are known to be completely opposite in personalities; "The sisters may look alike, but that’s where the similarities end: each brought her own personality to their work, the result is a lesson in duality and teamwork (and a damn nice sounding one, at that).".

2017: Ghost Town

Michelle and Melissa Macedo released their single "Ghost Town" in April, 2017 hinting that the upcoming album will be ''"haunting and raw"''. The following single "Supernatural" was released with a music video via PulseSpikes.

Acting career

Michelle and Melissa have always had a passion for acting. While at Emerson, Michelle appeared in the lead role of Eve Vaughn in the

made-for-television movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

Age Appropriate Age appropriateness refers to people behaving as predicted by their perspective timetable of development. The perspective timetable is embedded throughout people's social life, primarily based on socially-agreed age expectations and age norms. Fo ...

'', directed by Jason Perlman. Also at Emerson, she starred in

Kevin Bright Kevin S. Bright (born November 15, 1954) is an American television executive producer and director whose credits include '' Dream On'' and '' Friends''. Early life Born to a Jewish-American family in New York City, Bright attended the East Sid ...

pilot '' Browne at Midnight'' . The twins have also appeared together on television shows, including ''" One Day"'', as characters ''Tick'' (Melissa) and ''Tack'' (Michelle). Melissa was featured in a Pantene Pro-V commercial which also featured three songs from ''Flags & Boxes''. The twins also starred in a comedy Web Series "Time Lapsed" featured on ''Funny Or Die''. In 2015, Michelle and Melissa co-founded a theater company called, World Kin Ensemble, which produces shows that combat sexual assault on college campuses. Currently, they also tour with and act in the show, ''Dirty Talk.'' In 2016, Michelle & Melissa both filmed starring roles in a new movie "Blood Heist" with

James Franco James Edward Franco (born April 19, 1978) is an American actor and filmmaker. For his role in '' 127 Hours'' (2010), he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Franco is known for his roles in films, such as Sam Raimi's ''Spider-Ma ...

. Michelle & Melissa played the lead singer and guitarist of Shane's band on the Netflix show

Girlboss Girlboss is a neologism which denotes a woman "whose success is defined in opposition to the masculine business world in which she swims upstream". Popularised by Sophia Amoruso in her 2014 book ''Girlboss'', the concept's ethos has been descri ...

released in April, 2017.

Discography

Albums

* ''Flags & Boxes'' (2011) * ''Paper Doll'' (2014)

Singles

* ''Ghost Town'' (2017) * ''Supernatural'' (2017)] * ''Valentine's Day'' (2013)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macedo American pop girl groups