THE SECRETS OF THEIR SUCCESS

Fast Facts:

Pursuit: Vocal harmony pop group comprising Eyal, Jack, Hollie and Cherelle

Definition of success: See below!

As a music act, it’s hard to know when you’ve made it. So many parameters, so many different yardsticks to measure your success by: fame, money, status, notoriety…most extensive criminal record. While my next guests, I’m happy to say, haven’t indulged in the latter, what they do have is that other facet of achievement: association. I ask you, how many bands can claim to have an actor of Jeremy Irons’ stature in their music video? Or to have studied at the same theatre school that turned out Rita Ora, Amy Winehouse, Billie Piper, Emma Bunton – and that’s to name but a few. Not only that but they’ve performed nationwide at gigs, on TV and radio, and made around three-hundred school appearances. Next stop: the world? I can genuinely say it’s a privilege to be welcoming not just one, but all four members of one of the fastest-growing young pop groups in the UK: EverYoung!

“We’re a vocal harmony pop group,” Cherelle starts, for the benefit of the rapidly diminishing public who remain unaware, “who take pride in our vocal arrangements and co-writing. We perform anywhere and everywhere we can.”

“We don’t take ourselves too seriously,” adds Hollie. “And we have a lot of fun both off and on stage. We write some of our own material, which we all enjoy doing, and we sing live everywhere and anywhere! Two boys, two girls – like one direction and little mix put in a blender!”

“We write feel-good music which is meant to brighten up anyone’s day,” Eyal says. “Nothing too serious, but always having a positive message in our songs.”

I ask Jack: why the music business?

“I grew up around music and as a child I was inspired by what my parents used to listen to. Watching other artists perform in front of thousands made me envy what they had achieved. As I got older I realised that the feeling you get on stage is addictive. I wanted to perform anywhere and everywhere! EverYoung gave me the opportunity to do all these things and more.”

Wait a second: it’s possible to inspire your children by getting them to listen to your favourite music? Well: my kids didn’t get that memo. Still it’s a concept that rings true with the other band members too.

“I grew up listening to a lot of different music from my mum and dad,” Hollie echoes, “and I just loved performing from my first karaoke at four years old! After we finished school, we were offered a chance to be in a band together, and none of us could say no – it was just too good an opportunity to miss! We were incredibly lucky to be given a chance to venture into the industry, and we couldn’t be happier.”

Before you start digging out your old CDs (let’s just say I spent my teens in the era somewhere after vinyl and before MP3) and forcing them on your offspring, don’t get too carried away; your influences as a parent only go so far…

“My inspiration came from watching people perform on stage and imagining what it must feel like to have an audience sing back your lyrics and look up to you as a role model,” Eyal recalls. “I get inspired by people’s motivation, energy and passion and I want to be able to motivate people in the same way.”

For Cherelle it was simply a passion for vocal expression:

“I’ve always loved to perform,” she enthuses. “I used to put on shows to my family and friends when I was younger and joined the Sylvia Young Theatre School – full time – in year six. So performing has just always been something I’ve done. I did one year of college after leaving Sylvia’s as did Hollie, then towards the end of that year Sylvia and Simon, our managers, came up with the idea of EverYoung. And seeing as the boys were just finishing school and we were all friends, it just worked.”

To me it all sounds like a bit of a blast: stick four friends together and pack them off round the country to perform to adoring fans. But what’s it really like being part of EverYoung?

“Wake up early and ignore my alarms,” Cherelle says. “If we’re doing a school performance we all meet in a certain place, normally at 6.30 am, and then jump in the car. We get to the school or venue, do a soundcheck, get ready and get onstage. We always meet everyone after we’ve performed – we do signings and pictures. We normally do performances like this multiple times a day.” 

“We spend a lot of time in the car travelling, that’s for sure!” Jack agrees. “But no crowd will ever be the same, no performance will ever sound the same and no feeling on stage will ever feel the same. But the three people I sing with will never change – we experience something different together every day.”

“A typical day in the life of EverYoung isn’t so typical!” Eyal contributes. “We are never really doing the same thing unless we’re in rehearsals. But what I can say is expect a typical day in the life of EverYoung to be very hectic, full of travelling, performing, meet and greets, and then repeat.” 

All that travelling – it’s not wall-to-wall glitz and glamour then..?

“Well, we’re either on the road, or in the studio,” Hollie explains. “Life on the road includes very long drives, with service station food twenty-four-seven – not the best. But then we get to perform on stage in front of different crowds and it’s just the best feeling ever! Then we normally explore whatever town we’re in, and then go back to our hotel, have a sleep, and then do it all again the next day. Studio days normally consist of us four having a jam, recording new material, filming for YouTube, and just generally having a laugh!”

I’ll let you in on a secret here: I’m a bit of a fault-finder. I mean I have to be – can’t just laud on about how great it must be for my guests to live the dream without exploring the negatives – where’s the equality in that? And yet with a group of people so enthusiastic, whose enjoyment is so manifest, I’m struggling to find the down-side. A cause that’s not helped by EverYoung’s profoundly selfless values when it comes to assessing their proudest achievements to date.

“We went to the Isle of Man to do a gig for a few schools,” Cherelle says, “and the reaction we got was absolutely insane – it was the first time, after our performance, we experienced hysteria. But we love all of our fans and can’t believe we’ve reached 60,000 likes on Facebook, the support is unreal.” 

“It was an incredible feeling seeing all our hard work had paid off,” Hollie agrees. “And to have a venue full of people screaming our names and singing our songs was just mental! I actually shed a tear when we finished!”

“The thought of six hundred kids paying to watch us perform was a dream come true,” Jack adds. “The support from then has just grown so much it’s just surreal.”

And it’s those fans who make the hard work worthwhile.

“The difference in reaction from switching on Xmas lights this year to last year,” Eyal enthuses. “People didn’t really know who we were and we were still very much getting our name out there and finding ourselves as a band. This year’s Xmas lights were beyond overwhelming. We had crowds of ten to twenty thousand chanting for us before we even got on stage. Our fans – youngsters – were waiting in the freezing cold for hours just to have a picture and a cuddle and we really did have more youngsters everywhere we performed than ever before.”

Still, nothing comes without a price – what does it really take to be a full time musician?

“We devote every second of every day to our career,” Hollie affirms. “It’s all we want! All four of us sacrificed places at college to pursue music, but I wouldn’t change it for the world!” 

Jack is of a like mind:

“EverYoung has been my life for the past two and a half years. I devote every minute of my day to the band. I don’t think I actually know how to do anything else. I live and breathe music in every aspect and wouldn’t have it any other way.”

“Whenever we are not on tour, we’re writing or working out new covers, or music video ideas etc.,” Cherelle says. “I sacrificed my last two years at college, but if I’d have stayed I would never have got this opportunity.”

But what exactly does all that input equate to?

“I’d say around a hundred to a hundred and twenty hours a week,” Eyal surmises.

Get the picture? Being in a band, touring the country, might sound like a barrel of laughs, but you’d better be prepared to commit to it full time – and then some. So there must be the odd hankering for a normal life from time to time, surely?

“I don’t think I’d say I ‘envy’ my friends who are working in routine vocations,” Hollie considers, “however it is hard sometimes because the ‘working’ hours and the devotion to our jobs is different, so I do miss my family and friends a lot. I envy them when they all get together and I’m at the other end of the country – but they’re so supportive, and I recognise daily how lucky I am, and I forget about everything else.”

Nearest and dearest are also a factor for the other band members:

“I’d love to have more time to see my friends and family,” Eyal says, “but when you get a little older – I’m only nineteen, ha ha! – you begin to realise that it’s not about how many friends you have but about having people supporting you and believing in you. I also never went to university which you could class a sacrifice but this is an opportunity that doesn’t come around very often and I think happiness comes from doing something you love and being on stage is what I love. Everyone has tough days or days when you think it’s easier to give up or you could be earning more money doing something different. But when it comes down to it I’m not an office kind of guy. I’m not looking for fame or money but to peruse something I thoroughly enjoy.” 

Perhaps understandably, Jack finds the comparison between normality and the pop-star life difficult to make:

“What I do as a living is so different from the standard ‘nine to five’. My life is so sporadic at the moment and I don’t know where I’m going to wake up next and whom I’m going to meet next. That is what makes my job so exciting, not knowing. What I do is a dream and I’m living it.”

And Cherelle?

“When we’re travelling in the early hours of the morning and hardly get any sleep yeah, I think, ‘I could so be in bed right now, wake up at a normal hour and do a day of work!’ But then we get onstage and I wouldn’t have any other life!” 

To not want for any other metier – to be so totally fulfilled – it’s a good example of contentment. I ask Cherelle exactly how she defines success:

“In happiness, as strange as it sounds. We love what we’re doing and we love the fact that our fans love what we’re doing. We are happy and proud with how far as four young people we have come. We’ve toured the country, released songs, filmed our first music video in Spain and another with Jeremy Irons. It’s all so much fun as it’s our day to day life, but sometimes I take a step back and really appreciate all that we’ve done.”

“I define success by how happy you are,” Hollie agrees. “As long as you wake up with a smile on your face, excited to go into work or school, or whatever it is that you do, then I think you can count yourself as extremely successful! It’s hard to turn your dreams into a job, so I think you’re a success if you’ve mastered that.”

“When people recognise what you have done and achieved,” adds Jack. “I feel that is success! I don’t measure success in how big your house is or how much money you earn, but by what you give to the people around you. Our music has helped a lot of our fans get through some tough times and I get a feeling of success from that.”

Eyal offers a more succinct interpretation: “By being recognised or highly regarded in your specific field!”

I’m forced to admit it: hearing the words of four young musicians with such a wholesome outlook on life puts a smile on my face. The thing is, I’ve interviewed Olympians, actors, writers, poker professionals, fashion designers – and they all have their own brand of enthusiasm. But one thing strikes a chord throughout the spectrum of achievers in this world: if you don’t care about the people around you, you’re not going to find success. Even so, I’m keen to know the specifics: What advice do Cherelle, Eyal, Jack and Hollie have for you success-seekers out there?

“I’d say just never give up,” Hollie asserts. “And don’t allow anybody to tell you that you can’t do it. You can do anything you put your mind to, and work hard for.“

Jack agrees: “Don’t give up! It’s that simple. Success doesn’t happen overnight and you need to be aware of that. When opportunities come along, grab it with both hands before it’s too late. Work hard and don’t let people knock you down. It will pay off in the end!”

“Never give up at whatever you choose to do,” Cherelle says. “There will always be hurdles and people with opinions. Take them with a pinch of salt, as long as you love what you’re doing and no matter how long it takes never give up.”

“Not everyone will like you, but that’s okay,” Eyal adds. “Believe in yourself before you let anyone else believe in you. Treat people how you would want to be treated and keep your judgments to yourself. Everyone has days when they want to give up but that’s the people that don’t who end up achieving what they set out to.” 

My thanks to Eyal, Cherelle, Jack and Hollie for talking to me and sharing some of the secrets of their success. Thanks also to the amazing Sara French of Republic Media for her assistance in arranging this interview.

For all the latest on the band, and to see that video of StarChaser  featuring Jeremy Irons, head over to their website at www.everyoungmusic.com. Stay up to date on Twitter @EverYoungUK and Facebook at facebook.com/EverYoungUK

Finally EverYoung’s latest single StarChaser is available on iTunes: click below.