Juna N Joey: A look inside the world of new country

Pop-country sibling duo Juna N Joey crossed the pond from Nashville all the way to the UK to embark on a national school tour. Alongside their performances, the pair will host discussions about anti-bullying and potentially new ways to create healthier environments. Here, Headliner gets an in-depth scoop into their come-up, how they discovered their hearts in country music, debut single, and social media. They share that their collaboration did not start until Joey was invited to join Juna during her piano lesson. With that, their harmonies were born…

What does music mean to you?

Juna: When I say it is my life and has been since I was four—I am literally not joking—I started at a very young age and it is all I wanted to do with my life path—Music picked me! Joey and I have been going to arts schools since seventh grade and in lessons after school. I play piano, keyboards and guitar. Learning the violin now. Music not only makes me happy—it is very healing to me and I think most people feel the same way. I am always finding ways to improve myself. Joey and I started with classical—we even sang opera in several languages at school. So I appreciate all forms of music.

Joey: Well, it’s a little different for me. I was into sports and at about age eight Juna’s piano teacher asked if I wanted to join in one of her lessons, and the rest is history. We also went to an arts high school and now I go to Berklee School Of Music in Boston, MA; my major is Songwriting. Juna goes to an online school for professional students and she will graduate next year, and then joins me at Berklee. I love all aspects of music from theory to writing and learning new chords, and I also play the sax.

Could you talk us through the moment when you decided you want to make music as a duo?

Juna: It really did not come to mind until I noticed Joey’s genuine interest—at first we went to School Of Rock and we were in a rock band. So as a duo - it was when Joey and I discovered that we discovered our hearts are with country so that is when the harmonies were born.

Joey: Like I said earlier— the day I was waiting for her at a lesson and was asked to join by her teacher—I guess you can say Juna N Joey were born that very day.

How does working together affect your sibling relationship?

Juna: I could not ask for a better business partner—Joey is by far the best big brother to have. He is kind and considerate of me for the most part, and a real gentleman. We have our moments —we are normal—usually over music. To his credit—he is a skilled musician who loves his craft and our work ethic is on par with one another — so I am very lucky — he always lets me win. I would say that music has made our natural bond even stronger.

Joey: Juna and I really love each other and I cannot imagine what this business would be like with someone whose goals do not match up. There is no one else I would rather do this with. This is a tough gig and she makes it bearable—sharing the ups and downs and being together makes it easier.

You released your debut single Stay Young in 2019, how do you think you’ve improved since then?

Juna: Wow—when we listen to old stuff we are like- ‘how did our manager see anything in us’? We sound and look so young, but then we thought we were so grown up. We cannot wait to release our “adult” version of our music — it has grown with us I would say.

Joey: Again I agree with Juna, although we were “pretty good” for our age, I feel like I grew up so much so quickly, and it is reflected in our more mature melodies and lyrics. We wrote that song when we were like 11 and 13. We are so anxious to get this sophomore project out and then collaborate with hit writers in Nashville and that is the project I am already anticipating.

How involved are you in the production process?

Juna: Very much. Producers in Nashville are very easy to work with—they listen and are professional—we send in our guitar vocals and we go in the studio and track—our manager is old school—we're in the room with the musicians. If we need to add a rift or embellish on the track they come out of their recording rooms and listen to us and we collaborate with them also. That is rare though the musicians are amazing and it is magic. Then we just go into the booth and do our thing and we listen to it and if we can improve it we go back in and the producer gives us ideas, and if it works we keep it.

Joey: We do as much pre-production as possible so when we go into the actual studio we are prepared—however, when the musicians make it a “real song” it is different from the guitar vocal. It is awesome to watch it come to life. During the pandemic we learned Pro Tools and we did some recording at home like Drive Me Crazy and COVID Covers - an EP we did at home during COVID. We do our covers ourselves with our guitar player in his local studio.

Can you see younger audiences gravitating towards country music because of your social media presence?

Juna: Absolutely, very young kids are asking for relationship advice on our DMs. Many tell us they didn’t like country until they heard us—I think Joey and I are becoming unofficial ambassadors of country music here in the UK, especially some schools have suggested. You should read our DM’s; some are very amusing.

Joey: I get a lot of messages from elementary thru grandmothers and fathers —so all ages really. Most are extremely flattering. Our manager told us that there are actually five million UK country fans. So young people are beginning to love country —I think social media is a big part of that. You also have awesome radio and festivals—The British Country Fest, LeeStock, C2C, TN Fields and Nashville To London. I think country music is here to stay in the UK.

What can people expect from your live set on your upcoming school tour across the UK?

Juna: We toured with UK artist Twinnie last year and were surprised at how positive the audience was toward our set. So this year we bumped it up with relevant covers and more originals so it is better this year I think. Our sets are mixed with our original music and we researched what was popular in the UK so we added a few covers like artists that have toured or have had hits on the radio here and we adjusted from there. They really seem to like our set—meeting the kids is just the best part.

What initially inspired the theme for your upcoming single More Than A Maybe?

Juna: We wanted a love song and our co-writer Bill Diluigi came up with the title and he asked the question “you know when you are hoping for more than a maybe” and we said that is it—and it came tougher with the chorus.

Joey: We also needed an up rocking tune for our EP so I focused on the melody and playing the chords, starting with the key of B and chord progressions and it just became the melody.

Are you planning to release any bigger projects this year?

Juna: Yes, we have tracked our acoustic version of our new songs enough for an EP or a full project. Our label is lining up the right producer in Nashville for us now. So it will be in the works when we return home.

Joey: We have an interesting mix on the next EP— I wrote two songs myself that made the project so that is exciting for me personally. We are excited to put out this one and then follow with a third project that we co-wrote with top writers in Nashville. So expect a consistent stream of digital and radio releases. We plan to bump up our content and make as many videos as possible.

‘More Than A Maybe’ is out now on all streaming platforms.