Carly and Martina

At first glance Carly and Martina might look like your average teenagers, but they're powerhouses making music with a message. Music was ingrained in the 16-year-old twins who were both classically and jazz trained in playing piano since the age of four. Their dad - a music history connoisseur - filled their ears with only the rich sounds of classic pop. Along the way, the Chicago-based musicians found themselves somewhere in the middle - fusing their old - school pop upbringing with Taylor Swift's Red era.

But it wasn't until they were 11 that the strong-willed musical duo began songwriting. By sixth grade, the sisters were both experiencing bullying and as a result songwriting became a cathartic outlet. They turned their personal battles into positivity, writing the anti-bullying anthem "Make Me Happy" in 2014.

The success of their first single caused a chain reaction for the girls. "Make Me Happy" emotionally resonated with fans, helping the musical duo gain a large, loyal fan base on social media of over 250K fans. It's something that's in part due to their overwhelming sense of positivity and desire to connect with their fan base, but has also grown due to sharing a plethora of acoustic originals and covers during the past eight months.

In 2017, the sister duo got the opportunity to talk about the importance of using their music to instill confidence in others during a during a TEDxTalk. They’ve also continued to make a difference with their music in a recent partnership with United Way of Metro Chicago, helping underprivileged kids through songwriting workshops in the local communities.

Now, Carly and Martina aren't trying to make the next big party anthem: they're focused on empowering others and being unapologetically themselves. Carly and Martina have collaborated with an array of songwriters for their next chapter including Victoria Shaw (Garth Brooks, Christina Aguilera), Big Al Anderson (Zac Brown Band, Meghan Trainor) and Marty Dodson (Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney). They're not limited by genres, but inspired by catchy pop hooks and acoustic elements, producing their own work and playing their own instruments live.