Connie Brittonwon't be the only musical talent in the James family on ABC's Nashville.
ABC's upcoming first-year drama has enlisted sisters Lennon and Maisy Stella to recur as Maddie and Daphne James, the musically gifted daughters to Britton's fading country star Rayna James.
Nashville stars Britton as an aging country music superstar who is paired with Hayden Panettiere's rising star Juliette Barnes in a bid to revive her career. The series, which hails from Callie Khouri (Thelma and Louise), R.J. Cutler and Steve Buchanan, is as much about the country music scene as it is a family drama, exploring the public and personal lives of its two stars.
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The sisters were brought in after the original pilot was filmed, with producers deciding to recast the roles after hearing Lennon, 13, and Maisy, 6, audition -- well before their rendition of Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend" went viral on YouTube.
"When Maisy auditioned for us we were completely blown away. Then she told us she had a 13-year-old sister named Lennon and that the two of them often sang together. So we asked them both to come in and audition," Cutler tells The Hollywood Reporter. "Even though the parts of Rayna and Teddy's [Eric Close] daughters had been written for a 6- and an 8-year-old, we decided on the spot to change the roles to fit Maisy and Lennon's ages. Listening to them sing literally brought tears to our eyes. I'm not just saying that. Their voices moved us to tears. We knew we had to cast them -- and this was months and months before they decided to post a video to YouTube."
To date, Lennon and Maisy's harmonious cover of "Call Your Girlfriend" -- in which they sing and provide a beat using butter containers -- has registered more than 7.7 million views on YouTube in just over three months. The sisters have also covered songs from Jason Mraz, Jessie J, Missy Higgins and more, all available on their YouTube channel, which has more than 103,000 subscribers and 16 million video views.
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Lennon and Maisy, who will appear in the pilot as siblings Maddie and Maisy, respectively, will also have their time to perform, including as part of a talent show in what's scheduled to be Nashville's third episode, "Someday You'll Call My Name."
Check out an exclusive first look the musical siblings in the photos below, as well as their rendition of "Call Your Girlfriend," and hit the comments with your thoughts.
Nashville premieres Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 10 p.m. on ABC.
Email: Lesley.Goldberg@thr.com; Twitter: @Snoodit
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