The Role of 2CELLOS
In early 2011, 2 Croatian friends named Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser decided to create a music group called 2Cellos. Luka and Stjepan both went to the Academy of Music in Zagreb, Croatia, and each at different schools in the UK. Their whole idea was to make covers of popular songs, but only using cellos. The debut album included a cover of "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson, which was a smash hit for them. This launched their career into the mainstream, where they released several albums which all did very well for them In2ition in 2013, Celloverse in 2015, Score in 2017, and Dedicated in 2021. All of these albums did amazing and were actually very creative in how they made the songs work with just 2 cellos. Sadly, the group broke up in 2022, so that Stjepan could focus on his solo career, and Luka could focus more on his wife and son. Even though "Smooth Criminal" was their biggest hit at the time, I think the song that 2Cellos is most known for is a cover of AC/DC's "Thunderstruck" which they released in Celloverse.
I think that the role of the performer is a very important one. They have to be amazing singers, but they also have to be the face of the music. Writers are amazing, don't get me wrong, but the performer is the one that makes the piece of music come to life. Different singers will also have different takes on how the music should or should not be performed. The original artist might think of the song one way, but someone else might think that the song could fit a completely different genre. This has happened quite often, especially with the development of the internet, where creativity can thrive. Cover artists will even change the original song in ways that some original musicians would just never think about, and it often sounds amazing. Another song that 2Cellos has done, which I think shows off their skill, is their cover of "Wherever I Go" originally done by OneRepublic.
"Wherever I Go" cover by 2Cellos released 8 March 2022, original by OneRepublic
“2Cellos to End? Stjepan Hauser Announces Break.” Total Croatia, 20 Apr. 2023, total-croatia-news.com/lifestyle/end-to-2cellos-hauser-announces-break/. Accessed 5 Apr. 2024
Monger, James. “2Cellos Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More.” AllMusic, AllMusic, www.allmusic.com/artist/2cellos-mn0002706760. Accessed 5 Apr. 2024.
As soon as I saw the title, I knew I wanted to comment on this. First off, I love 2Cellos!! I was debating whether to do them as my Role Performer or the one I picked because I love their music. If you have not heard their ‘Games of Thrones Medley’ it’s so good! I love it because of how beautiful it is and it’s a great cover. I also love their cover of the Godfather theme song. I was also heartbroken to find out their split but they did a fantastic job on doing covers that are so beautifully played by 2 cellos. I do think Thunderstruck was really iconic because of how aggressive they played in the video. Them trying to compete with one another as the audience is acting shocked because the era that they’re in does not condone that kind of music. It really added to the passion of what they were doing. Luka, I believe, is on the right of the performance of Thunderstruck and my favorite part of that performance is when he is beating the back of the cello. I think you did a great job on your blog post and picked a very great duo performer. I like the insight you provided and I also agree that doing cover music allows the Artist to create something different with the music that can be really creative and different that what the original artist did.
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