NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Even though Juna and Joey Defeo are just 16 and 19 years old, they have been singing together for quite a while. They got their affinity for music from their grandparents. Their paternal grandfather was an opera singer in Italy and their maternal grandfather was in a country band who played “pretty much anything with strings.”
Joey Defeo quipped, “Our parents just sing in the shower so it kind of skipped a generation.”
Juna Defeo started singing at age three or four and started taking piano as well. Joey Defeo, on the other hand, was 100% into sports.
He stated, “I played baseball, basketball, football, and soccer. I had no intention of doing music.”
One day he was listening to his sisters’ voice lesson and started humming. The teacher asked, “Do you sing?” “Nah,” replied Joey Defeo, ‘I play sports.”
Eventually, he did take music lessons. The Defeos and a couple of other kids they met at a “School of Rock” program where they initially formed a rock band and covered songs by Led Zeppelin and Blondie. They did that for a year before breaking off and forming the pop-country duo that they are today.
Juna Defeo and Joey Defeo realize that brother and sister duos are rare, but they are trying to promote sibling harmony.
“It’s kind of unique to sing and play with your sibling and you can practice all the time,” Joey Defeo said.
When they lived full-time in West Palm Beach they attended Dreyfoos School of the Arts. The school focuses on classical music and the fundamentals of music. Not only did they learn to sing, they learned to sing the other languages in which many of the classics were written. Classes like “Music Theory” helped hone their songwriting skills.
Now that Joey Defeo has graduated high school, he attends Berklee College of Music in Boston online and Juna Defeo attends an online private school as well.
Juna Defeo said, “I switched over to online school this past year. It’s been great to go on tour and do other things and also do school at the same time.”
However appearing on Nickelodeon’s “America’s Most Musical Family” and touring with “American Idol” alum Cade Foehner, Juna N Joey has experienced major growth as it has garnered a large following.
The band is also known for their exceptional covers of songs from its favorite artists, like FGL’s “Simple,” Lauren Alaina/Jon Pardi’s “Getting Over Him” and Kenny Chesney/Kelsey Ballerini’s “Half of My Hometown.”
Earlier this year, the siblings released their first single, ”Something Good to Miss” which demonstrates not only their innate vocal aptitude but their songwriting capability as well. Being siblings, they write and sing about love and heartache in much the same way that the group, Lady A does.
Since moving to Nashville, the duo has begun writing songs with seasoned songwriters and their experiences in school have given them a head start in the process.
With the release of “Til Your Heart Breaks,” Juna N Joey put its own fresh, contemporary spin on a classic theme – heartache. The track tells the story of a narrator enduring his first heartbreak and feeling the crushing emotions that accompany the experience of losing someone. This is the perfect song that not only highlights the pairs’ comprehensive musical abilities but especially their unmatched, heartfelt, sibling harmony.
Written alongside Kaylianne Lowe and Doug Lowe, the duo describes the pain of a relationship falling apart with lyrics such as, “‘Til your heart breaks / You can’t see the reason for a good cry / You don’t know the pain of a goodbye / And you wonder why everyone hates heartache / Until your heart breaks.”
When the pandemic hit, the pair weren’t able to tour but they were able to work on their social media, write songs and practice a lot while performing live-stream shows for their fans
Joey Defeo said, “Now that COVID is clearing up, we can get back to the grind, playing on stage and going on tour which is what we love.”
They also recently returned from a trip to England where they toured with an artist named. “Twinnie.” It was their first tour since COVID and their first international tour ever.
“It was really fun to get back out there,” Juna Defeo said.
A music video is in the works for newly “Til Your Breaks” and Joey Defeo is already entrenched in the production of it.
They have two more songs to put out before their self-titled EP comes out the first of next year. They hope to have a full-length record out soon as well.
With Juna N Joey’s innate musical talent being so fresh and honest, at their young age, the siblings are only just beginning to see a lifetime of their dreams being fulfilled.
You can follow Juna N Joey on their website, Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube, and Spotify.
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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, and Twitter.
