2004–2006: Into the Rush and Acoustic Hearts of Winter In 2004, when Aly was 15 years old and AJ was 13 years old, the duo signed a recording contract with
Hollywood Records after an audition in which they performed six original
acoustic guitar songs they had written. Aly & AJ's debut studio album,
Into the Rush, was released on August 16, 2005. It debuted at number 36 on the US
Billboard 200 and was certified
gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in March 2006. The first single released from the album was the cover song "
Do You Believe in Magic", originally recorded by
The Lovin' Spoonful, which was used in the soundtrack of the made-for-TV Disney Channel original movie,
Now You See It..., in which Aly had a starring role as Allyson Henlen. "
Do You Believe in Magic" peaked at No. 2 on the U.S.
Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart. The album's second single, "
No One", was featured in the
Walt Disney Pictures feature film
Ice Princess and its soundtrack. "
Walking on Sunshine", a cover of the
Katrina and the Waves song, and "
Never Far Behind" were released as further singles. The latter appeared on the
Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart, peaking at number 28. On February 28, 2006, the fifth single from the album, "
Rush", written with
Daniel James and
Leah Haywood, was released. The song was their first to chart on the
Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 59. In late 2007, the album was reissued with three more Christmas songs.
2007–2008: Insomniatic The duo's third studio album,
Insomniatic, was released on July 10, 2007. The album peaked at number 15 on the
Billboard 200, selling over 39,000 copies in its first week and becoming Aly & AJ's highest debut to date. The album features a more electropop, electronic rock and dance-pop influenced sound different from their debut, with the use of synthesizers, synth-rock guitars, vocoder and electronic instruments. The album was preceded by the lead single "
Potential Breakup Song". "Potential Breakup Song" peaked at No. 17 on the
Billboard Hot 100, becoming their first top 20 single in the United States. The single was certified Platinum by the
RIAA for sales surpassing 1 million copies. In October 2007, both the single and the album were released in the United Kingdom; "Potential Breakup Song" reached a peak position of No. 22 in the
United Kingdom and No. 16 in
Ireland. Aly & AJ toured for a short while in the UK, opening for
McFly twice and performing at several television shows and nightclubs. In the UK, "Potential Breakup Song" was certified Silver by the
British Phonographic Industry.
Time magazine named "Potential Breakup Song" one of the 10 Best Songs of 2007, ranking it at No. 9. Writer
Josh Tyrangiel praised the authenticity of its having been written by the teenage sisters who sing it. The single also charted in several other European countries, performing moderately in the Netherlands, Norway, and Scotland. In December 2007, for two weeks, the band was the
opening act for
Miley Cyrus's
Best of Both Worlds Tour. In early January 2008, Aly & AJ performed a cover of
KT Tunstall's "
Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" on
Yahoo's
Pepsi Smash video site. The cover, recorded at
Abbey Road Studios, was featured on the Japanese re-release of
Insomniatic. In March 2008, "
Like Whoa" was released as the second single from
Insomniatic and peaked at number 63 on the
Billboard Hot 100. The song was also used to promote the
Disney Channel Original Movie Minutemen. That year, Aly & AJ covered the
Grand Funk Railroad song "
We're an American Band" for
Randy Jackson's
Music Club, Vol. 1.
2009–2016: Departure from Hollywood Records, 78violet In early 2008, Aly & AJ were working on a fourth studio album under Hollywood Records which was due to be released in late 2009. On July 8, 2009, the duo changed their name to
78violet. They continued to work on their fourth Hollywood Records album, which was later completed, but its release was delayed numerous times. In May 2010, the duo announced that they had departed from the label, and the album was shelved. On November 30, 2010, the first song under the 78violet name was released on the
Hellcats soundtrack EP. 78violet recorded the theme song to
Hellcats, titled "Belong Here". Some of the titles being considered for 78violet's fourth album were
8 Hours and
53rd floor. On May 2, 2013, Aly & AJ signed to Red Light Management. The single "
Hothouse" was released on July 8, 2013. The full Hothouse EP was leaked in its entirety in 2014; the duo released it on vinyl as
Sanctuary: Vol. 1 in 2020 for first-year subscribers of their Sanctuary fan-club. In December 2015, the sisters changed their band name back to Aly & AJ.
2017–2022: Return to music "
Take Me", a new single, served as the lead single from their EP
Ten Years, and was released on August 17, 2017. The accompanying music video was released on September 14, 2017. The
Ten Years EP was released on November 17, 2017. Two tracks from the EP, "I Know" and "The Distance", were featured in season 4 of Aly's TV series
iZombie. On June 15, 2018, the duo released the single "Good Love". A deluxe version of
Ten Years was released on November 30, 2018. On March 29, 2019, the pair released the single "Church" as the lead single from their second EP
Sanctuary, released on May 10. The EP was supported by a North American tour of the same name which began on May 1, 2019. The duo released the singles "Attack of Panic" in February 2020, and "Joan of Arc on the Dance Floor" in May. In December 2020, songs from both
Ten Years and
Sanctuary, as well as the non-album singles, were later released onto a
compilation album titled ''We Don't Stop''. Their fourth studio album,
A Touch of the Beat Gets You Up on Your Feet Gets You Out and Then Into the Sun, was released on May 7, 2021. The album was preceded by the singles "
Slow Dancing" on December 2, 2020, and "Listen!!!" in January 2021. Following the growing popularity of "Potential Breakup Song" on the social media app
TikTok, Aly & AJ released two re-recorded versions of the song in December 2020: one with clean lyrics and an explicit version. In July 2021, the duo performed at
Lollapalooza for the first time. Following the re-recording of "Potential Breakup Song", the duo released re-recordings of their songs "
Like Whoa" and "
Chemicals React" in 2022, subtitled "(A&A Version)". In October 2022, they performed at
Austin City Limits.
2023–present: With Love From and Silver Deliverer Aly & AJ's fifth studio album,
With Love From, was released on March 15, 2023. It was preceded by the title track as the lead single on November 2, 2022; the second single "Baby Lay Your Head Down" on January 25, 2023; Later that year, they released a
Christmas music EP titled
Lonesome Dove. The duo released "What It Feels Like" on January 10, 2025, as the lead single from their sixth studio album,
Silver Deliverer. It was followed by "Next To Nothing" on April 4. The album was released on May 2, 2025, and the duo is scheduled to tour starting in September 2025. ==Activism==