Sophia Grace & Rosie
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Sophia Grace Brownlee (born April 18, 2003) & her cousin Rosie McClelland (born September 7, 2005), both from Essex, England, make up the duo Sophia Grace & Rosie. They quickly gained popularity, by making regular appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, after posting a cover version of the Nicki Minaj song "Super Bass" that went viral on YouTube.[1] The video was originally posted on YouTube on September 19, 2011 and has gained more than 46 million views as of August 2014.
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
They were first invited onto The Ellen DeGeneres Show in October, 2012, after DeGeneres saw their cover of the Nicki Minaj song "Super Base", on YouTube. The then, eight and five year-old girls, became recurring cast members on the show. The girls eventually hosted their own segment, called "Tea Time with Sophia Grace & Rosie". In the segment, the duo invites and interviews guests over tea, such as Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Hugh Grant, Julie Bowen, Harry Connick Jr, LL Cool J, Justin Bieber & Reese Witherspoon. The segment won Sophia Grace & Rosie the "Choice Webstar" at the 2012 Teen Choice Awards. They have also been correspondents, during red carpet events, such as the Grammy Awards, the American Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, and the MTV Music Awards.
Film & TV
They both appeared in the third episode of Sam & Cat, in June 2013, and Episode 11 in September 2013.[2] Sophia Grace was originally cast as Little Red Ridding Hood in the Disney movie adaption of Into The Woods.[3] Her casting attracted much controversy due to her age and the sexual undertones present between Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. She withdrew before production began, and was replaced by Lilla Crawford. Dominic Brownlee went on to speak about her daughter's withdrawal from the movie, by saying "After careful consideration, we as parents felt, as rehearsals progressed, that she was too young for this part. It was a joint decision between us and the director and producer of Into The Woods, to withdraw Sophia Grace from the film". Though, Sophia Grace went on to star in her very own movie, alongside Rosie, in Sophia Grace & Rosie's Royal Adventure. The film was a straight to DVD release, produced by Nickelodeon. It was released in May 2014, and although the film has no critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it's gained generally positive reviews from families and young children. It currently holds a 4.2/10 rating on IMDb, and a number of sequels are reportedly in the pipeline. According to TMZ, the two girls were paid around $50,000 for the film. And a five picture deal signed by the cousins states that they'll earn $75,000, if a second and third installment are released, and $100,000 each for a possible fourth and fifth installment. The duo will make their big screen debut in the sequel to Machete Kills with director Robert Rodriguez.
Books
The duo have published two illustrated story books. The first book entitled "Tea Time with Sophia Grace & Rosie", was published February 1, 2013, priced at $17.99. It debuted at No.2 in the New York Times Best Sellers List, only outsold by Emeraldalicious (Pinkalicious) , the latest title in the best selling series by Victoria Kann. The second book "Showtime with Sophia Grace & Rosie", was published on March 25, 2014, and also received commercial and critical success, like it's predecessor. Both books were written by the girls and illustrated by Shelagh Mcnicholas. They were published by Orchard Books.
Singing Dolls
In April 2014, Just Play launched a two doll pack containing two dolls of both Sophia & Rosie. They were sold exclusively at Walmart stores, for the first month, until made available at Claire's in May. Just Play teamed up with the girls to produce their own toy inspired by their love of dress-up, music, dolls and more. The dolls feature the two girls dressed in their trademark hot pink tutus and tiaras. Each doll is fully poseable and comes with a matching microphone, ruffled socks, and shoes. The doll plays the real Sophia Grace singing Nicki Minaj's "Super Bass", when you press the doll's belly. The doll sold at the retail price of $29.99.
References
- ^ Vincent, Alice (13 August 2013). "Sophia Grace Brownlee: Britain's new child star". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 20 August 2014.
- ^ Ross, Robyn (18 September 2013). "Video Exclusive: Sophia Grace and Rosie Con Their Way Back to Sam & Cat". TV Guide. Retrieved 21 August 2014.
- ^ Hetrick, Adam (7 August 2013). "Updated: YouTube Personality Sophia Grace Brownlee Confirmed for "Into the Woods" Film". Playbill.com. Retrieved 21 August 2014.