Moments before boarding the plane to New York City for fashion week, brother and sister singing/songwriting duo Ammon and Liahona chatted with SBC about their time on this past season of American Idol (the fourth season of ABC and 19th season overall for the series), the pandemic, their new single “Make Me Forget it,” (of course you know we asked if they’d ever write a book), and their artistry. Naturally, they have their unique approaches to making art including what they call the process.
“I call it creative trash,” seventeen-year-old Liahona shares.
“It’s not,” eighteen-year-old Ammon disagrees. “It’s not trash, though. It’s the creative foundation. It’s the ideas.”
Liahona’s reasoning is that once she finds something she likes amid the process, it’s no longer trash. Her technique includes coming up with a tune and finding the melody. Ammon freestyles and does what he feels.
Regardless of their ‘creative trash vs. creative ideas,’ they are a close-knit pair whose musical journeys started early on. The Hawaiian duo amazed those behind-the-scenes with their audition as well as celebrity judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan (to date, the audition for their original song “Boom” has been viewed millions of times). It was a no brainer for them to earn the golden ticket to Hollywood. Eventually, Liahona would make the top 24 without her brother. It was noticeable to many from the judges to the viewers that this next phase of the show affected her.
When their family was homeless and living in a tent, it was Ammon who wrote a song about the experience. “He was the start of my inspiration for everything. Like, if it weren’t for him I don’t think I’d even be able to be in American Idol and stuff…” Liahona laughingly tells her brother not to take all the credit. “He’s just a good role-model for me. I always knew we were meant to be a duo no matter what because we may have different techniques in writing and different kinds of voices when we sing, but, overall, we compliment each other pretty good.”
Check out the full interview to learn more about Ammon and Liahona and their video “Make Me Forget It”!