Emily (13) and Danielle (12) are a sister duo from York and very talented girls they are indeed.  Together they make up the group Distracted.

1. How did you start doing what you do?

On my 9th birthday (this is Danielle) I had a recording studio party where Emily, me and a few friends recorded a song. We loved it and from then on all we wanted to do was sing. We got taken to the studio in a limo!! We started singing lessons after that and we have been singing ever since over the last 3 years (its my 12th birthday next week and Emily is now 13).

2. Who supported you along the way?

Mum and Dad have driven us all over the country to events and competitions. We also have a fantastic performance and vocal coach who we go to every week (Sally Mondryk and Greg Morton) – they are awesome and we love working with them! We also are very lucky to have the opportunity to work with and be supported by Tim Noble (Choreographer and Performance Mentor), Chris Brown (musician/songwriter and producer), Dylan Charles Axup (Producer), Stevie Vann Lange (Vocal Coach) and Laurence Hobbs (Songwriter and Producer). We have 20 original songs fully produced in the studio.

3. What were the high points?

Getting into the finals of national competitions (Festival4Stars – we came runner up last year to Be Minor in the Star Group, we have reached the grand final of the Open Mic UK competition for 2 years running from over 9,000 applications, coming 3rd in the u18s section first time round, we also reached the Live & Unsigned grand final from 10,000 last year). We’ve not managed to get through into BGT yet and have tried each year – maybe next year . Another high light this year was winning the Minster FM local heroes award for Musical Achievement and sang alongside Matt Cardle. We’ve also done showcases and tours with local radio stations – Minster FM, PulseFM, StrayFM and BBC Radio York. We have sung live on radio as well!!

4. What were the low points?

Can’t think of any real low points. Sometimes we struggle to fit everything in when we are rehearsing for competitions and shows – our school is really good though and support us. We catch up with homework later and give priority to our music whenever we can!!

5. Have you had any negative reactions? How did you deal with them?

Most of our friends are great and really support us. You do get some who don’t like us because of what we do and get some nasty comments posted on Youtube sometimes, but this hasn’t happened very often. We try and ignore this when it happens as we have so many people who do like what we do. We don’t brag or talk about what we do at school unless asked. At school we are just like everyone else. We’ve been really lucky and have lots of lovely people working with us and supporting us so we haven’t had any really bad negative reactions so far. We do get feedback from competitions and we try to learn from this.

4. How have other young people reacted to you?

Most of our friends and kids our age like what we do and sometimes come and watch. At school we are just like everyone else, but we aren’t famous or anything and there are lots of other children in school who are talented in different things. If we got on television one day or got a hit single then most people we know I think would be pleased and support us.

5. What have you learnt about yourself through the process?

That you have to work hard because its not easy and there are so many talented singers. Its not just about the voice, its about personality, performance and image as well. You need loads of enthusiam and we’ve learnt we have to work hard and that you need to practice every day.

6. What skills/abilities have you developed along the way?

Breathing exercises and lots of vocal techniques Greg has taught up. Vocal warm up exercises so we don’t ruin our voices. How to performance on stage and ensure we interact with the audience which Sally is helping us with. Since we started working with Sally and Greg just over a year ago we have learnt so much and are now much more confident when we go on stage.

7. What advice would you have for other young people?

Don’t ever give up and work hard if its what you want to do. Practice, practice and practice more.

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Facebook?s IPO is just around the corner, putting a fresh focus on the social net. In tech terms, Facebook is kind of an old site having been around since 2004, and Millennials have grown a little tired of the site. But that?s not to say they aren’t using it.

Facebook may not be the cool social network anymore — all the recent buzz has been about Instagram, Pinterest, and other niche networks ? but Facebook is still the site most Millennials are on. Some 93% have a Facebook profile, according to Ypulse research, and it?s for that reason that they?ll continue to use it. Nearly all of their friends are on it, so they feel the need to be on it to keep up with what their friends are doing.

Leading up to the IPO, people are questioning the site’s staying power ? after all, the tech market moves fast. But Facebook has become utilitarian, which may seem decidedly uncool, but it?s that aspect that keeps Millennials coming back. Nowhere else can the reach nearly all of their friends in one place with status updates, links, photos, and videos. They have a love/hate relationship with the site, but they still encourage their few friends who don?t have a Facebook profile to get one to make it easier to keep in touch. Yes, it makes communication somewhat less personal, but it also makes it easier to manage their social lives, and they?re willing to make that trade off.

With all of their friends on Facebook, the site is also their primary source of social currency. They truly are what they post because not everyone is around when they crack the perfect joke or want to watch a hilarious video. Sharing the best status updates, linking to breaking news, and posting the latest funny clips on Facebook before anyone else makes them the center of their social circle and the person people want to be connected to in order to keep up with what?s happening. They haven’t yet found a better site for sharing what’s on their mind and what they’re into.

Even if they sometimes hate their reliance on the site, Millennials will continue to use Facebook because (so far) nothing else comes close to letting them communicate with their whole social circle. It lets them connect all the ways and media through which they prefer to share.

Melanie Shreffler
Editor in Chief
Ypulse
the leading authority on the Millennial Generation

I recently heard someone talking about no excuses environments in sport teams. Some of the best teams in the country have no excuse environments, meaning that the players get the very best of everything; best hotels when the travel, best coaches, best facilities and in return what they have to give is their very best, no excuses.

Imagine if our school ran like that. Giving our children the very best and expecting it in return. How would it be at home? How would it be to expect the very best from our children, them giving their very best?

It has really made me think about what I can do in my home and how I can instil a no excuse environment and while I don’t have all the answers yet, asking the question is, as we know, the most important part.

 What about you, what do you think you will do?