Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, September 7, 1994 TAG: 9409070120
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C4 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: BOWLING GREEN LENGTH: Medium
Ten-year-olds James and Jeremy Alsop don't complain. They know long, grueling hours and drinking lukewarm lemon water come with the territory.
The identical twin singers have a recording contract.
This performing duo, called ``Back 2 Back,'' completed two singles this summer and will return to a studio this weekend to record a third song. Then they will await word of a schedule for finishing the rest of their debut album.
``They know what they want,'' said their mother, Anita Alsop.
James and Jeremy drew attention last year from the national news media and female admirers with a musical tribute to their idol, Michael Jackson. The singer himself telephoned them to say thanks.
But show business success has hardly changed these fifth-graders whose parents stress family, education and religion. They attend Sunday school and have sung in a church choir since they were toddlers.
``Ever since we were 3, we've been dancing and singing,'' Jeremy said.
At a time when some acts try to come off as hard, explicit and obsessed with angst, these boys and their sweet, nimble voices offer a refreshing change.
The boys performed in a school talent show and impressed a local woman whose son is in the entertainment business. At his mother's prodding, LaMont Flanagan checked out the twins, and they charmed him immediately. He signed on as their manager.
``The boys are very marketable,'' Flanagan said. ``They're very bright, agile, creative and very moral, and something that America needs at this time.''
News coverage of Jackson's child molestation charges upset the boys, whose room is dominated by pictures of the pop music star.
What started out as a letter they wrote in support of Jackson evolved into a celebration of the beleaguered singer that hit the airwaves in December.
``People wanted money off him,'' Jeremy said. ``Michael Jackson is my role model, and no one can ever, ever, ever change that.''
The song, ``Michael,'' was recorded under the boys' contract with Alliance Entertainment Inc., one of the country's largest independent music distributors.
The music video, filmed at a Bowling Green playground and nearby middle school, had a cast of nearly 300 local children.
The video brought the boys national attention, with mentions on MTV and ``A Current Affair.'' But their big thrill came Jan. 19.
Jackson phoned the awestruck boys to thank them for their song and said he hoped to meet them someday and work together.
Jackson's settlement of a teen-age boy's molestation lawsuit didn't shake the twins' faith in their idol's innocence. Their mother initially had her doubts, but her sons' beliefs changed her mind.
The boys' singing ventures have the hearty support of their parents, James and Anita, and their teen-age sisters, Jakema and Jaime. But the family won't chase success, instead believing that the twins' talents will fetch rewards in their own time.
``We'll let it come to us if it comes,'' Anita Alsop said.
``I don't want something that will take them away from them being children,'' she said.
There's no denying the boys' initiative and discipline. Their lyrics have filled up a folder. They meet with a voice coach twice weekly and rehearse daily.
They insist on wearing matching attire in public, despite their mother's efforts to encourage them to wear different clothes. The twins share a bedroom and delight in video games and basketball.
They aren't afraid to disagree on other matters, such as the telephone calls of young female admirers.
``I get most of them,'' Jeremy said.
``Do not,'' James retorted.
Memo: shorter version ran in the Metro edition.