When Bettina Cassar came across a song writing competition on Twitter she never imagined that within the month she and her sister Philippa would be in the US receiving an award.
“We decided to enter randomly as a joke and see what happens ... We knew the competition was in America and that about 300 people had applied, so we thought we had no chance,” Philippa Cassar, 16, said from her hotel room in Arkansas yesterday.
The girls submitted their song Tom, Dick and Harry to compete in the Alchemy Songwriter Competition, a fund-raising event organised by non-profit-making Blackbird Academy of the Arts.
Their band called Phyllis and Bertie, which are the teasing names they call each other, is made up of Bettina, 19, at the piano and Philippa on the guitar, with both sisters singing.
“This song’s about not being passive ... It ’s about living a full-out life, making the most of relationships and opportunities that come your way. We believe too many people stop because too few say ‘go’ ... So we want to be the ones who encourage people to go. Live life. Even if it means we had to fly to Arkansas in the States to get our message across,” they said.
A few days after applying for the competition the sisters received an e-mail informing them they had been shortlisted among the 10 finalists. They saw the e-mail at midnight and woke up their parents to share the exciting news.
Next they had to decide whether they would travel to America. “At first my mother thought it was a scam to steal our livers or something. So we checked with the US Embassy to ensure the competition was real,” Philippa giggled.
The girls started making arrangements to travel to Arkansas with their father. They set off on Thursday at 6 a.m. local time and arrived at midnight US time.
“The flights were crazy,” they said, adding that they had tight connections. “It was like being in a Home Alone movie... They were calling out our names to board ... Then, when we arrived, we had no luggage... the show was the next day and we had no clothes.”
Relatives who live in the area took them shopping for a new wardrobe. Their luggage arrived four hours before the Saturday show. During the sound check they got to know their competitors who soon became their friends.
“Everyone was amazing and talented so we thought, no way,” Philippa said. Then it was time for the competition. The girls were up for a surprise as the judges loved their accent and their style.
The judges were American Idol winner Kris Allen, Grammy winner David Hodges and marketing executive Andy Davis.
“When we started playing the crowd got suddenly massively into it,” Philippa said, still marvelled. After their performance the judges told them how they liked their quirky style.
The sisters could not believe it when the judges announced they had won the Youth Division award. They won a video camera, a session in a recording studio “and a huge experience to carry with us for the rest of our lives”.
Listen to the song on You Tube: search Tom, Dick and Harry - Phyllis & Bertie 4/52