New York Based Music Group ONEDUO Releases “Corona Virus” Video Featuring Akon and Chris Harrison

Curtesy of ONEDUO

In light of the recent pandemic, the New York based music group ONEDUO released a remix track ‘Corona Virus’ to raise awareness and funds to be donated to the Solidarity Response Fund by the WHO. ONEDUO, BElllA, Vinny Vibe and JUELZ collaborate for the “Corona Virus” Dance/Club track which released on Friday, March 27th. The original video by Julian Shamoon received over 3 million views on Instagram via Barstool Sports. In an attempt to keep people in good spirits during this difficult time and encouraging social distancing, the music video features notable figures like Grammy nominated artist Akon, The Bachelor’s Chris Harrison and James Murray of Impractical Jokers.

ONEDUO is an up and coming music group bridging the gap between pop and electronic music that has already experienced much success. Founded by Mike Scimeca and Steve Georgilis, the group has a dream of impacting the world with their music to create a new sound that blends the power of dance-pop with a passionate vocal delivery. The group has been creating an iconic sound and gaining recognition in the industry having played at major music festivals like Electric Zoo, Amsterdam Dance Event, SXM Festival St. Maarten and Miami Music Week.

While breaking into the pop world, ONEDUO continues to take the dance world by storm. Their remix of The Chainsmokers’ “Sick Boy” garnered over 6 million views on Proximity. Their remix of Lodato’s “Home” earned them a number 1 spot on the Billboard Dance Charts as well as their mix of Bumbasee’s “Tooth and Nail” which was one of the official soundtrack songs on the new “Need for Speed: Heat” along with many other notable artists like Diplo, Kendrick Lamar and Toro y Moi. Their latest collaboration, “Blink” with singer Vassy marks a celebration of her 10 years of topping the Billboard Dance Chart and is already seeing much acclaim on the top 40 charts.

We sat down with ONEDUO to learn more about this incredible movement they’ve started and see what else is in store.

Curtesy of ONEDUO

Tell Us About ONEDUO!

Our names are Mike & Steve, we are an Electronic Dance music group and we formed in 2012! We were childhood friends.

Mike: I had been into music since I could remember. I picked up my first guitar around 5 or 6 and my first DJ System when I was 10! After years of climbing to the top of the “Open Format DJ World” I wanted more. Knowing Steve had a background in business, was really into the EDM festival scene & was my best friend at the time, I knew there wasn’t a better person to ask to join me on this wild ride! We spent years studying the art of production, composing, and writing.

Steve: Music was always a big part of my life, especially the dance genre. I remember growing up developing an ear for dance music thanks to my dad when he popped in the old Freestyle CDs in his car. When Mike asked me to make music with him it was a no brainer because of how good he was at his craft and how driven he was a person. There were other areas I excelled in that I knew I could bring to the table to build a successful partnership. Being able to travel around the world making music and playing shows and festivals with your best friend is not something a lot of people can say.

How has the music scene shifted since social distancing?

It’s been quite different. A lot of shows have been cancelled, and we’ve been working together via Skype. A big part of us is our live shows, so we’ve really been taking all of that energy and aiming towards the studio to work on a BUNCH of new stuff. It’ll be interesting to see how different the mentality of the world will be at concerts, festivals, and clubs when life resumes after we beat this terrible virus. In this digital world, it makes it easier for us to work together without skipping a beat, so we’re thankful for that.

What are you doing to play your part?

We released a record with our pals, BElllA (@belllamusic), Juelz (@julianshamoon) & Vinny Vibe (@vinnyvibe) called “Corona Virus”. It was our way of shedding a little light on a serious situation. All proceeds are being donated to the Solidarity Response Fund by WHO to support those impacted by COVID-19. In addition, we are holding live stream DJ set performances from our studio on Twitch weekly to keep in touch with our fans where all donations made during our set is also dedicated to the Solidarity Response Fund by WHO. This enables us to give everyone a socially distant event to do on the weekend while also giving to an even better cause.

How did you get the inspiration to make the video?

We were scrolling on Instagram and saw the Barstool post of Juelz (@julianshamoon) singing a raw acoustic version and was blown away by his vocal. We reached out to him asking to make a full version of it and he hit us back right away and sent us his vocal stems. The video idea for the song came rather quickly and we thought it would be super fun to promote the practice of social distancing featuring some notable celebs and influencers (Akon, Chris Harrison, James “Murr” Murray, Joe Santagato, Sierra Skye, Doug “Censor” Martin). We had everyone send us little clips of what they were doing during social distancing and just put together a fun compilation for our music video.

We read several reports of the younger generation choosing not to participate in social distancing and we wanted to help change their mindsets so that they took it more seriously. We believed that incorporating the practice of social distancing into more fun lighthearted videos with celebrities would have made it the “cool” thing to do. The actual idea behind the premise of the video began when we were all on FaceTime together and decided it would be fun to incorporate others. We hit up some friends and created a completely social distant music video on our iPhones! It was such a fun process seeing the creativity of the videos and made for a really cool experience.

What are your plans for music when things get back to normal?

Plenty of shows and releases! We’ve been endlessly working day and night to create a complete new ONEDUO live show experience and we have tons of new releases coming in the near future. Our most recent song, ‘Blink’ with our pal Vassy is currently number 25 on the US dance radio charts so we’re looking forward to playing that one live! We’re really excited to get back out and play for our supporters and return to our normal lives.

How do you think music plays a role in helping with anxiety and stress?

Mike: Growing up, even now I suffered from anxiety and extreme stress always, music was always my out. When I felt stressed I’d always resort to music whether it was making it or listening to it. Music has a crazy way to completely transform your mood. Creating music really helps me, especially writing when I’m down and really expressing my emotion. If our music can help 1 person with anxiety/stress and brighten them up a bit, I’m happy.

Steve: I believe that music plays one of the biggest roles in helping with anxiety and stress, I know that it does for me. Especially in crazy unprecedented times such as what we find ourselves in today, music gives us a release from reality. Connecting with music on an emotional level is a natural high. When I am creating music, a lot of my inspiration comes from my emotions at that very moment and it has a major effect on what I create. Listening to music brings out the same emotions and I think it’s amazing that everyone has those go to songs that they listen to in times of need that enables them to deal with the daily life anxiety and stress problems. It shows the power of music and that is the major reason why decided to enter this industry in the first place.

Curtesy of ONEDUO

Watch the full video below and be sure to follow ONEDUO on Instagram and their other social media channels for more music updates!

All proceeds will be donated to the Solidarity Response Fund by WHO to support those impacted by COVID-19. Donations can be made by visiting the site here.