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Mere Naam Tu from Zero released on November 22 and became an instant hit. The Ajay-Atul creation sung by Abhay Jodhpurkar with lyrics from Irshad Kamil has touched the hearts of millions.
Now, Mo Haider and J Ross, better known as Just 2 are famous for not only their own original music, but also making covers of Bollywood songs, with their own flavor. These typically includes adding Western elements, and have done it again with Mere Naam Tu from the Shah Rukh Khan, Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif starrer. Take a look at the cover here:
We got in touch with Haider and Ross and asked them about Just 2 was started.
“I think what makes us different is that we have been acting, singing and performing as kids and grew up doing that together,” says Haider. “My biggest inspiration was and still is Shah Rukh Khan and I always (and still do) dream of becoming a Bollywood star, and wanting to be like Michael Jackson, which prompted me to join theatre and learn the arts at a very young age. Even though the two of us weren’t performing our own stuff at that point, I feel Just 2 started when we were casted side by side as the TinMan and Lion in the Wizard of Oz when we were 11-12 years old. Since then we have been collaborating artistically, whether that is thru acting, singing and for the past 8 years through making music,”
he adds.
The avid MJ fans said that his death was what motivated them.
“We’ve known each other for 15 years since we were kids and grew up doing plays and musicals together in New Jersey, USA. As we got older and after the subsequent passing of Michael Jackson, we felt inspired to start working on music that we enjoyed and thought could offer to the world. Our craft has continued to develop as our style has evolved over the years,”
says Ross.
Ross and Haider consider making music their passion and not a hobby. The NYC duo have dedicated many man hours to Just 2. When asked how they decide to make cover they said:
“We decide covers two ways. It must be a song we actually like to listen to and a song that we know we can make unique to ourselves.”
Talking about how and why they made the cover of Mere Naam Tu, they said that they wanted to do so after seeing the trailer for Zero as they thought it was a beautiful song. Guessing that it would be a global hit, they decided to add their own Western spin to the already magnificent song.
Shah Rukh Khan had earlier tweeted their cover of Laila Main Laila. The duo felt absolutely thrilled and also felt motivated by it. For Haider, Shah Rukh Khan is the reason why he wanted to be an actor to begin with. For him, the compliments were a dream come true.
“The tweet by King Khan was truly special, he not only shared our video but had thoughtful compliments of our work. Shah Rukh is one of our idols and always an artistic inspiration, so let’s just say no one could put us in a bad mood for the rest of that week. It also gave us the motivation to move forward and truly see how far Just 2 can go, which hasn’t always been easy given the obstacles in this business.”
Just 2 are a couple months away from completing an album yet to be titled with original music and covers. New music videos are also in the pipeline alongside some new live performances.
Wishing Just 2 members – J Ross and Mo Haider, an awesome 2019 and luck in all their endeavours.
The Mere Naam Tu cover and the rest of the album is produced by VRTIGO (https://www.vrtigomusic.com)
