During my recent trip to Florida for the "Chimpanzee" premiere, I met and interviewed the multi-talented and absolutely stunning McClain Sisters. The girls were delightful to meet and chat with and talked about their inspiration for their song "Rise", what its like to work together as sisters and how they stay grounded. The three girls China 13, Lauryn, 15 and Sierra, 18, recently signed with Hollywood Records and have already performed for record number crowds. If China looks familiar to you, it's because she is also the star of the Disney Channel's hit series A.N.T. Farm. They also have a 10 year old brother they say can sing better than all three of them.
"Rise" from the soundtrack of Chimpanzee, is written and performed by the McClain sisters and is the fourth and newest Disney Friends for Change anthem which benefits the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund. The song, true to the spirit of the movie, is so uplifting and inspirational and sure to climb the charts. From the moment I heard it at the end of the movie, I was hooked.
The sisters have been involved with music since they were babies and laughed when they told us the credits for their song in Chimpanzee, just says the "McClains" because every person in their family contributed to the making of "Rise". Their Dad produced the song and their mother helped write the lyrics. The line in particular that they credit to Mom is "Together we can do anything" – what they feel is the most important line in their song!
When asked where they got their inspiration for the song, they chimed in and said "unity" at once.
"So it's mostly about unity. The unity in the movie was just really amazing, 'cause they couldn't really do anything without each other, and they were never far away from each other, and that was really good. But our main point was Oscar."
So what else do these girls enjoy? They laughed as they told us when their rep asked "what else do you enjoy doing besides music?", and they answered, "we like to sing." In fact, music is so central to their family, that work is what they do for fun even when they aren't working on an album they enjoy playing the guitar and harmonizing in their rooms. The McClain sisters' parents are vocalists and the sisters recall hearing their parents sing at the studio in their home even as babies.
Of course they also enjoy movies, eating at their favorite restaurants (Chick-fil-A) with friends and just spending time having fun and laughing together. They're such a close knit family they have a sister movie night every Friday or Saturday night.
With China's success as a breakout Disney star and their quick rise to notoriety how do the girls stay grounded? They answered "Each other. We have each other, but our parents are mostly how we stay grounded, 'cause they always stay on us and they don't let us get away with anything," laughing as they shared.
This is the second week of Chimpanzee in theaters and you can still help save a Chimpanzee! Now through May 3 when you see Chimpanzee in theaters the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund will make a donation to the Jane Goodall Institute to protect chimpanzees today and tomorrow!
