The ’00s Most Underrated Girl Band
Kids, you might not remember about this, but back in the day, there was something called Disney Channel. We all loved it because of great TV shows such as Lizzie McGuire (created by Terri Minksy), That’s So Raven (starring in Raven-Symoné, the very first body-positive influencer), and Hannah Montana (which is not really related to that song from 2013. Surprise).
The best part of growing up with this platform, however, was that you could re-watch whichever Disney classic you could think of — and a couple of the Olsen twins’ movies — while you waited for new episodes to be available in your area. And if you got bored from time to time, you know, of re-watching Snow White, Cinderella, 101 Dalmatians, and… Holiday in the Sun—that is my favorite Olsen twins’ movie — you still had the amazing, memorable music videos from Disney stars, such as Jesse McCartney’s “She’s No You,” or Vanessa Hudgens’s “Say O.K.” 🙌
That is where I discovered this girl band: Lillix. 2003. Freaky Friday soundtrack. “What I Like About You” cover.
2003
If you were born between 1990 and 2000, I bet you remember about this cover! It got so famous, it was even in that show with Amanda Bynes before she snapped, she played this teenager who goes to live with her older sister… What was it called? Oh, of course! “What I Like About You.” That song literally sold the show. And it had 4 seasons.
Back in the day, Lillix seemed like a skater-punk band. Moreover, their sound was legit. They were like a female Simple Plan! Their first album, Falling Uphill, got promoted through Disney Channel. After the “What I Like About You” success, they had two other hits: “Tomorrow” and “It’s About Time.”
Just your typical teenage emo girl playlist!
Lillix had everything — they had the sound, they had the looks, they had Disney… However, I still think they could have been more famous. I mean, at least just like Simple Plan or another band from their multiple male competition, did. After all, Simple Plan became a worldwide success that still nowadays can get an easy sold-out if they were playing in your city.
So, why is Lillix not that famous?
2006
After the Disney era, Lillix launched their best album ever: Inside The Hollow. It is still one of my favorite albums of all time, actually, and I think it was ’cause of it that I really got to appreciate them as a band.
For …Hollow, Lillix changed their looks. They went darker — the fellow female skaters were now some kind of the female version of A Clockwork Orange’s criminal band. They looked amazing!
And, of course, as you could have seen it coming, their sound changed, too. The only song from their previous debut album that echoes in …Hollow might be “Invisible,” which was a bonus track. The rest was all brand-new. They got rid off that pop tune that kind of kept me from listening to Falling Uphill on repeat.
I honestly like the whole album. I cannot pick a favorite song, but I have to tell you, your early twenties would have been a lot easier if you had known that “Doughnut” existed. (🎶 You are more the girlfriend type, call me when I’m turning twenty-three… Asshole, asshole… asshole! 🎶)
They had some live performances and of course, the psychedelic rock in “Sweet Temptation (Hollow)” helped them make some noise!
So, why didn’t Lillix become a worldwide success with Inside The Hollow? Because they were girls who could rock, literally? Or, was it because they were Canadian? Maybe some evil ex-boyfriend jinxed it?
Not quite.
Looks like even Madonna fails sometimes — Maverick Records was folded. You can read the whole story here.
It is so unfair because I think that this very album deserved much more attention than it did — even if we take into consideration the trouble with the record label. After all, The Veronicas were using similar rhythms, and more than one single from their album back in the day did become an anthem to my generation.
I really want “Doughnut” to become one even if it is already 2019 and we have officially stopped giving assholes the chance to date us.
2011
After the whole struggle with their record label in 2006, Lillix launched one last album on its own. It’s called Tigerlily.
Now… I am going to be pretty honest here, the pop tune was back. Which is okay. But not to me, personally.
Don’t get me wrong, there are some songs from the album that I really like. For example, “Through The Night,” or “Dreamland,” which was actually a single. But I think that is precisely the difference between …Hollow and Tigerlily — I can actually choose a couple of songs as my favorites; I didn’t like the whole album.
Present Day
Nowadays, Lillix has less than 10K followers on social media — they are not even eligible to get the swipe-up feature on Instagram, goddamn! But somehow they still work in music.
Tasha, their leader — she was only 17 years old when they got the Disney distribution, could you believe it? — just launched a children’s song and she is always very attentive to her fans on Twitter. Basically, Lillix was founded by her sister, Lacey-Lee Brass, and herself.
Of course, it wouldn’t have been the same without Alicia Warrington playing the hell out of those drums. But this is a band of sisterhood. This a band of 4 really-small town girls — they come from Cranbrook, a town in British Columbia whose population is 19,259 people tops— who lived their dream and who probably deserved better, just like any other woman in this world.
I am going to quote Louise — another former member — who revealed in an interview for Faze Media in 2003 how it really was to be a so-called rocker girl back in the day even if you shared a record label with Michelle Branch:
There should be more female artists. It’s really difficult for females because it’s a mostly male dominated industry. I think Michelle Branch is a very talented singer, and songwriter. It’s wonderful to be in the same category as her, but I think that’s because we’re females.
Don’t forget to follow Lillix on Twitter! And listen to “Doughnut” on repeat until you get the lyrics right.
