Having been crowned the winners of The Voice UK in December 2023, Jenna Cole and Olivia Irvin, better known as HUNNI are already starting to make their impact within the music scene, especially here in the North East.
With the pair releasing their debut single, Heartbeat back in April 2024, this just marks the beginning of a very exciting chapter. We caught up with both ladies recently to find out more.
How have the past few months of 2024 been for you both?
Liv: It has been such a whirlwind but we have been enjoying single second of it and taking it all in. There have been so many studio sessions, creating new music and finding out who HUNNI is in general. Just exploring and having fun - every second has been amazing so far, so onwards and upwards.
Picking up on what you said, when you were deciding what HUNNI would represent, what was the vision?
Jen: Well we always knew we wanted a name that joined us together as a collective rather than just house hold names. It has been difficult because we have had so many suggestions over the years but we knew we just wanted it to be something that spoke to both of our influences, but also spoke to where we come from, who were inspired by etc. Eventually we came to the conclusion that not everything we are influenced by was sitting in the same place, but it was also not even in the same era (the 2000s/90’s vibe). Then I remember when the movie Honey came out we kept saying the name over and over as it had a bit of a ring to it which we liked but then we also wanted it to speak to where we came from as well. There is the Geordie phrase Hinni so we kind of blended the two and here we are.
Being from the North East, what is it you love about our region?
Jen: The people and also the comradery. Everyone is so lovely. We have had the pleasure of busking in the streets of the North East for four years now, met people from all walks of life, and honestly hand on heart everyone is so supportive. Everyone wants to see each other win and yea that is probably my favourite thing about this part of the world, just the kindness, you can’t beat it,
Liv: I agree with Jen on that! If I try to describe it, I would say it is like a big home, one big house. Everyone is just rooting for you, wants you to do well. Like Jen said when we bump into people, they are just so happy for us. It is so refreshing and so nice - we are very grateful to have that sort of support.
Jen: Also we have got really good fish and chips haha!
You mentioned that the busking scene is very much part of your DNA. For a lot of people busking for the first time, they can find it daunting, so thinking back to the earlier days of busking, how did you keep that self-fear under control?
Liv: Well originally I asked Jen to join me when we had just become friends, and was like ‘let’s just go for it, we’ve got each other’, and not going to lie I was nervous, but we did it and it felt so liberating afterwards. The support was great, and I think we picked a pretty friendly spot to start off and it just went on from there. If anyone is every considering busking, our advice is just to go for it.
Thinking about your dynamic, what is it you love about working with each other?
Jen: The thing about me and Liv is that we are very Ying Yang. We are very good at the push pull thing, We have influences from different places but that is really part of the magic of us because we just bring everything into the collective pot. We have both been raised in the North East, I’m from Whitley Bay where as Liv is from Durham, and those places are themselves very different in terms of upbringings.
I think we are always learning from each other and always seeking attention. We are always laughing. We are very fortunate to have each other and are very aware of that, so it’s great whenever you are nervous having someone who is your biggest hype man always. It is definitely a special thing working with each other, and we certainly don’t take that for granted.
Liv: Like Jen was saying, we really help balance eachother out. It is just nice having that support because I know I definitely couldn’t do it by myself. It is that continuous back bone of support that you wouldn’t have if you were on your own. We have so much fun together and you have someone to share those celebratory moments with so I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Part of your journey we cannot overlook, is your appearance on music contest The Voice. So when Will.i.am pressed that button and swivelled his chair around, what was that like?
Jen: Well actually Emma WIllis was in the chair and she pressed the button and turned, and at the time we both had terrible vision (thankfully we both have contact lenses now).
Liv: We have both upgraded since The Voice
Jen: Yes that was part of our Voice reward money investments, to get better vision haha! But seriously it was surreal. I remember feeling the buzz of being on the stage, realising the song was getting along and no one had turned yet. It literally felt like a blink then all of a sudden they all turned. Obviously we discussed the possibility of that happening but I think even to this day you can’t quite comprehend what it feels like to have these four amazing people validate your talent.
When he came on board as a mentor how do you think he tested you in a good way?
Jen: One thing about Will was when he first met us he was really big on the idea that we were escapism artists and he was like ‘you bring a estatic vibe to your music’, so yea he didn’t really want us to stay in any boxes. He was like. ‘Let’s just try everything, let’s explore and go crazy’.He was genuinely invested in everything we were doing and encouraged us to always push the barrier even further from what we were doing and challenge ourselves, which we can’t thank him enough for really.
How do you think not just The Voice but everything that came after has strengthened your hunger in music?
Jen: We have always been so invested in music, but once your in that environment where your working with amazing producers and amazing collaborators, I think yea the hunger is hungering, it’s there. We feel so inspired and honestly feels like everything is so reachable now. We are living the dream, and the dream is happening now. We continue to grow as artists and never want to stop. It is the first thing we think about when we get up, and the last thing we think of before we go to bed. It is a bit obsessive at this stage, but you know what we wouldn't have it any other way.
So tell us a little bit about your track Heartbeat and what it was like to listen to?
Liv: We were listening to a lot of music from the 2000s on the underground together, just vibing with one air pod each, but with each session we go into we want to try and work out what the vibe is so with this one we were listening to a lot of Nelly Furtado, Timberland and that sort of vibe. The Honey soundtrack was on a few times as well, and just thought you know what let’s just go that route, it will be fun. We went into the studio with an incredible producer called Matt Wills and a writer called Tate who were fantastic and just got the gist straight away.
Jen: It was a really nice authentic process I think, The vibe was just their from the offset. We knew we wanted something nostalgic and upbeat, something colourful, something that people could scream in their car to, and that was kind of the brief.
Being honest when it came to the music video, for a while we didn't think there was going to be a music video there. We were literally in the studio that day having visions of what it was going to look like. When we created the music video I think it was a case that we want to set a standard for ourselves. We wanted it to be North East based and I think in some ways the music video is helping to feed mine and Liv’s inner child.
You also chose to partner with some local creatives too, so tell us about some of the people you chose to be your wingmen?
Jen: We were very fortunate to get J-6 onboard who are an amazing production company doing unbelievable things at the minute. At those initial talks, they were just as excited as us and it all beautifully unravelled from there. We also brought one of our really good friends on board, Laura WIlliams to choreograph the whole thing which is normally something she wouldn’t usually do, which made it even of a great collaboration because it was a unity of so many beautiful creative brains. There is such a massive and beautiful creative scene in the North East that needs to be utilised, so we thought if can do something to help highlight even a small part of that, then we will do that.
There is such a massive and beautiful creative scene in the North East that needs to be utilised, so we thought if can do something to help highlight even a small part of that, then we will do that.
Signing to Universal how did that make you feel?
Jen: All through the process of The Voice we were very aware that having the potential to be signed to Universal was part of the deal, but I don’t think it really sank in with us, until probably the semi final stages. We had a meeting with someone from the label which in itself felt very surreal. That was probably one of the hardest things to get our heads around really because it is one of the biggest record labels in the world. It so validating to hear people who have got such influence, experience and knowledge in this industry see us and say ‘you are worth something and can go really far’, and hearing that is really special for us. We can’t believe the situation we are in today, but we are working pretty hard for it.
What would like to say to those Hunni supporters out there?
Jen: For everyone who has been there with us since the beginning, thank you so much, every bit of support you have given us has meant so much. So yea just thank you for having so much faith and belief in us in the first place that we deserve to be where we are today. If it wasn’t for the people who follow and support us, share our videos and like them, come to see us busking, we wouldn’t be anywhere near to where we are today. We genuinely love you and if you didn’t know by now you are called the Huns now.
What is the next part of the dream?
Liv: Just getting out there as much as possible. More music and smothering ourselves in creativity, really experimenting and getting in the studio with amazing writers and amazing producers and just having fun with it all but at the same time really pushing ourselves so that we can constantly grow. Also with it coming up to festival season taking the opportunity to share our music especially with the people that support us which is one of the best feelings in the entire world.
Jen: I think one of the best things about Hunni is that we are ever growing, ever changing, ever evolving so we are always going to be wanting the next thing and striving for that next step. So yea everyone needs to keep their eyes and ears peeled, we have got loads of exciting music coming out.
...we are ever growing, ever changing, ever evolving so we are always going to be wanting the next thing and striving for that next step.
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Article By Thushara Chandrasiri
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