Crossover Music Magazine has announced the winners of its 2025 Star Competition: The Sparks Sisters. The vocal duo, made up of sisters Melody and Violet, advanced to the final round through the Judges’ Wildcard vote, joining Lizzie (Singer of the Lakes), Adriana Zarzu, Christina Johnston, IDiT Shectman, and Kathleen Monson.
“This year, we truly saw diversity in the contestants. Each displayed a different way crossover can be done and was worthy of their place,” said Natasha Barbieri, founder of the magazine. “It made us realize that the competition needs to be expanded to truly show the depth of this genre and celebrate various categories. But at the end of the day, we could only have one winner. The Sparks Sisters perfectly encapsulated what we had asked contestants to do – they mixed tradition and innovation, and we are proud to have them represent us.”
The Sparks Sisters, who have previously appeared in the magazine and in its online concerts, were recognized for their original songwriting, vocal harmonies, and presentation. Judge Natasha Hardy noted, “This is what crossover music is all about, taking a classical piece and breathing new life into it. I love your original, authentic arrangement. Your vocals really complement each other.”
At the finals, the sisters performed “Full Circle,” the title track from their debut album. Following their win, Crossover Music Magazine spoke with them about the competition and their next steps.
CMM: Our theme throughout the competition has been ‘tradition mixed with innovation.’ Tell us how you incorporated this into your audition.
The Sparks Sisters: We LOVE this description of Classical Crossover Music, as it is exactly what we did with our original competition piece, “Hidden Away.” We took the well-known piano piece “Gymnopédie No. 1” by Erik Satie and turned it into a piano and vocal duet. As you can see in the video of our audition, our technique as pianists is grounded in classical tradition, with rounded fingertips, light arms, and musical phrasing. Then, we mixed an original vocal melody on top of the harmonic structure of the original piece. Our vocal technique combines the clarity and precision of a classical style with the gentleness and conversational quality of commercial styles. The lyrics were inspired by the melancholy feelings and emotions of Satie’s piece. His music is often described in professional music circles as “furniture music” – music that exists in a space, just as a piece of furniture exists in a room. Satie’s beautiful yet haunting refrain inspired the lyrics about sunshine being hidden away, and feelings of sadness associated with loss – whether the loss of a person who brought light into your life, or a personal loss of direction. Sometimes the sadness is so tangible that it exists in a room just as much as the sofa or coffee table beside you. Both the new vocal and piano parts follow the style and feel of the original piece as the musical lines weave together, mixing this iconic piece from the 1800s with our 21st-century spin.
CMM: Because it is so broad, ‘classical crossover’ can be described in many ways. What does it mean to you both?
The Sparks Sisters: To us, Classical Crossover Music is not only an opera singer performing a pop song, or a pop singer performing a classical piece. Instead, it can be a mix of both styles, in a way that almost makes it difficult to describe the genre you are listening to. We let the influence of many different styles affect our songwriting, without completely losing the classical training that was ingrained in us from a young age. Sometimes this means experimenting with different amounts of pop, rock, swing, country, Celtic, or singer-songwriter vibes in each song, while still being connected with our classical background. We often describe our music as having the “intricacy of classical and cinematic sounds with the intimacy of a singer-songwriter style.” We tend to focus on the word “crossover” in order to make our own unique sound that reaches into the soul with a nostalgic familiarity.
CMM: What does it mean to you both to have won the competition?
The Sparks Sisters: We are extremely honored to be the winners of the Classical Crossover competition, especially since this is coming right around the anniversary of our debut album Full Circle. So much blood, sweat, and tears went into the creation of the album, which also tells of the story of our journey as musicians. From the Celtic Woman-inspired opening song “The Me I See” that points to one of our biggest inspirations as kids, to the final song “Full Circle” that describes how our dreams of performing together came back at just the right time, we want others to be inspired to follow their dreams and callings just as we were. Being the winners of this competition is a confirmation to us that we are on the right path, and encourages us to keep moving forward, even when the road gets challenging or discouraging. We are so grateful that the judges understood and appreciated our vision for Classical Crossover music and chose us to represent this unique and inspiring genre for 2025.
CMM: What’s next for you both?
The Sparks Sisters: We are so excited to announce that our Christmas EP Echoes of Light will be releasing on Friday, October 24th, 2025! There will be six songs on the EP, including our previously released singles “Silent Night” and “Echo The Bells.” We created this EP in collaboration with Grammy-nominated producer Billy Smiley in Nashville, TN. We can’t wait to share it with those who have been following along on our journey, and hopefully reach new listeners as well with the beautiful Christmas music that we put together. Be sure to follow us on social media and sign up for our email list at our website www.TheSparksSisters.com to stay up to date on other future announcements, including concerts and performances in the works for 2026!