Not babies anymore! Almost 11 years after Sophia Grace Brownlee and Rosie McClelland first appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show, they reunited with the daytime host ahead of her series finale.
“I know, it’s weird, isn’t it? It’s really weird,” Ellen DeGeneres said on Wednesday, May 11, in an excerpt from the show. “It must be strange to leave. …Like, I haven’t seen this [montage of your best moments] at all. I mean, you were little girls.
British cousins Sophia Grace, now 19, and Rosie, now 15, first appeared in October 2011 in an episode of the 64-year-old star’s eponymous talk show “Looking for Dory” after a video they shot recreating Nicki Minaj’s “Super Bass” went viral. At just 8 and 5 years old, respectively, Sophia Grace and Rosie became household names thanks to their outstanding personalities, shiny tiaras and fluffy pink tutus. Then they appeared 30 times on the Ellen DeGeneres show in the studio and as correspondents on the red carpet.
“As a child, I always dressed up, played dress—up, Rosie and I, too,” Sofia Grace told DeGeneres, noting that Rosie’s mom, Danielle McClelland, came up with the idea to shoot an impromptu performance of the girls after they often sang around the house. — And then everything else happened.
Rosie even recalled her favorite memory of the show — when Justin Bieber kissed her on the cheek at the Kids’ Choice Awards ceremony. She added: “Obviously at the time I was thinking: “[Ew,] the boy kisses me on the cheek,” and now I’m like, “Oh my God, I let Justin Bieber kiss me on the cheek.””
During the girls’ first appearance on the show, they gave the DeGeneres studio audience a taste of their viral music video — along with the “Starships” singer, who is now 39 years old. Closing the circle, they sang “Super Bass” again in the clip on Wednesday with their “original props” in the form of tape recorders and princess-style wands.
The cousins’ nostalgic appearance was broadcast during the last season of DeGeneres’ talk show, which is due to end later this month.
“I promise you that we will have a fantastic final season,” the author of “Seriously, I’m Kidding” said in the May 2021 issue. “This will be the season when I can really say, “Thank you.” Thank you all.” Every day will be a holiday. There will be a lot of surprises, there will be trips along memory lane and a few roundabout ways through the alley “Why did I put this on?”.
On the eve of their return to the Ellen DeGeneres show, both Sofia Grace and Rosie did not give up their musical studies.
“Right now I’m focused on my music,” Sofia Grace said on Wednesday. “Actually, I’ve just released a new single, ‘Little Things,’ and a music video has just been released, too.”
Rosie, for her part, followed in the footsteps of her older cousin by releasing her own debut single “Stay”. She explained, “Right now I love music and focus on it.”
