"We are quite mature for our age because you have to grow up a lot in this business," states Keavy during a hair-and-makeup session before a performance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. "We have done a lot of hard work. We left home a year-and-a-half ago, and have only had about a week off. There is a lot to grow into."
Along with tomboy and former auto mechanic Keavy, B*Witched includes her twin sister, Edele (the "focused one"), Sinead O'Carroll (the "sophisticated" sprite), and Lindsay Armaou (the "bubbly" one). Unlike many such teen groups who are "discovered" after long talent searches and singing lessons, B*Witched formed when Sinead wandered into Keavy's dad's Dublin garage, where Keavy was changing a tire. Keavy was again the catalyst when she met Lindsay at a kickboxing class. Soon the girls were singing and writing their own tunes, which eventually resulted in their debut smash album.
Sure, B*Witched is playground pop for pubescent teen girls who probably swoon to these songs as they pine for some local dream-boy hunk or Boyzone girly-man. But the songs are delivered with such professional assuredness and vocal skill, it's hard not to get caught up in the eer, uhh, B*Witched spell. B*Witched's chart-topping U.S. single, "C'est La Vie," is a summery fun splash, a bubbly pop confection accompanied in live performance by the girls' full-blown dance routines which cross dizzying aerobics with some daring Riverdance steps. The Irish fiddle and drum and bass spree of "Let's Go" could be Goldie on vacation in Cork. "Rev It Up" is a picnic of lite hip-hop, while the yearning "To You I Belong" could be a teenage Chieftains if produced by Babyface. B*Witched's second hit, "Rollercoaster," is squealing pop modeled after Spice Girls, and "Freak Out" recalls Shocking Blue's "Venus," but "Blame It On The Weatherman," with its lush strings, acoustic guitars, and booming tympani, is almost as good the Verve's "Bitter Sweet Symphony"!
Being international teen phenoms would be a dream for most young girls, but does it leave time for love, wonders the LAUNCH.com analyst?
"We don't have a lovelife," admits Keavy. "I don't actually have a boyfriend; none of us have boyfriends. It's quite strange, we don't have time for a lovelife. You can meet someone you really like and get on with, but you only see them for about 10 minutes. We don't have time to pursue anything. We're zipping around the place. But we don't really miss it."
And why, you might ask? 'Cause the girls are becoming rich beyond their wildest dreams? Correct, sir! But do they know where all the cash is heading? Keavy is smug.
"We all know what is going on. We don't like to talk about it very much. Our parents are in charge. Haven't thought about it, but it's all being taken care of. We will all buy a house and have security before we go on shopping sprees. Definitely."
Keavy says when the B*Witched spell finally fizzles, she will not go back to school, at least not for Auto Mechanics 101. "I don't think I will return to school. I left school when I was 16 because this is what I wanted to do. I might go back and do a beautician's course or massage course, but no more school."
B*Witched's continued success seems secure for now, but a young lady this determined and intelligent--despite her lack of prospective higher-education plans--will probably do well no matter what the future holds. But Keavy is a bit cagey for such a young lass...
LAUNCH:
Keavy, who is the moodiest member of B*Witched?
KEAVY:
That is not nice to say! I don't like to say. We can all be moody at times.
LAUNCH
Who is the biggest flirt?
KEAVY:
Probably Lindsay! [laughs] They are going to kill me! They can hear all this!
LAUNCH
Who doesn't trim their toenails?
KEAVY:
Oh, I don't know that! [laughs]
LAUNCH:
Has B*Witched caused any boy riots yet?
KEAVY:
Boy riots? Sometimes. A boy in Australia asked me to marry him. Maybe I'll go back and find him! [laughs]
