Second Cup Cafe: RyanDan

When you hear "Tears of an Angel" or "The Prayer" off Ryan and Dan Kowarsky's self-titled album, it could very well bring a tear to your eye, especially if you know the meaning behind them.

"The Prayer" is dedicated to their mother, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and "Tears of An Angel" was dedicated to their niece, who died from a brain tumor.

"It's extremely important to us that our music reflects the depth and strength of our emotions," Ryan said on their MySpace page. "We pour our hearts and our souls into our singing, and we want people to feel that passion."

RyanDan has gained huge international success with their soothing angelic sounds that effortlessly transition between their four octaves.

The 27-year-old identical twins are on the same note not only when it comes to music - they share an intense sibling connection in which, if one is hurt, the other feels pain.

Inspired by their father, who was a successful opera singer in Toronto, this dynamic duo, the youngest two of five children, was born in Cincinnati, but moved to Canada, where they are multi-platinum-selling stars. They are also a huge hit in Britain and hope to make their mark in the U.S.

Ryan and Dan have found that, although their music falls under the pop-classical genre, it can compete with mainstream pop music from Britney Spears, Duran Duran and Fall Out Boy.

Since the two "outperformed" these artists with their album track "The Face" on Toronto's popular CHUM-FM radio station, they were honored as the special guest at the "One Night Live" benefit concert at Toronto's Air Canada Centre, where Josh Groban, Bryan Adams, Sarah McLachlan and Jann Arden were the headliners. They also performed with them.

This is not the duo's first brush with the pop music genre, however: They tried the pop route when they were 18.

After a successful audition with a friend at Sony Music in Toronto, they landed a record deal and were signed on as B4-4. Although B4-4 was very successful internationally, the brothers didn't like the superficiality that came along with the genre, and wanted out.

They eventually found their niche - and there is nothing fake about it.

Find out more on their Web site, www.ryandan.com.
By Melissa Castellanos